Undergraduate students in the Arts Management Program at the College of Charleston School of the Arts are assisting in the promotion of a pilot for a new reality television show titled “The Changers” that showcases the power of love, kindness, forgiveness, and hope. The show is scheduled for premiere during Breast Cancer Awareness Month on October 17th at 9 and 10 p.m., and October 21st at 1 and 11 p.m.
The show will air on the Atlanta-based cable network, GMC-TV Uplifting Entertainment, which has recently partnered with Magic Johnson’s ASPiRE TV network. Students presented their draft marketing and social media plans earlier this week during a live presentation to Beverly Adams of Dallas-based Beverly Adams Entertainment, Inc., the host and visionary of “The Changers” and (via Skype) to representatives of the marketing, public relations and digital media team of gmc-TV.
Ashley Stillwell, the Vice President and Director of Marketing for Beverly Adams Entertainment, Inc. is a graduate certificate student in the Masters of Public Administration Program with an Arts Management concentration at the College of Charleston. She has conceived the social media plan for “The Changers,” worked with designers for the show’s website – www.thechangerstv.com, and has been involved in the programming direction of the show with producers, writers and editors. She has also provided social media input with the digital media and public relations staff of GMC-TV Uplifting Entertainment, a fast-growing cable network that, in April, had its strongest ratings ever which moved it into the top 40 among all ad-supported cable networks in the country (Market Watch, Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2012). Stillwell has co-authored a social media marketing campaign – “Be A Changer: 30 Days and 30 Nights Challenge” with Dr. Karen Chandler, her arts management professor for which undergraduate arts management students will be implementing.
“The Changers” is the brainchild of Texas-based humanitarian, entrepreneur, philanthropist and entertainment guru, Beverly Adams. For more than a decade, Adams has embraced and embodied the philosophy of her penned theme — Everyday Philanthropy® which is also rooted in the storyline of “The Changers,” by donating her time, ideas, out- of-the-box and innovative strategies, and money to many causes and charitable organizations. She does so as president and CEO of Beverly Adams Entertainment, Inc. and Beverly Adams Holdings, Inc., distributors of life-changing programming of a philanthropic nature. Filled with humor and honesty, “The Changers,” for which Adams is the co-creator, producer and host, demonstrates the importance of giving to others and the beauty giving brings to both the giver and the receiver. By bucking the sensationalist trend of the sometimes shallow and dysfunctional reality storytelling genre, “The Changers” reveals how people’s lives can be changed by giving…one person…one kind act at a time.
The premiere of “The Changers” is an opportunity for undergraduate students in the Arts Management Program to learn how a reality television show is marketed, and what the impact of the marketing will be on ratings. Students in Professor Karen Chandler’s Marketing, Fund Raising and Grant Writing for Nonprofit Arts Organizations’ class, will work with Ashley Stillwell, Beverly Adams, and the marketing, public relations and digital media staff of gmc-TV, to plan and implement the social media marketing campaign — “Be A Changer: 30 Days and 30 Nights Challenge.” From September 16 through October 16, students will implement a social media challenge on three social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Their goal is to connect with 30,000 or more friends and families in 30 states, 300 cities and at 30 colleges and universities to develop interest in “The Changers” and ultimately, to drive viewership to the premiere of the show on October 17th and subsequent episodes on October 21st.
In Professor Chandler’s class, students learn how to promote and fundraise for arts organizations and arts events, but must first understand the product they are marketing, the diverse people and partners that make up an organization’s network, the market segments which social media and other marketing strategies are focused, and the people and funding agencies that are donors to these organizations – philanthropists. For this class, Professor Chandler has abandoned her traditional syllabus and is using this real-world experience by having students document philanthropic, humanitarian and other acts of giving to others – the essence of philanthropic giving, through their social media campaign. This modern-day marketing and fund raising assignment will have the students’ Facebook friends and Twitter followers post acts of kindness on “The Changers” Facebook and Twitter pages (#beachanger, #thechangerstv, #gmctv) during the 30-day campaign. At the conclusion of the 30 days when “The Changers” will air, the students will present a Live Tweet Chat (Twitter Party) on October 17th during the premiere of the show featuring Beverly Adams, some of the cast of “The Changers” and Twitter followers of “The Changers.”
