How a Growing Philanthropy is Learning from The World of Campaigns

In the latest episode of our New CCO podcast, Brent Colburn, a veteran of every presidential campaign from 2000 until 2012, discusses the galvanizing role digital engagement can play in politics and nonprofits.

The 2004 Howard Dean presidential run is often overlooked in terms of the first leveraging the power of digital communications, but Brent believes it solidified how transformative digital engagement can be for communicators. “It was the first-time fundraising was linked to public communications and it changed relationships with the audience. We asked them not only to feel, but to do,” said Brent. He went on to describe the key role content creation and digital platforms played in the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.

From philanthropy to campaigns to corporations, the past fifteen years has revolutionized both the tactics communicators can use and the landscape in which they operate.  Digital has democratized the world of communications and driven a new level of transparency that wasn’t possible even five years ago. In this episode, Brent elaborates on how the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is leaning into this and making sure that their social content speaks to the values of the organization.

For the last two years, Brent has been building out the communications team and philosophy for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a new type of philanthropy founded in December of 2015 by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. Next year, Brent will be heading to Princeton University to join their staff as the Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs. This episode was recorded before Brent’s new role was publicly announced.

Find the full episode with Brent here [add link], and if you missed them, check out the interviews with Corey duBrowa,former CCO of Starbucks, Catherine Blades of Aflac and PeteMarino of MillerCoors. And if you enjoy the episodes, share them with your network using #NewCCO.