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An innovator in grassroots engagement, John Hlinko
is VP of Marketing and Creative Engagement with
Grassroots Enterprise, a public affairs consulting
firm in Washington, DC. He was the founder of “DraftWesleyClark.com,”
the movement to draft General Clark for President,
and is the leader of “ActForLove.org,”
a dating site for activists. John has been covered
by a range of media, including CNN, the New
York Times and the Washington Post.
He has received the “Rookie of the Year”
Pollie from the American Association of Political
Consultants and was recently named by PRWeek as
a finalist for 2006 “PR Professional of the
Year.”
Trends: Can you market a consumer
product the way you market a political candidate?
If political campaigns and organizations can build
grassroots armies of millions on behalf of a cause
or candidate, why can’t corporations do it on behalf
of a product or brand? If MoveOn.org can build an
explosive movement from scratch, why can’t a Fortune
500 company? And why should you struggle to capture
one customer at a time when you can cultivate “evangelists”
capable of luring thousands of others? John Hlinko
offers lessons for movement building from the political
world and describes the cutting edge techniques
being used to apply grassroots tactics to for-profit
endeavours.
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