This great video from our friends at Muhtayzik|Hoffer captures a little of what we’re up to the last several months.

Learn Your Slavery Footprint Score.
Slavery Footprint was created by the same organization that brought to the public the acclaimed documentary “Call + Response” and it’s subsequent efforts to deepen public awareness of human trafficking and modern day slavery. At it’s core, this new project allows the consumer to visualize how their consumption habits are connected to modern-day slavery and provides them with an opportunity to have a deeper conversation with the companies that manufacture the goods they purchased.

Based in Oakland, California, the Slavery Footprint team works to engage individuals, groups, and businesses to build awareness for and create deployable action against forced labor, human trafficking, and modern day slavery. In addition to creating and developing the online tools, the organization is also engaged in off-line community education and mobilization programs.

Red Balloon Ideas is a boutique consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC. We assist clients who focus on finding solutions to poverty and social justice issues.

Red Balloon Ideas was founded to provide powerful tools to move world changers beyond the status quo to create lasting change. We do this by fusing strategic planning with the art of influence and the science of behavior change.

The Need Addressed:

Over the last 10 years an increasing number of individuals, artists, foundations, and businesses have joined the thousands of existing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profits to bring about positive change, both in the U.S. and overseas. Unfortunately many initiatives fail to achieve the desired outcomes. We exist to guide those who are new to the field of international development and issue campaigning, and to help veterans refine their strategies and programs.

Developing an action plan that takes into consideration all the correct elements is essential to success.    One such element is communications.    Enlightening people about a problem is not enough to cause change. Introducing a product or service to a community will not ensure that people will benefit from it. Our holistic approach promotes systematic change and provides effective audience-specific solutions.

What Makes Us Different:

There are countless consulting firms; what sets us apart is our interdisciplinary approach which melds international development and social marketing. We have working relationships with key players within the NGO, foreign policy, disaster response and campaigning communities, and insider knowledge of the U.S. government’s mechanisms for foreign assistance and policy making.

Our methodology incorporates psychological and environmental factors influencing how people make decisions. This discipline is called social marketing, or behavior change. Practitioners began developing this methodology in the 70’s to create long-term changes in behavior, primarily around health and environmental issues. Think about the “reduce-reuse-recycle” and ‘This Is Your Brain on Drugs’ campaigns. Our staff uses this progressive method in conjunction with traditional strategic planning, impact analysis, coalition building, public campaigning, program design and development communications to provide holistic solutions to our clients. Our goal is to see long-term positive change.

What We Do For Our Clients: NGO’s, Businesses & Influencers

We help clients who are beginning a new venture or launching a new initiative design their strategy for creating change. Utilizing our experience in the fields of international development, government policy and programs and public campaigning, we work with our clients to design effective programs, products or campaigns that create positive social change.

We create cause-promoting campaigns for artists, help influencers conceptualize their own social impact initiative, assist businesses by designing behavior change communication tools to be used in conjunction with their life-saving products, and equip non-profits with strategies and tools for implementing their programs.