TakePart

TakePart was a digital media and social-impact brand operated by Participant Media, the film studio known for developing and supporting projects centered on social justice, environmental issues, public health, and civic engagement. Founded in 2008, TakePart was created partly to promote Participant films and partly to extend their themes through advocacy partnerships and audience participation. Rather than functioning solely as a conventional entertainment marketing site, it combined editorial coverage, video, blogs, campaign resources, and calls to action intended to help visitors engage with the subjects raised by films and related initiatives. The site developed a broad editorial scope. Its daily content covered animals, the arts, food, education, the environment, green technology, politics, culture, health, and innovation. This positioned TakePart at the intersection of digital publishing, cause marketing, branded content, and nonprofit outreach. Users could read articles and watch videos, then find practical ways to support or participate in campaigns. The operation also offered custom content creation and campaign-building services to nongovernmental organizations and commercial brands seeking to associate communications with social impact. One of TakePart's early public-facing activism efforts supported the 2008 semi-documentary film Chicago 10. The brand later expanded its technology and outreach activity. In 2009 it launched GiveABit, an iPhone application designed to solicit daily charitable donations from users for Participant Media's nonprofit advocacy partners. In 2011 Participant Media recruited advertising executive Chad Boettcher to oversee an enlarged social-action outreach effort connected with TakePart. TakePart also became an important digital component of the marketing campaign for the 2011 film Contagion. Its Contagion page attracted more than two million visitors by the end of that year, according to the cited reference material, demonstrating the site's capacity to operate as both a promotional destination and an issue-oriented engagement platform. The broader TakePart identity was subsequently extended into television through TakePart Live, a live current-affairs and social-media program that premiered on Pivot TV in 2013 and was also streamed through the TakePart website. The program underwent host and production changes before Pivot cancelled it in December 2014, citing high production costs. At the end of 2016, Participant Media merged TakePart's studio operations into its own operations and shut down the TakePart website as part of a strategic move. TakePart is therefore a defunct media brand rather than an active standalone publishing platform. Its historical significance lies in its attempt to make film marketing, editorial storytelling, nonprofit advocacy, digital participation, and social-impact campaign services operate as parts of one integrated brand.

TakePart was established in 2008 by Participant Media as a digital extension of the studio's social-impact and advocacy model. Participant Media's films frequently addressed subjects such as social justice, the environment, public health, and political or civic concerns. TakePart was intended to help translate those subjects into sustained online engagement by promoting the films while also connecting audiences with outreach partners and opportunities for action. The resulting website operated as a daily editorial and campaign platform. It published original articles, blogs, and videos on a wide range of cultural and public-interest topics, including animals, arts, food, education, environmental issues, green technology, politics, culture, health, and innovation. The site was designed to move visitors beyond passive consumption: content was accompanied where appropriate by mechanisms through which users could support causes, participate in advocacy, or learn about partner organizations. TakePart also developed custom content and campaign-building services for nongovernmental organizations and brands seeking to communicate around social-impact themes. The brand's early activism included work connected with Chicago 10, a 2008 semi-documentary film. In 2009, TakePart broadened its digital participation tools by releasing GiveABit, an iPhone application that solicited daily charitable donations for Participant Media's nonprofit advocacy partners. In 2011, Participant Media hired advertising executive Chad Boettcher to supervise an expanded social-action outreach operation associated with TakePart. This reflected an effort to make the brand more than a film-promotion channel and to develop a larger platform for advocacy, partnerships, and audience mobilization. TakePart was also used in major film marketing programs. Its website formed a significant part of the promotional campaign for Contagion, the 2011 film about a rapidly spreading infectious disease. The dedicated TakePart Contagion page reportedly drew more than two million visitors by the end of 2011. The campaign illustrated the brand's hybrid role: it could provide conventional film information while also supporting broader public discussion and participation around the issues raised by a production. In 2013, the TakePart identity expanded into television with TakePart Live on Pivot TV. The program combined live discussion of news, current events, and social media with the website's online presence, and it was streamed through TakePart.com/live. Cara Santa Maria and Jacob Soboroff hosted the initial program. Tehran Von Ghasri joined the permanent roster in 2014, and Meghan McCain replaced Santa Maria in April of that year as the show moved to a new set. Pivot cancelled TakePart Live in December 2014, with high production costs given as the reason. At the end of 2016, Participant Media integrated TakePart's studio operations into the parent company's own operations and closed the website. The closure ended TakePart as an active standalone media destination. Historically, the brand represents an early attempt to combine digital publishing, film-based advocacy, nonprofit engagement, branded content, and measurable audience action within one social-impact media ecosystem.

• 2016

  Website closes

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  Participant Media folds TakePart's studio operations into its own and shuts down the website.

• 2014

  TakePart Live is cancelled

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  Pivot cancels the program after a period of host and production changes, citing high production costs.

• 2013

  TakePart Live premieres

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  Pivot TV airs the first episode of TakePart Live, which is also streamed through the TakePart website.

• 2011

  Expanded social-action outreach

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  Participant Media hires Chad Boettcher to oversee an expanded social-action outreach effort through the TakePart website.

• 2011

  Contagion campaign reaches more than two million visitors

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  The TakePart Contagion page becomes a major component of the film's marketing campaign and reportedly surpasses two million visitors by year-end.

• 2009

  GiveABit application launches

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  TakePart releases an iPhone application designed to solicit daily charitable donations for Participant Media's nonprofit advocacy partners.

• 2008

  TakePart is founded

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  Participant Media establishes TakePart to promote its films and raise awareness of social-advocacy work conducted with outreach partners.

• 2008

  Chicago 10 advocacy campaign

  [1]TakeParten.wikipedia.org

  TakePart gains early public attention through activism associated with the semi-documentary film Chicago 10.

A social-impact media and audience-engagement brand linking Participant Media's films with journalism, advocacy partners, nonprofit action, and cause-oriented campaigns.

• Digital media platform · 2008

  TakePart.com

  The core TakePart website published original articles, blogs, and videos covering culture, lifestyle, social justice, environmental issues, health, education, politics, and innovation. It also connected editorial content with advocacy partners and practical opportunities for users to take action. The site provided a digital home for Participant Media film promotion and for custom social-impact campaigns developed for organizations and brands.

• Mobile charitable donation application · 2009

  GiveABit

  GiveABit was an iPhone application released by TakePart in 2009. Its purpose was to solicit charitable donations from users once a day and direct them to Participant Media's nonprofit advocacy partners. The application extended TakePart's emphasis on converting awareness of social issues into a simple, recurring form of audience participation.

• Television and online live program · 2013

  TakePart Live

  TakePart Live was a live current-affairs program broadcast by Pivot TV and streamed through the TakePart website. It discussed news, social media, and contemporary events, extending the brand from online editorial publishing into scheduled television programming. The program premiered in 2013 and was cancelled by Pivot in 2014 after production costs became a concern.

• Film marketing and social-impact campaign · 2011

  Contagion TakePart campaign

  The TakePart campaign for Contagion provided a dedicated online destination supporting the 2011 film's marketing. It demonstrated how TakePart could combine entertainment promotion with issue-oriented public engagement around a film's subject matter. The page reportedly attracted more than two million visitors by the end of 2011.

• 2011Contagion digital campaign

  United States

  TakePart.com served as a major component of the marketing campaign for Contagion, using the brand's digital platform to support promotion and engagement around the film.

  Outcome. The dedicated TakePart Contagion page reportedly received more than two million visitors by the end of 2011.

  Source
• 2008Chicago 10 advocacy campaign

  United States

  TakePart's early activism around Chicago 10 helped establish the brand's model of linking film promotion with public-interest advocacy and audience participation.

  Outcome. The campaign brought early public attention to TakePart; no further quantified outcome is specified in the cited material.

  Source

• 2016

  TakePart operations are integrated and the website closesStrategy

  Background

  Participant Media made a strategic change to its operating structure at the end of 2016.

  Action taken

  The company merged TakePart's studio operations into its own operations and shut down the TakePart website.

  Aftermath

  TakePart ceased operating as an active standalone website and media brand.

  Source

• 2013

  TakePart Live launches on Pivot TVProduct launch

  Background

  TakePart expanded its digital media identity into live television and online streaming.

  Action taken

  Pivot TV premiered TakePart Live, a program focused on news, social media, and current events, with a corresponding online stream.

  Aftermath

  The program continued through 2014, undergoing host and set changes before its cancellation.

  Source

• 2011

  Participant Media expands TakePart's social-action operationStrategy

  Background

  Participant Media sought to enlarge the advocacy and audience-outreach role associated with its digital platform.

  Action taken

  The company hired advertising executive Chad Boettcher to oversee expanded social-action outreach through TakePart.

  Aftermath

  The move reinforced TakePart's position as a social-impact and engagement platform rather than only a film-marketing website.

  Source

1. 1TakeParten.wikipedia.org