Governing Member Spotlight: iCrossing and Global 14

Jacob Hurwith 7:08 am on July 20, 2012 |  Permalink | Post Your Comment!

As part of a governing member benefit, I recently sat down with David Deal, VP of Marketing at iCrossing, to discuss music artist Jermaine Dupri and Global 14.
David Deal
Jacob Hurwith: What is Global 14?
David Deal: Global 14 is a leading social media community founded by Jermaine Dupri, the Grammy Award winning music mogul who has been producing, writing songs, recording, and running his own music label for more than 20 years. He is currently working with artists such as Mariah Carey and Leah LaBelle.
JH: Why did Dupri start Global 14?
DD: JD founded Global 14 in January 2011 because he wanted to have a more interactive relationship with his community of followers. JD has more than 500,000 Twitter followers, but he wanted deeper and more meaningful conversations than he was getting on Twitter.
JH: What out of the box tactics have Global 14 used for search/social media?
DD: In 2011, JD conducted the 1414 Tour. Strictly through word of mouth, JD built awareness for Global 14 by visiting 14 cities in 14 days on a tour bus. He hosted live events to celebrate Global 14 and take the online Global 14 community offline. He relied on Global 14 members to tell others about the tour. Each venue was packed and ultimately, the tour drove membership.
JH: What are some of the results since Jermaine partnered with iCrossing in Feb. 2012?
DD: iCrossing has been helping Jermaine Dupri build a more connected brand for Global 14 via a combination of earned media, social media, content marketing, and search. Global 14 membership has grown from 30,000 members to 37,000 since we began working together in February. JD’s Twitter followers have surpassed the 525,000 mark (up from 381,000 in January).
JH: Is there anything else you would like to share about Global 14 and its social media/word of mouth campaign?
DD: Global 14 is not a celebrity site; it is a strong community that happened to be founded by a celebrity. People may join because of JD, but they end up staying because of the relationships they build. There is a true community that exists on Global 14 beyond JD.
JD will often spark conversations by asking questions. For example, earlier this year, he started a conversation about the Trayvon Martin incident in Orlando and then let the Global 14 community run it. JD is the spark that lights the flame.
Jermaine Dupri and Global 14 have put community back into social media.
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