Carolyn DeWitt on Rock the Vote's Brand Partnerships for Civic Engagement

As we near November, the 2020 presidential election is on everyone’s minds. Dubbed the fight for the “soul of America,” it’s also the first presidential election to take place during a pandemic. With a pandemic election comes a variety of obstacles to the voting process, which means voting rights organization Rock the Vote is working overtime to provide young voters with the resources they need to vote safely. Rock the Vote has always been famous for its partnerships with pop culture icons, including celebrities like Madonna and Lenny Kravitz, who have helped them educate young people on voting rights and the voting process. But beyond their continued work with celebrities including Snoop and Jaren Jackson Jr., the nonpartisan nonprofit forges valuable partnerships with high-profile organizations to spread voting information across a variety of digital channels and reach their younger audience. In this episode, Carolyn DeWitt, president and executive director of Rock the Vote, discusses how these partnerships help the organization achieve their goals and make civic engagement more accessible for young voters. She also offers valuable insight into the process of mail-in voting, and how to navigate it in the November election. This discussion is part of our series reviewing the 2020 Global Communication Report on New Activism, which is available for free download at annenberg.usc.edu/gcr . Featuring:Carolyn DeWitt (@carolyndewitt), President and Executive Director of Rock the Vote. Host:Fred Cook (@fredcook), Chairman of Golin, a global PR firm. Author of “Improvise - Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO” and Director of the USC Center for Public Relations Follow us: @Center4PR (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)Newsletter: News from the USC Center for Public RelationsVisit our website: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations Production CreditsA production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.Host: Fred CookExecutive Producer: Ron AntonetteSeason 7 Producers: Joe Carreon and Anvi MahajanProduction: Camille Culbertson, Jack Gisler, Toma BattinoEditorial: Joey Cha, Ivan Feng, Natalie Lopez, Grace AnSocial Content: Angelina Tran, Hailey Evans, Arushi Purkayastha, Chris ApyGrowth: Van Luu, Shaan DhaliwalLinksFollow the USC Center for PR (@usccenterforpr) on Instagram and LinkedIn. Follow Fred Cook on LinkedIn. Find all our reports at annenberg.usc.edu/cpr.Download the 2025 Relevance Report at annenberg.usc.edu/relevance