I recently presented this to Congressman John Lewis. He LOVED it.


The Product

 the strategy
To use a song to build interest in the MLK National Memorial.
-- The idea is similar to the way that Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was used to created so much attention for "Titanic", catapulting it to be the highest grossing movie of all time.

Use all media channels available (Radio, Internet, TV, Newspapers, Blogs) to reach demographics (AND NATIONS) which would otherwise never have been reached, to increase awareness of the Memorial, and increase monetary contributions.

To license the song, to get even more monetary flow for the memorial fund.

The Product

A song which has been written and arranged to have cross-genre qualities.

This allows for maximum penetration into varying listening markets.

Suggested Performing Artists:
Alicia Keys, and the current singer/songwriter (or a similar replacement).
- Alicia Keys is one of the only artists today who draws artistic respect and also creates substantial sales.
- Nkeng 'Cole' Alemanji, or a similar African-born artist with charm & people-appeal (and who is a new-comer) will widen the international appeal factor, and bring the new-comer interest (because people are intrigued by, drawn to, and like, things that are new). The international appeal will come from the people of his continent being naturally drawn to find the song, talk about it, and to buy the song.

The female and male duo combination, makes for a more balanced delivery, and a subtle romantic aspect as well - romance ALWAYS sells.

The Sales Plan

Release the song as one would a normal adult-contemporary song, via an established record company - with its services preferably donated to the MLK National Memorial Foundation. 

Make it clear to the buying public that the proceeds from the song would be going to fund the MLK National Memorial, as well as to fund/support/create education and leadership programs around the world.

Have the performers appear at MLK Memorial events & fundraisers - as well as tour major secondary and high school campuses around the world - e.g. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

Invite the press to each of these appearances, to generate awareness / hype, and have web presence around these - e.g. the performers could maintain vlogs (video logs) and have visitors follow them online.

How You'll Make Money -The Big Picture

Music fans, supporters of the MLK cause, education advocates, international fans of the new-comer artist, and others will purchase the song.

Movie comanies doing documentaries, films, scenes, etc. around Dr. King, will pay licensing fees to use the song in synchronization with their images.

Companies demonstrating their community involvement (and support of causes MLK would have believed in) would pay to use the song in their advertising campaigns.

The Finances: Recording & Arranging + giving back

Costs to record the song, arrange, release, etc. = FREE!
Creators could be asked to contribute their time and talent, free, to the Foundation.

A website could be set up called: IWorkedOnTheDrKingSong.com
This site could be mentioned whenever the song is mentioned; this will provide a way for those who volunteered their services, to get some benefit in the form of future work, when others go to the site, to see who did what.