Smoke & Felt Helps Progressive International Find Success in “Building Solidarity” Live Stream

Powered by a global call for change from the status quo, Progressive International held its most successful online fundraising events to date this month with a conversation between NDP MP Niki Ashton and former leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn. The live stream sold nearly 1,000 tickets to an audience that spanned North America and Europe, bringing in over $20,000 in donations to Progressive International.

Smoke & Felt was instrumental to the stream’s success, playing a central role in the launch, promotion, and delivery of the event. The firm worked closely with Ashton’s office, Corbyn’s team, and Progressive International to put on the two-hour live broadcast.

“I could not be happier with the way the Building Solidarity live stream unfolded,” said Matt Dusenbury, S&F’s founder. “When we first announced Progressive International would be hosting two leading voices of progressive ideals in Niki Ashton and Jeremy Corbyn, the excitement was immediate. That energy only continued to build through to the event itself when hundreds joined us in the chat and on social media to watch, listen, and learn.”

The Building Solidarity live stream is just the latest initiative by Progressive International, a group founded in 2020 following a call from the Sanders Institute and Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25) for progressive forces to form a common front. Both Niki Ashton and Jeremy Corbyn are members of the organization’s Council of Advisors, along with other leading voices including Noam Chomsky, Cornell West, Yanis Varoufakis, and Canadians Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein.

Lewis and Klein, as well as Varoufakis, submitted video messages of support that were played during the broadcast along with several progressive Canadian activists.

“Hundreds joined us live today to deepen the discussion on building solidarity in Canada and around the world,” said Ashton in a thank you post to followers on her Facebook page. “Your contributions made this an incredible success, with so much more to come.”

In addition to the incredible amount of donations earned, the broadcast also garnered thousands of interactions on social media in the lead up to the event. That momentum carried on throughout the broadcast itself, with hundreds of progressives and activists participating in the live chat and following along on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere.

“This event had a singular focus: to build solidarity amongst progressive voices in Canada, Britain, and across the world,” said Dusenbury. “Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we unfortunately could not hold this wonderful event in person. However, that also presented us with an opportunity. And much like S&F has done in the past, we used the tools at our disposal to help Progressive International reach an even greater audience.” 

“Through this digital-first approach, the broadcast was able to reach an even greater number of people and further the organization’s mission of uniting, organizing and mobilizing progressive voices,” he added. 

A replay of the live stream is available for viewing on Progressive International’s YouTube channel.

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About Smoke & Felt

Smoke & Felt is a full service marketing agency that stands at the intersection of technology and progressive politics. Founded by Matt Dusenbury after more than a decade delivering innovative solutions to complex marketing and communications challenges, the company began with a focus on creating digital books and other media for progressive Canadian clients and publishers. In 2013, this work won a Canadian Digital Publishing Award. Since 2017, Smoke & Felt has expanded to offer a full range of products and services, working with labour unions, think-tanks, political candidates, and Canadian Members of Parliament, as well as many other companies, clients, and charitable organizations. The company is based in Toronto, Ontario and works with a national clientele. Through media and storytelling, we use our expertise to help progressive companies, campaigns, and causes grow their audiences, reach their ideals and elevate their messages into movements.