Last week I was fortunate enough to be at our Engague Digital Innovation Group (DIG) Day. DIG Day is an all day event at our Atlanta office in which we invite some of the nation’s leading marketers to have a workshop with the nation’s leaders in social and digital marketing.
Our own Nicola Smith, who leads innovation at Engauge, started the day commenting on how storytelling is the most compelling way to communicate. Nicola was followed by two smart guys from both television and film who shared some discussion about the power of content and stories.
But then Jim Umberger stood up for his presentation. Now it just so happens that Jim leads loyalty marketing for Walgreen. And if you have been following the news on the use of technology in retail, you know that Walgreen is a pioneer in the innovative redemption and POS systems that drive rewards, discounts and loyalty for their customers. So Jim could have talked about all the amazing things his company is doing and we would have been satisfied.
But, Jim took Nicola’s premise about storytelling to heart. And he did something amazing. He……um…..well…..he told a story. The most important story of his life.
And we were riveted.
Jim Umberger’s children are adopted. And four years ago, Jim adopted a 3-year-old boy named Ruslan from Kyrgyzstan near Russia. But there is only one complication………Ruslan does not live with them yet. Ruslan is still in Kyrgyzstan.
Jim explains that due to massive political and bureaucratic changes in Kyrgyzstan, Ruslan along with many other children have not completed their “already approved” placement in their new home.
As a result, Ruslan is still in an orphanage. And Jim knows that due to inactivity and lack of attention, a child can lose one month of development for every three months in an institution like Ruslan’s orphanage.
So why was this relevant to DIG Day? Because Jim detailed how he has kept in touch with Ruslan with technology like Skype, when intermediaries visit the child.
And he has created a blog linking 65 other couples who are waiting for their children from Kyrgyzstan who are also stuck in the system.
And as the blog linked this community together they began to have a voice with our state department to advocate for these children. And then many of them traveled to Kyanstan together putting pressure on the government.
Even as there was massive political upheaval in Kyrgyzstan, the Umbergers and the 65 kept the pressure on through their blog and other digital communications.
So much so that recently, the new President of Kyrgyzstan commented on her Facebook page, acknowledging the 65 and stating that she will work to resolve the issue. A President of State with many problems commenting on Facebook to a group of American parents? What a tiny, tiny planet we live on.
Smaller because of this interconnected social network that gives power to a few voices in North America to move a government on the other side of the world.
Tiny enough so a couple in Chicago can hold on to their link to their adopted child on the other side of the planet.
This February Jim and his wife will travel to Kyrgyzstan with the blessing of the government to hopefully reunite with Ruslan and bring him home. If it works out they will fly home to their new life together. But that flight was fueled by the socialization of our planet. Socialization driven by innovative technology that just continues to make us a tiny, tiny planet. Thanks for the story, Jim.
