By Scott McCormick, Breakthrough T1D’s Chief Marketing Officer

I have to admit, when I was first approached by our LA Chapter about possible participation in AMC’s new unscripted series, The Pitch, I hesitated. As one ad agency remarked, on why they didn’t participate, “We don’t want to be mentioned next to ‘Snooki is pregnant.'”

But then I re-thought: an hour on a major network focused on T1D and JDRF’s efforts to improve lives and end this disease. Given that we channel 80% of our expenditures to research, and very little to marketing, this was an unprecedented opportunity to get our message out to a large audience that might not otherwise know about T1D and Breakthrough T1D. After discussion with the production company, I was convinced that they would handle the subject matter properly. And after discussion with our senior management, I switched to my own “pitch” mode, convincing Studio Lambert that Breakthrough T1D should be the only charity client on the new show.

The rest, as they say, is now DVR and iTunes download history.

The actual editing of the show went beyond my expectations of the focus it would bring to T1D and the impact it has on so many lives. I appreciate that the producers kept Breakthrough T1D and T1D center stage throughout. We were able to give a new audience a better understanding of the disease and the critical need to support our efforts to end it. And even though Jeffrey, Mania and I had many “brilliant” comments that didn’t make the cut, I thought it represented Breakthrough T1D as a passionate, dedicated and professional organization.

But the real bottom line is that it has generated interest and awareness among a group that had not previously been aware. And it has generated a great deal of discussion around both T1D and Breakthrough T1D. If you haven’t been to it, visit the Be the voice of 1 website and read some of the comments and tweets.

Read the full blog posting on the Juvenation site.

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To learn more about the Breakthrough T1D Dallas chapter, visit our Breakthrough T1D Dallas website!