“I intend to build the AARP of pop culture,” professed Marc Ecko, giving the first of three keynotes (Activism, Media & Policy) at the AMP Summit Thursday at the Newseum.
“I’ve been practicing ‘Extreme Entrepreneurism’ for about 20 years,” said the young CEO of Ecko Enterprises, a global fashion and lifestyle company that has inserted itself into such advocacy roles as opposing disciplinary paddling in schools and fighting the racial/ethnic achievement gap. “It’s not what you make, it’s how you make people feel. It’s… an emotional transaction.”
This self-professed “analog guy” was joined by Joe Trippi (Media) and Former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (Policy) to kick off the 2nd annual AMP, a day-long series of learning sessions that ranged from Data, Privacy & Personalization to Mobilizing for Social Good.
It was a day of betterment: in politics, the press and philanthropy; a day for thinking outside of the Beltway Box. But they still may not have been enough for Ecko. Remember that AARP-esque things he’s planning to build… “It won’t be in DC. It will be for profit. And it won’t be just for lobbying.”