Commit Media

Commit Media is a socially entrepreneurial company that utilizes entertainment to advance the missions of non-profits and philanthropic organizations. The company also works with celebrities and public figures who have an authentic connection with a cause and want to achieve lasting impact. The CEO of Commit Media is Paul Katz, a long-time entertainment industry executive and two-time Grammy nominee.
Founding.
Commit Media was founded in 2005 by Paul Katz with offices based in New York City. The company now employs consultants from around the world for a variety of professional tasks.
Services.
Commit focuses on celebrity-to-cause matching, entertainment consulting, marketing and earned income generation. Utilizing music, film, television, print, online, mobile and social media, Commit Media supports causes ranging from the arts to education, the environment, health, children, human rights, poverty, animal welfare, and international development.
Past projects.
American Dental Association.
Commit Media advised and facilitated the "Give Kids A Smile" campaign through cementing celebrity sponsorships and executive producing a PSA featuring three-time MVP Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols.
American Diabetes Association.
Commit Media provided celebrity matching and marketing for American Diabetes Association's "I Decide to Fight Diabetes," a multi-year campaign. Celebrities involved in the campaign included Patti LaBelle, Sherri Shepherd, Maria Menounos, Donna Richardson Joyner, Mama Love, and Donnie McClurkin. The company also added a mobile component to the campaign and generally assisted with marketing.
TJ Martell Foundation.
Organized and produced "Between the Covers", a benefit CD to support the work of the T.J. Martell Foundation, which supports research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS. Artists on the compilation included Eric Clapton, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Norah Jones, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, The Dixie Chicks and Sarah McLachlan. "Between The Covers" was released by Sony BMG in the U.S. and Nettwerk in Canada. VH1 and VH1 Classic aired a "Between the Covers," television special hosted by actor/director Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael. The Bacon Brothers perform their rendition of the Beatles' "If I Needed Someone" on both the VH1 special and the album.
The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute.
Produced "A Tribute To Mrs. Rosa Parks," a compilation album project, honoring Rosa Parks and commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. The album was inspired by themes from Parks' book, "Quiet Strength", and included award-winning Gospel acts, such as Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, and Fred Hammond & Radical For Christ, to revive public interest in freedom. Mrs. Rosa Parks reads extracts from "Quiet Strength" on the album and also appears in the promotional video of the lead track, "(Something Inside) So Strong". The sales from the album raised more than $300,000 for the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development
Environmental Defense Fund.
Brokered a relationship between the Environmental Defense Fund and Gibson. An initial collaboration took place at the Country Music Association Festival in Nashville, where Gibson hosted a tent on global warming. Alongside visual depictions of the impacts of climate change, Gibson displayed its custom Environmental Defense Fund-themed guitar.
Commit Media also produced the film, "Discovering Hetch Hetchy" for the EDF, about America's first conservation battle which resulted in the loss of a valley in Yosemite National Park. Directed by David Vassar and narrated by Harrison Ford, the film and its PSA won a silver and gold medal respectively for Public Service Video at the Summit Awards, an organization that recognizes and celebrates the creative accomplishments of small and medium sized advertising agencies and other creative groups with annual billings of $25 million or less. The film also won "Best Short" at the 2006 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival and was a finalist in the 2007 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival awards.
Selected current projects.
Rotary International.
Commit Media has conducted worldwide entertainment strategy for the "End Polio Now" marketing and communications campaign, including celebrity spokespersons for PSAs, media outreach, concert and event production.
Commit also executive produced the "Concert to End Polio" with the New York Philharmonic and polio survivor and violinist Itzhak Perlman, which took place in December 2009 and raised six-figures for the cause. In 2011, Commit once again executive produced the second "Concert to End Polio" with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Itzhak Perlman and polio survivor and conductor James DePreist.
Best Friends Animal Society.
Commit collaborated with Best Friends on marketing the “Puppies Aren’t Products” campaign. The company organized and produced the PSA associated with the campaign, which featured actress Rachelle Lefevre and has earned over $7.5 million of card rate air time on TV and radio, and over 495 million impressions. Rachelle continued her work with Best Friends by appearing at Oprah’s “Live Your Best Life” walk in May, 2009, walking alongside other Best Friends supporters Neko Case, Emmylou Harris, and Maggie Q.