Meet Noopur Agarwal, Vice President, Social Impact, ViacomCBS

Judge Spotlight

Meet Noopur Agarwal, Vice President, Social Impact, ViacomCBS

Noopur Agarwal believes that when we use the power of stories to educate and inspire people, we can meaningfully shift perceptions and move our audience to action. Learn more about her and her inspiring story in our latest feature.

For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about your background.

I’m the VP of Social Impact at the MTV Entertainment Group and have been on the team for 14 years! I started my career in management consulting and went on to get an MBA before landing at ViacomCBS. Once I got a taste for Social Impact at MTV, I knew this was the career for me.

What are you most looking forward to about reviewing Anthem Awards entries?

MTV has used its platforms to drive social change for decades and in that time, Social Impact has become a priority for many companies across industries. In reviewing Anthem Awards entries, I look forward to learning about all of the exciting new ways other organizations are innovating in the Social Impact space to help broaden my perspectives.

What does it take for a project or campaign to cause real-world change?

There are many factors that can contribute to a campaign’s success but two that I’ve consistently seen make a major difference are: storytelling and partnerships. When we use the power of stories to educate and inspire people, we can meaningfully shift perceptions and move our audience to action. And when we engage the right collaborators to support these efforts, we can amplify our collective impact.

How does your work at ViacomCBS support your mission?

As a child of immigrant parents, the television and film content I consumed growing up had a major impact on my understanding and perceptions of American culture and issues. Having witnessed the influence of media on my own experience, it became my personal mission to use the power of storytelling to drive positive social change. At ViacomCBS, I get to live this mission each and every day. Most recently, I helped create the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative, a collaboration of leading media companies and mental health experts all focused on harnessing the power of storytelling to change the narrative on mental health. Together, we launched the Mental Health Media Guide, a groundbreaking, comprehensive resource for content creators designed to help expand positive mental health portrayals.

Bonus: What’s your favorite purpose-driven project or mission-driven campaign right now, and why?

Through our mental health initiative, I’ve had the good fortune of collaborating with Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, a leading mental health expert and founder of the AAKOMA project, which supports mental health for youth of color. I’m a huge fan of her work and how she takes complex mental health topics and breaks them down in a way that really connects with the audience. I highly recommend following Dr. Alfiee’s groundbreaking efforts!

Patagonia – Don’t Buy This Jacket

Patagonia has put social impact at the core of their brand mission and values from the start, and their iconic Don’t Buy This Jacket campaign demonstrates how brands can use their platform to make an impact — or better yet, to help reduce our impact. This 2011 ad ran in the New York Times on Black Friday, making a lasting impression for its bold message addressing the issue of consumerism head on and asking readers to take the Common Threads Initiative pledge to reduce, repair, reuse, recycle, and reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

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NEWS & ANNONCEMENTS

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