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Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Evan McElroy on partners from Denzel Washington to Coke and the importance of tech monitoring

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of America doesn’t really buy advertising space. Still, its iconic blue logo—a minimalistic rendition of clasping hands designed by Saul Bass—has a tendency to pop up in high-profile media placements, including behind home plate during the World Series. Adweek caught up with Evan McElroy, senior vp of marketing and communications, to talk about the charity group’s deep bench of corporate, media and celebrity partners; its own marketing strategy; and its stance on some of the thornier issues that come up around kids, brands and technology.

How do you get the word out?

Essentially it boils down to five buckets: corporate partners, media, agencies that we work with mostly on a pro bono basis, government partners and individuals.

Individuals?

The best example is alumni.

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