AdAge Small Agency of the Year
what we did
industry
nonprofit
collateral
print
online
social media
television
radio
modes activated
learning
inspiring
connecting
the challenge
It was a lofty goal for any state. Yet Alaska, with its higher concentration of at-risk youth and high unemployment and violence rates, was particularly challenged. What’s more, many in the community often labeled these students as not trying hard enough, and took little responsibility in a solution. Enter Spawn Ideas.
we were curious
Through extensive discussions we learned that most of their challenges happened before the school day or year even began. Unstable housing. Focusing more on where their next meal would come from than a bio exam. Taking care of a younger sibling. Worrying less about sleeping in class but more where they’d sleep for the night.
genuine human understanding
In our experience, if you want to change behavior, you need to give people both motivation and ease—something or someone to root for. You only need to look at shows like The Voice to witness this in action where the most successful contestants have an interesting back story to tell. So, to get the community on board to reach our goal, we needed to bring these students’ deep, personal stories to light.
the wild idea
The normal way of doing things with public service is to paint the person as a victim and ask for donations. Instead, we decided to get viewers to empathize with the situation. To see the whole story with these students who held so much potential. To look beyond the labels.
the result
The multiyear initiative that included this campaign
