Ad campaign mockup
"Let's Change the Statistic" is an ad campaign designed to increase the brand awareness and exposure of the non-profit organization Giveteens20.
DESIGN PROCESS
1. PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Overview
Every year the Silicon Valley Business Journal hosts a competition called "Big Ad Challenge". The participating design teams are paired up with small businesses to create the most effective campaign for the company with a fixed budget. Our team SPEX had the privilege of working with a non-profit organization Giveteens20. This organization works with foster kids/ at-risk teens and help them succeed in their career and life through assessment and coaching. The goal of the campaign was to increase brand visibility as well as to create awareness about the cause they are working on thereby motivating the audience to donate.
Key Requirements
1. Create a compelling ad campaign within 2 months timeline.
2. Work with a fixed budget of $25k.
3. Design a campaign that could be used in various media platforms ( print, digital & events) of the business journal. 80% of the budget must be allocated for the print campaign.
4. Present the completed campaign to a panel of judges from the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Roles & Responsibilities
Project Management, Research & Analysis, Concept, Presentation design
Our Team:
Mark Thompson - Research, Concept, Media Buy & Oral Presentation
Mark Thompson - Research, Concept, Media Buy & Oral Presentation
Luis & Beatriz - Concept, Ad Production, Copywriting, Communication with Client
2. FEEDBACK & Outcome
The concept and presentation were very well received at the Big Ad Challenge. The judges felt that our Ad campaign was very effective and powerful for the target audience. Our Campaign was awarded "Best Marketing Analysis" by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Newspaper clipping from Silicon Valley Business Journal
3. DISCOVERY
Getting to know the Client
The first step in the process is to identify the problem to be solved. Face-face meeting was organized with the client to get a better understanding of the target audience, the backstory, USP, their competitors, business goals and the brands they love. This meeting provided us with valuable inputs to move on to the research phase.
Target Audience
Primary Research
The statistics and information about the at-risk teens and their representation in the society were researched and gathered from various websites.
Primary research
Source: National Foster Youth Institute NYFI
National Conference of State Legislatures NCSL
Analysis
01 The Foster teens are perceived negatively in the society because the statistics (mentioned above) are against them.
02 Their decisions during their teens severely impact not only their life but also their future generations.
03 The change in perspective of the people towards foster teens will give them the much needed hope and enable them to succeed in their lives.
Secondary Research
To understand how other non-profit organizations market themselves, an inspiration board was created with successful ad campaigns of other non-profits.
Inspiration board
Primary Messaging
The primary messaging of the campaign was to break the general stereotypes surrounding foster teens as well as change people's perspective towards them. Telling their stories in a visually compelling way would make target audience empathize with them . Stimulating people's emotions has the power to spread the message to large groups of potential donors.
4. SOLUTION - " Let's Change the Statistic" Ad campaign
Solution: Different variations of the ad
01 "Let's change the Statistic" campaign demonstrates the seriousness of the issue with a powerful message.
02 The monochrome color scheme with a pop of orange emphasizes the emotional and dramatic tone of the campaign.
03 The ads were created with minimal copy since the viewer's attention span is only 5-10 seconds
04 The text in between the subject's eyes not only grabs the user's attention but also creates an impact.
05 The close-up shots were chosen from stock photos and they suit the primary messaging of the campaign.
06 The CTA ( Call to Action) is a QR code that takes the audience to the donations page.
Three different variations of the ad were created while still following the template to keep the campaign cohesive. These rotating ads were designed to maintain the interest of the audience.
Different sizes of the ad
5. AD CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION
The presentation that aligned with the brand and template of the ad campaign was designed. The main goal of the presentation was to use clear and crisp content to hook the audience and drive them to act.
Ad campaign presentation
6. CONCLUSION
CHALLENGES
Initially, our client Ms.Kathy of Giveteens20 wanted to go with a positive concept with colorful photos of smiling students. So two different concepts were created one with the happy theme and the other with an emotional theme. Both the designs were presented to her and Kathy agreed that the concept with expressive images and monochrome color scheme conveyed the message effectively.
FEEDBACK
My professor and instructor Ms. Flores who guided us throughout the project gave the following feedback
"Ramya appears to be maintaining a positive attitude while assisting in the creative solutions and fostering best business practices within the group, especially noted during the client engagement phase. She demonstrates leadership, exceptional work ethic, good organizational skills, and production knowledge."