Since Mark mentioned in one of his videos that the brain can relate to information presented in 3's, 5's, 7's, etc., I plan to present ideas in sets of 3 that follow a certain theme.

According to StatsCanada, school board revenue and expenditure has consistently resulted in a deficit of anywhere from $500,000 to close to $2 million. It would therefore be difficult to enlist donations to fund education and schooling elsewhere when our system is already failing.

The task to help Pencils of Promise becomes that much more difficult, so a creative campaign that will elicit a desire to provide funding for education in Guatemala is necessary. I plan to narrow down a target demographic based on census and social data and determine a way to help PoP while also addressing human needs locally.

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Research so far:

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 1 - student project

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 2 - student project

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS

Audience

Though i outlined 2 demographics that have not been targeted by PoP yet in my research above, the internet provides access to so many people in so many areas, I almost don't want to limit this at this point.

These ideas are more just current thoughts on campaigns that might work, but are not necessarily targeted at a certain audience yet. I'd like to be able to do that as I narrow down the ideas to more solid campaigns.

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 3 - student project
(lateral ideas between education keywords and fundraising)

1) Skillshare

a portion of classes purchased during a certain time could go towards donations for P.o.P.
teachers could offer a course and accept donations to PoP in lieu of payment

2) TradeSchool

similar idea to Skillshare but classes are run / offered locally as a barter system
teachers offer classes in exchange for certain items - bus tickets / art supplies, etc.
teachers could therefore suggest making a donation to PoP as a form of payment for their course

(I would love if either of these ideas could be marketed some way similar to the Coca-Cola 'Spread Happiness' campaigns. If I go with one of these as a final idea I'd like to work with that.)

3) What If?

choose several highly-educated, well known people
show the world how it would be if they hadn't created / provided / invented what they did
could be comedic take on it, host on youtube, etc.
Would bring brand awareness, drive traffic to the PoP site, create donations, etc. once people are aware of the cause.

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 4 - student project
(lateral ideas between education keywords and fundraising)

1) Fertilize A Mind

One of Guatemala’s largest exports is seeds.
Assuming this wouldn’t be an issue with crossing the border, we could start a campaign where donations to PoP are based on a tier system where certain amounts would ‘buy’ various kinds / amounts of seeds of rare flowers / plants
Would make great gifts for Mother's Day, Christmas, etc.
The buyer donates to a fund while getting something in return, and also promoting Guatemala's products
The campaign could relate the idea of education, ‘plant a seed, fertilize a mind’

2) Child Aid Cross-Promotion

An organization working in the Central Highlands to train teachers
A combined campaign could be created to benefit both organizations
Funding would: build a school, employ a teacher, educate a child

3) Volcanoes

Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, 4 are still active.
I haven't quite figured out how to work this into a campaign, but was playing off the idea of a mind 'exploding with ideas', or 'creativity', or 'endless possibilities'

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 5 - student project
(lateral ideas between pencils, art, creativity)

1) Crayola Portion of Profits

Everyone played with crayons / markers / pencils when they were young, and most of us used Crayola brand.
Partnering with Crayola could either be done by:

having a portion of their sales, or
creating a limited edition product that would be sold exclusively for PoP.

2) Poster Contest

similar idea to the colouring contest, but target actual creatives in the poster industry and those who follow them online
have a contest to create a poster that would generate interest in PoP.
Poster would then be sold online, proceeds going to PoP.
i.e. DKNG studios, Benjamin Garner, Jason Munn, etc. If targeting indie / freelance artists, could partner with CreativeAllies

3) Colouring Contest

Colouring contests were a large part of my childhood which fostered a fun, creative atmosphere in a competitive environment.
PoP could send out a call for submissions to create a colouring contest
to get more people involved, older people submit drawings for the contest and younger ones colour them.
Not sure where the money comes from yet. I don't think an entry / submission fee would be the way to go.
This is still in development

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 6 - student project
(various ways to promote PoP online to increase awareness and thus lead to donations)

1) Personalized Video

Shooting and streaming / uploading video content is so easy now with the use of smartphones, etc.
Those who donate could be given a link to access online content showing the progress of a school being built, a few minutes inside a classroom, video of the children at the school, etc.
I think people are more likely to donate to causes when they can see where and how the money is actually being used.
This would also give them a feeling of involvement with the product, like what they're doing is actually helping. Kids are learning because of them.

2) Influential Bloggers

Personal blog sites have become very big
Some late-20 / early-30 year olds are using these as their main income now by selling ad space to their site with a large readership / following
Sites that are geared towards the missing demographic outlined in my research (late 20s to late 40s) would be targeted, and could host campaigns
For example, they could run a Blogger Meetup, which would be sponsored by small, indie businesses / other bloggers that are already paying for ad space on these larger blogs.
ticket purchases would go towards PoP
This has already proven to be an area of interest, especially if the meetup is based on a certain theme, i.e. how to start your own blog, how to improve your readership, etc.

3) 5 Second Skip Ad Campaign

SkipAd campaigns are the short portions of commercials that air at the beginning of streaming content online.
The user must watch the first 5 seconds before being allowed to skip the ad, or have the option of watch the whole thing.
An ad-awareness campaign could be created that would air before certain videos / audio.
i.e. Grooveshark, YouTube, Television channels now stream a lot of their shows online and make use of this as filler between segments
This form of streaming media and these sites are accessed by many different age groups, which would increase awareness of the PoP organization.

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 7 - student project

It's hard to get one person at a time interested in donating to a cause. This idea brings awareness of the issue to many people at once and results in larger donations from groups rather than single people / families.

This also brings to mind the idea of community spirit which is something PoP relies on at each location they move into, and calls to mind feelings of team spirit that we associate with junior school gym class, etc.

1) School Trip Competition

Since schools and those in that age-range have already proven to be a fruitful demographic in terms of involvement, commitment to the campaign and resulting donations, we could continue using them
Maybe have a competition between schools where groups of teens upload videos of why they think they should be chosen to go help build a school in Guatemala
Money would come from an entry fee for videos uploaded, but open worldwide to schools everywhere.
Winning team would need to get sponsors to help fund their trip.
Promotes fun, competitive spirit
Winning team would get to travel to see where the money goes, what is involved
AND would also generate future loyal spokespeople for the cause

2) CityChase

CityChase is like the Amazing Race - part scavenger hunt, part obstacle course, all in a race against other teams.
Happens within local cities. After finding and answer skill-testing questions or obstacles, teams race to various locations based on answers / results of tasks they just completed
There is usually an entry fee involved
Could have a race with a theme about PoP / education / learning, with proceeds going to PoP

3) Social Media Hunt

Could run some sort of scavenger hunt where people have to find the object that is the answer to a trivia question. (Like #2, but with more of a social media spin)
Have to take a pic with Instagram and Tweet it to get the next clue or move on in the race
Not sure where money would come from yet - could have charges related to answer submissions, but that might take the fun / willingness out of getting involved
entry fee / sponsor teams / seems too overdone

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 8 - student project

These are ideas to bring awareness to the existence of PoP, it's ideas, campaign, etc. By generating interest and awareness, one would hope this would translate into visits to the PoP site to learn more and / or donate.

1) Mr. D

Mr. D is a Canadian comedy program about a school teacher at a public school
According to Wikipedia, Canada was a destination for many Guatemalans dispersed after the Civil War
We could marry to 2 Canadian contents and produce a short commercial / ad campaign for awareness of PoP and donations
could air during various television programs and online

2) Compare and Contrast

show current problems in our 'bubble' of developed countries, contrast with those in Guatemala.
i.e. Water Is Life - First World Problems campaign - I thought that was very creative, refreshing and well-done
The down side is that this option elicits feelings of guilt in the viewer, which may not always translate into donations, and could actually backfire and elicit a dislike towards the organization.

3) For One Day

Like EarthHour – something that we can get the world to do for one hour on one day that would benefit PoP
This was also a successful campaign idea with the 30 Hour Famine
Still mulling this one over, but would love to involve everyone from all demographics.
Maybe 'Imagine what your life would be like if you didn't know Math. Try to live one day without doing any type of calculation'
Makes you realize that almost every day requires mathematics even at its most basic level.

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Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 9 - student project

(still working on this one)

I'm 33 and I had never heard of PoP before now. Clearly this organization is either missing my area or my age group entirely.
What aspect of my life could they address that would not only make me aware of their existence, but propel me to donate or get involved?

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UPDATE - Feb 27

I was trying to come up with ways to take the creative ideas to a whole new level, and I thought: Why not get reality tv involved? PoP could maybe get the creators / producers of 'Work of Art: The Next Great Artist' to devote one of their episodes / challenges to be based on the PoP campaign, or even take it to the Weinsteins and have an episode of 'Project Runway' be focused on this idea.

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UPDATE - Mar 2

I've been working on strengthening some of my favourite ideas and ended up combining a couple of them. I realized that my favourite options are ones that are most accessible / interesting to my age group so I'm targeting the 25-37 year olds.

This demographic is mostly young couples / singles who have yet to have kids, or are starting a new family. Funds are, therefore, a bit limited, but they're still eager to help where possible.

I think the main reason this group isn't often seen as the type to donate is because charities don't really make themselves accessible to them. Most campaigns either ask for money directly, or offer 'prizes' or returns that are of little interest to us.

With that in mind, I present my top 3 choices for this campaign:

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 10 - student project

We'll start a poster design challenge for established artists to create one-of-a-kind posters using only Crayola products.

The plan is:

Send out requests / calls for submissions from artists that already have a following in various creative industries. i.e. Mike Kunkel {creator of Hero Bear}, Pascal Campion, Britney Lee, Jin Kim {Disney concept artist}, DKNG Studios {poster designers}.
All of these artists have a very fun, whimsical style that is perfect for all ages.
Have them create a one-time, hand-drawn poster inspired by PoP / Guatemala / education, etc. using only Crayola products. {Britney Lee has a special talent creating paper-cut illustrations, so she could use their construction paper, for example}.
These posters would be sold off on the PoP site, or as an online auction, and all money made would go to PoP. No prints / reproductions would be made - the originals would be the only ones available for sale which would create demand
In addition, Crayola could use this as a way to launch a brand new product (perhaps limited edition) that would refresh their presence in the creative world. A portion of the profits from this product would be given to PoP.

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 12 - student project

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 13 - student project

We're taking pub trivia to a whole new level!

The plan is:

A mashup between Jeopardy, pub night trivia, and playoff games.
Several pubs would sign up to host trivia night challenges (a loose play on 'education'). Think of it like Jeopardy, but with a focus more on trivia that the majority (rather than the minority) would know.
Teams would pay an entry fee to be part of the trivia nights which function in a similar way to playoff games: each time a team wins, they face off against another winning team from a different 'division', and the winning team moves up to the next level of challenges.
Each challenge could get progressively harder the higher they advance. This fun competition would promote a sense of loyalty from the viewers for 'their' home team as each team moves on.
Ideally this would be taken on a larger scale, where local teams eventually face off against teams from other cities, culminating in the finals between the 2 top teams.
PoP would benefit from:
a) the entry fees collected from each team (teams could also be sponsored by corporations)
b) businesses that sponsor the event nights, (which could cost more on nights closer to the playoff games)
c) increased awareness of their campaign by a large number of people in a wide range of demographics
d) Pubs could devote the entire night to PoP by donating profits made on the nights of the trivia event.

It might seem odd to have these events hosted in pubs, but these locations are extremely accessible to many age groups, and provide a laid back, casual atmosphere. This would also generate a lot of involvement from both those competing as well as the viewers, who would be made aware of the existence of PoP, and would then, perhaps, be likely to donate on their own or, more likely, contribute by purchasing food / beverages at the challenge nights.

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 14 - student project

Update MAR6- A Promise Kept - image 15 - student project

Spreading knowledge one teacher at a time

Playing off of the Pop-Up shop idea, people offer to teach courses on something they are familiar with, similar to both Skillshare and Trade School.
Every weekend, or for a designated period of time, various classes are offered by local people who teach a skill they know in their own city – either doing your taxes, how to pop-n-lock, knitting 101, etc. Anything goes! This can happen in any and every city all over the world.
Students can sign up in advance and pay by donation or recommended fee, which will go to PoP. The day of, you could also have drop-in donations for those who just wander by the class on the day and decide to take it.
After taking the class, each student is then asked if they would like to teach a course in exchange on the following Pop-Up opportunity.
This would promote learning among the community while bringing awareness to PoP and what it stands for, and function in a rotating cycle of teaching, learning, teaching. Because of the variety of classes that could be taught, this would generate interest in a lot of different people
They learn a new skill, have the option of teaching their own, and donate to a cause that they have seen first hand to be of great importance.

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All of these options are targeted to one demographic but accessible to many, as they focus on the a sense of community involvement. It therefore doesn't fall on one person's shoulders to give money to a cause, but is the end result of something that many people can take part in.

In every case, those who donate have the option of logging on to password protected area of the the PoP site to access videos displaying the progress of building the schools, teaching the students, etc. so they can see where their money has gone.

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UPDATE: MARCH 6

This is the illustrated version of my final idea. You can view a larger version by right-clicking and selecting 'View Image'.

Top Idea: 'Designing Their Future'

I decided to go with my Crayola / Poster idea for a few reasons: Crayola products are readily accessible the world over. They are in an affordable price range, and are a brand that most people are familiar with.
I wanted to create a campaign that would involve many people on a variety of levels, and one that would create more awareness of the PoP mission. I feel that partnering with Gallery Nucleus and Start Some Good would accomplish this. Here is my breakdown, and answers to the questions Mark posed.

How exactly will it work?
The problem I tried to address was making donating to charities accessible and attractive to my age group / demographic. I feel that this addresses the problem in a variety of ways, (outlined below), and targets both the creative crowds as well as the urban professionals.

1) Crayola uses the campaign to launch a new product. Their current brand has stagnated, and they can use this opportunity to re-enter the creative art market by presenting an item that would be geared more towards the adults who used their markers / crayons, etc. as children. If one were to look at trends in popularity today, they would see many items that were popular around 30 years ago, so we could use this cyclical movement to our advantage by targeting young professionals with children today. Even those without children still recall the days when Crayola was a part of their lives. This sentimental link would ensure an easy re-entry into the market.

2) Gallery Nucleus uses their already impressive roster of artists by sending out a call for submissions on the theme 'Pencils of Promise'. Artists are free to interpret this however they choose, with the one stipulation being that everything must be created by hand (nothing digital) using only Crayola products. This would help to freshen Crayola's image, (by showing their products have the ability to be used by adults in fine / pop art), bring awareness to their new products, and give the produced art a whimsy, quirky feel. Regular buyers of Crayola products would also become aware of both the poster contest and the existence of PoP via this partnership by reading about it on the specialized repackaging of their classic and new lines. The original art pieces would then be sold online, making them accessible to anyone around the world.

3) StartSomeGood.com is an online fundraising site, similar to kickstarter, etc. but geared towards charities, non-profits, etc. By starting a campaign online for PoP, we could create more widespread awareness of their mission and allow for a tiered donation / pay-what-you-want campaign in order to target those not interested in either Crayola or the posters. For example, a lower tier valued at $25 would result in one child receiving a year's worth of education. At $50 one could receive a package of rare / limited edition Crayola products only available through the online campaign. Because the art prints will be sold as originals and therefore will only ever be one in existence, prints could be made and compiled into a coffee table book which would be available at a higher tier. And various other awards could be offered at other intervals.

4) Profits from StartSomeGood, the poster sales, and a portion of Crayola's products will all go towards PoP. In addition, Crayola will donate small 'back-to-school' packages for each student who receives a new school in their area, preparing them for the coming year of education.

5) As a way of giving back, PoP will grant donators private access to a section of their site where they can see the schools being built, children attending classes in the recently finished classrooms, etc. This section would be password protected, but the rest of the world would still have access to the information page online right now via PoP's main site. I feel that the access to the video feeds would be enough reward for the donors, rather than also providing them with artwork / essays / etc. from the current students.

Why does it feel like the right idea to go with?

I feel this is the way to go for a few reasons listed in the paragraphs above:
- Crayola products are familiar, affordable, available the world over
- Gallery Nucleus already has a roster of incredible artists and a loyal online following of artists and art-lovers who would be intrigued by the challenge and willing to buy the resulting posters.
- Start Some Good would enable PoP to spread their mission to an even wider group of people by creating this online campaign and offering various 'awards' at different levels that are pertinent to their mission and act as tokens of appreciation for those donating their money to the cause.

How will people discover it?
- Online via StartSomeGood.com
- Through Gallery Nucleus and the poster challenge
- Crayola's repackaging of their products to indicate the money will go towards PoP, and give a website address which will have more information for the buyer.

How will it solve the problem?
As indicated above, the problem I tried to address was making donating to charities accessible and attractive to my age group / demographic.
- Partnering with Crayola creates a feeling of nostalgia surrounding the poster challenge. Adults my age who are still, in a way, just bigger kids (most of my friends still like to indulge in pop culture and buy comic books or toys related to cult movies from their childhood, etc) would relish the opportunity to have a reason to buy Crayola products either for their own children, or treat themselves to the new products that Crayola unveils, and knowing that a portion of the sales of these products goes to a charity would make it that much more attractive, especially if Crayola were to also donate back-to-school packages to the schools as they're completed.
- Paying higher amounts for the posters would be justified in their minds because of the fact that they're all one-time originals.
- The tiered donation scheme would be available to those who don't want to buy Crayola and aren't interested in the posters enough to pay top dollar (or can't afford to) but still allows them to contribute to the campaign.
- All of these methods would bring awareness to PoP and introduce it to a demographic previously overlooked.

Is it feasible?
- In addition to the anonyomous donor mentioned in the project brief, the three companies (Crayola, Gallery Nucleus, StartSomeGood) working together would make this not only feasible, but also successful.

Steph F. ~ A Brand Apart Design

Freelance Designer & Coffee Guzzler

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