Seize the Awkward: Activation Strategy
Seize The Awkward is an AdCouncil campaign targeting mental health awareness for college students. We were tasked with developing a physical campus activation for the campaign (it was supposed to launch at Columbia University). As the only strategist on the team, I was responsible for:
Creating strategic communication/tone-of-voice guidelines
Leading concept creation and storyboarding for a summary video of the campaign’s mission and impact
Developing the STA campus activation strategy and collaborating with designer and creative technologist interns on concept ideation and refinement
1 - Communication Strategy
Our client AdCouncil wanted a succinct one-pager detailing guidelines for creating content associated with Seize The Awkward. The target audience is anyone that produces content for STA (primarily influencers, but also agencies).
2 - Video
AdCouncil wanted a concise video that reflects the campaign's mission and impact. One challenge was to use only using existing media. Sections of influencer-generated clips are interwoven with text slides and examples of social media validation to tell a short yet powerful story: it’s important to reach out to friends in need, as starting the conversation does make a difference.
3 - Physical Activation Strategy
The goal of the physical activation is to produce an impactful and memorable experience that facilitates awareness and understanding of the issue, ultimately inspiring students to talk about mental health with their friends. In addition to helping with brainstorming and idea refinement, my role involved exploring the purpose underlying each idea. What opportunities to “seize the awkward” should the activations tap into, and what criteria should we evaluate ideas by?
