Turning Today's Interests into Tomorrow's Careers" was the theme of the highly successful Crayola Creativity Week, a weeklong event that took place from January 23-29, 2023, with the goal of bringing educators and kids together from around the world. This event included in-school creative adventures and weekend days of fun, all aimed at exploring the creative potential of students in various fields such as STEM, Writing, Dance, Music, and Visual Arts.
As part of this event, schools worldwide tuned in for Crayola's Creativity Week Assembly, a livestream produced and edited by Telescope. The event was a showcase for students' artwork displayed on Telescope's Social Wall and allowed students to see their own artwork on the big screen. The live stream started with a 10-minute countdown of the students' user-generated content to build up excitement for the main event. This was followed by a live stream of the Crayola Experience featuring America's favorite rapping teacher, Mr. Dwayne Reed, who kicked off the event with his brand new music video, which premiered publicly for the first time. Kids sang "I Am Creative" along with Mr. Reed, inspiring them to express themselves creatively and imagine future careers with a catchy beat and fun, affirmational lyrics. Inspirational messages were also shared by NASA Astronaut and former middle school science teacher Ricky Arnold, Broadway actress and Tony award winner Ali Stroker, Impractical Jokers star James' Murr' Murray, TODAY show Co-host Dylan Dreyer, hiphop group RUN DMC Co-founder Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels, actress Lyric Hurd, Olympic Champion Nathan Chen, and many others. KIDZ BOP also joined the event for a special Dance Along.
The live stream was an interactive and engaging experience, seamlessly integrating live Facebook comments via real-time Comment to Air graphics. The goal of this innovative and impactful campaign was to increase engagement and viewership, and it was a resounding success. The campaign generated over 200,000 views and over 1,600 social comments on Twitter, making kids feel like they were an even deeper part of the program.
The results were impressive. Creativity Week program included 28,500+ schools, libraries, and YMCA locations (3.5MM students and 195K teachers) from all 50 states and 77 countries signed up to participate, 5,000+ pieces of user-generated content shared online, 615MM total impressions (up from 140MM last year), 97% of educators planning to participate annually, 83% of educators stating their students want more creative experiences throughout the year, 83% of educators seeing an increase in students' enthusiasm around the subject matter, and 65% of educators witnessing an increase in students' interest in future careers.
We are proud to submit this case study for consideration for a Shorty Award, recognizing the most effective and creative use of social media and digital by educational institutions, programs, and services. This campaign demonstrates how social media can be leveraged to create an impactful and memorable experience that inspires students to tap into their creative potential and turn their interests into future careers. The impressive metrics show the strong reach and engagement this event had and highlight the power of social media in educational settings.
