THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

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From the 16th Annual Shorty Awards

ONE Creator Lab – Launch

Silver Honor in Education

Objectives

ONE Creator Lab is an innovative tuition-free program spanning 20 weeks developed to bridge the gap between creators and creative teams within agencies and brands.

Creative teams at brands and advertising agencies are in need of diverse creators who can produce short-form video content, but are finding it difficult to attract creator talent.

Statistics reveal that only 12% of creators producing content independently full-time are making more than $50,000 per year, and most are not aware of alternative career opportunities available on creative teams at brands and agencies. In addition, they do not have the time or desire to acquire student debt to attend traditional advertising school programs.

Enter ONE Creator lab, a groundbreaking two-way learning program developed by The One Club for Creativity that combines advertising fundamentals with the creator skills needed to create short-form, video-first campaigns at the speed of culture.

The One Club for Creativity’s mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community and is leading the growth of the creator community within the global creative community with the development of ONE Creator Lab.

Much like other brands, agencies, and educational institutions, The One Club has struggled to establish a direct pipeline to tap into diverse creator talent. ONE Creator Lab embarked on a mission to change this narrative by reaching creators where they thrive, aiming to receive 50 applications to launch the inaugural cohorts, known as Creator Pods, in both New York and Los Angeles on September 25, 2023.

 

Strategy and Execution

To eliminate financial barriers for aspiring content creators, ONE Creator Lab devised a tuition-free business model, fostering partnerships that offer both sponsorship and mentorship throughout the 20-week program.

Initially, recruiting brand and advertising agency partners to sponsor and mentor creators posed a challenge. However, by offering a two-way learning model, potential partners discovered mutual value in the exchange, learning as much from the creators as the creator students did from them.

The One Club for Creativity joined forces with TikTok, sponsoring the Lab and introducing a first of its kind curriculum that teaches creators and instructors how to craft short-form video-first campaigns at the speed of culture.

In addition, ONE Creator Lab collaborated with 160 creative industry subject matter experts to create supplemental learning content focused on advertising and digital marketing fundamentals.

With TikTok as the Founding Partner, cutting edge curriculum, and two-way learning opportunities, ONE Creator Lab partnered with Whalar, Day One Agency, and ATTN: as inaugural Los Angeles Pod hosts, and with Ogilvy, VML, and Dentsu as inaugural New York Pod hosts, providing invaluable mentorship and real-world briefs to upskill the creators. 

One of our most significant challenges was reaching diverse creator talent for a learning program that was entirely new and unheard of. To connect with these creators where they thrive, TikTok enlisted Timm Chiusano, a marketing professional & Influencer with 1M followers, to launch a TikTok-first campaign aimed at driving enrollment for the September 25, 2023 launch of Creator Pods in LA and NYC. This campaign, including TikTok videos, Instagram posts, LinkedIn outreach, and email marketing, was highly successful.

 

Results

Our results align seamlessly with our team’s objectives. Thanks to our TikTok partnership, agency collaborations, and industry expert contributions, ONE Creator Lab is a tuition-free program with cutting-edge curriculum, for creating short-form video-first campaigns at the speed of culture.

Timm Chiusano’s TikTok campaign surpassed our goal of 50 applicants, attracting 756 applications for the inaugural Pods in New York and Los Angeles. Timm’s TikTok garnered 121.1K views and 10.1K likes, marking ONE Creator Lab as one of the pioneering educational programs to drive enrollment with TikTok.

Moreover, we exceeded our initial target of 50% diverse creators, with a remarkable 77% of our creators from marginalized communities, including but not limited to disability, gender identity, racial / ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientation.

ONE Creator Lab is successfully upskilling diverse creator talent in New York and LA while simultaneously training emerging Creative Directors to lead and inspire this new generation of creative talent. Our creators will graduate in February 2024, poised to make significant contributions to the creative industry.

 

In the Additional Entry Information Links & Video section, you'll see:

 

Media

Video for ONE Creator Lab – Launch

Entrant Company / Organization Name

The One Club for Creativity, TikTok

Links

Entry Credits