As one of the internet’s biggest stages, the Google homepage has become a venue where Google has championed, celebrated, and elevated the people, events, and moments that inspire us all. With the Google Doodle, we realized that the power to reach millions was a profound opportunity and we asked ourselves: who should we, as a global community, hear from more often? The answer: kids.
Hence, the Doodle for Google program was founded, with the goal of using the Doodle’s built-in reach to amplify the voices of students to millions. From the beginning, we created the program as a way for educators to encourage their students to think big while expressing their creativity for the world to see. By celebrating the creativity of children of all ages, we created an opportunity for young artists to overcome “imposter’s syndrome” and really see themselves as creators, inventors, and dreamers, whose dreams, innovative thinking and values will shape the future. And for the rest of us, the Doodle for Google program is an excellent way to hear what the next generation of leaders are concerned about, and their ideas for how we can help them shape a better world.
With submissions from 55 US states and territories, we’ve seen tens of thousands of students transform their classrooms into art studios and understand the value of their creativity. When we share our finalist awards, and crown an eventual national winner, we see the impact of unleashing all this artistic firepower - students gain confidence in their self expression. Doodle for Google has allowed countless students to see themselves as more than just learners. The creative idea in this program is, quite simply, to provide students with more confidence in their creativity.
Strategy:
As the 25th anniversary of Google arrived, we felt it was imperative to look forward and to really give voice to the next generation’s hopes, dreams, and big ideas for the future. “What is your wish for the next 25 years?” was this year’s prompt and the goal was to have the biggest response ever. This year’s prompt - “My wish for the next 25 years….”– gave us all an unbridled look into the aspirations of those young creators, and with a depth and breadth of expression that was unparalleled in the program’s history. Our strategy was threefold:
Execution
A critical element to this year’s execution was a complete revamp of the visual identity of the program, which we felt needed to focus on inspiring students of all ages and their teachers, tying their creativity to the real world, and inspiring these artists to boldly explore new mediums with their biggest ideas. Consequently, we focused on a new visual approach and identity for the program. We explored creative mascot illustrations, mixed media designs, and expressive typography, all of which were strong. But when we began to play with animated thematic mascots, we knew we’d arrived at something that was both fun and inspiring.
Secondly, we focused heavily on social promotion, keying in on a rebus puzzle to announce the 2024 theme, which we knew would engage students in a fun way, but also highlight the problem-solving nature of the program, and this year’s prompt. We created new teachers’ kits for the program, which utilized the updated tone and the specialness of this year’s contest to really encourage students to think about the future and to express those thoughts as imaginatively as possible.
And then, to further broaden the appeal of the contest to creators of all kinds, we created new prizes and awards to honor young artists whose works championed values in the following categories:
We encouraged kids to think of environmental stewardship, unbridled imagination, humor, family and community, and technological innovation as special areas of focus.
We promoted the campaign with a Rebus puzzle teaser of the prompt. We also mailed Educator Kits to 99K schools which included a welcome letter, poster and scannable/printable submission forms, enabling educators to mail in their students’ submissions. The letter announced the launch of the contest and explained its rules, and the calendar highlighted anniversaries of the groundbreaking artists, scientists, inventors, and thinkers previously featured as Doodles.
For the campaign holistically, we saw 126% more weighted engagements compared to other @Google Instagram posts, and the 2024 edition of the contest broke the all-time record for student submissions (125K submissions up 15% YOY) and Googler judging volunteers (476 Googlers) – an all-time high for an already vastly popular program.
Students shared their ideas for a healthier planet, family and community connection, space exploration, technological advancements, medical breakthroughs and more. The contest winner, Maisie Derlega, whose Doodle depicted friends and family gathered around a table sharing a meal, won a $55K college scholarship ($25K more than in past years) and $50K technology package for her school, and her artwork was on Google homepage for 24 hours.
Overall, the contest received 330+ press stories and social posts across over 40 states. Local press coverage represented 45 states, Washington D.C., and two territories. Press coverage was up 10% YOY and there was a ~50% increase in state coverage. The contest shined on social as well - #DoodleForGoogle has surpassed engagement in the past four years. The campaign drove 345k weighted engagements, more than other posts on social channels like Instagram, X, and Facebook.
