In order to compete for the jobs of the future, it's essential for every kid to have access to technology and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. That's why we've started a movement: Because we need more.
We need more opportunities for kids to learn with technology.
We need more creative ways to get kids interested in STEM subjects.
We need more kids to believe they can have a brighter future.
Verizon, through our Verizon Innovative Learning initiative, has committed $160 million in free tech, free access and hands-on immersive learning in STEM for students in need.
Our programs teach technology and entrepreneurship skills, in-person, to middle and high school students. We don't just fund the programs; we also create and administer them in partnership with leading nonprofits. We diligently measure the impact of our work and refine our programs to ensure we're making a difference. We've reached more than 300,000 students so far— and we're just getting started.
#weneedmore is our mission to bring the same knowledge, opportunities and resources you'll find in our programs, to as many kids and families as possible.
Because we need more kids involved in STEM. Not just for their benefit, but because the world needs them — their brains, their creativity and their experiences — to create the amazing solutions that will make our world a better place.
Break through. Raise awareness. Create value.
Breaking through: We don't need more.
Right now, there are 4 million available science and tech jobs in the United States. But millions of kids, especially in low-income communities, don't even know they exist. For many of these kids, fame and celebrity seem to be the only way to a better life. And society encourages them to think that way.
We wanted to show kids that jobs in STEM can be cool and exciting and that they have what it takes to change the world. But we had to break through first.
So we teamed up with some of the biggest and most influential celebrities in sports and entertainment to tell kids themselves, "We don't need more LeBrons, Drews, or Adriannas."
Instead, these role models, that kids admire so much, told them directly: We
do need more kids, just like you, to become the next generation of creators, builders, designers, and innovators.
We launched this intro to the campaign during major cultural events like the Final Four and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, tying our celebrities in meaningful ways to the message they were sharing, when we knew kids and parents would be watching.
Raising Awareness:
We ran a multi-platform campaign that included advertising through online video and traditional media outreach.
We created custom social media content that included YouTube and Nickelodeon stars, as well as TV and movie star, Zendaya, to help spread the message of #weneedmore to the kids who needed to hear it the most.
Creating Value:
We wanted to create a campaign that was as impactful as it was far reaching.
Web: We created weneedmore.com to share inspirational STEM stories, meaningful information, and free hands-on activities, to ensure that people interested in the campaign could incorporate its message and mission into their own lives. This included 25 pieces of original content for the site, created through partnerships with Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Code.org, MIT media lab, and more. We plan to update the site monthly.
Student engagement: This wasn't just about impressions. We created opportunities for the real kids in our programs to meet the celebrities of the campaign; to star in the Kids Choice
Awards Science of Slime video series; to learn through hands-on STEM activities in our free retail learning labs; and to learn about STEM in their own schools through immersive STEM activities like virtual reality, augmented reality, and robotics.
Employee participation: Our employees are one of our strongest assets and we activated them as a part of the campaign as well. From creating inspirational video messages for kids, to volunteering in schools and retail labs, our employees continue to be an integral part of the #weneedmore mission.
Since the launch of the #weneedmore campaign in the fall of last year, we have:
Created in-person, hands-on STEM experiences for tens of thousands of students across the country.
Worked with the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards to create the Science of Slime video series in which our very own Verizon Innovative Learning kids were able to create a slime cannon through STEM, which aired during the awards show.
Since the launch of our media campaign and weneedmore.com in March of 2017, we have received more than:
690,000 visits to the site and 800,000 pageviews
8,000 email sign-ups for our #weneedmore newsletter
17,500 social mentions of the campaign with 99% positive overall sentiment
1.94 billion impressions
131 pieces of earned media including coverage from: USA Today, Good Morning America, Refinery 29, Forbes, CNN, and many more.
