The Future of Good program shines a spotlight on inspirational young people working to improve their communities and break through the clutter of holiday advertising and inspire action in the local areas U.S. Cellular serves.
By championing young humanitarians working for a better tomorrow, U.S. Cellular aims to give them a platform to share their efforts and serve as inspiration for others to get involved. Additionally, the program serves to drive brand affinity and build deeper, more meaningful connections in local communities.
U.S. Cellular's The Future of Good program returned in 2017 for the third consecutive year to continue highlighting the brand's role in supporting young humanitarians working to better their communities and making it easier for others to get involved in their efforts. This year's program revolved around the campaign theme of "Help Good Happen" as a call to action for members of the community.
The program honors kids across the U.S. Cellular footprint working to support causes such as civic engagement, cancer research, and music education, by shining a light on their story and providing grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to help further their efforts. The audience was encouraged to participate and "Help Good Happen" by watching and sharing video content, volunteering, or nominating other young humanitarians in their own communities they felt were deserving of recognition. Three nominees were selected to receive additional $1,000 grants.
The program was a fully-integrated endeavor, with content spanning across social (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) e-mail, print, and PR outreach.
On social media, The Future of Good stories launched with an anthem video to drive awareness of the initiative along with three documentary-style videos telling the individual stories of humanitarian efforts spearheaded by the featured kids. These included the following:
In addition to video content, the program included illustrations of each young humanitarian designed by artist Geo Law. The portraits, which are displayed on both the website and in print collateral, helped capture the essence of each kid's specific efforts, while adding graphic elements to enhance video content.
To drive earned media for the program, singer/songwriter Jordin Sparks was leveraged as a spokesperson and a launch event took place at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx. Both efforts combined help spur conversation and attention for the program while trumpeting the efforts of each humanitarian.
Finally, all communication for the program drove to TheFutureOfGood.com, the program's hub. It was the destination for people to learn about the featured kids, find local volunteer opportunities, and nominate other young humanitarians in their own communities they felt deserved recognition. It currently features stories from 15 communities, honoring 19 kids in U.S. Cellular's footprint, as well as 12 past honorees.
Users were engaged with the program's content, as stories of the featured young humanitarians took off through both earned media and social, shining a greater light on the kid's efforts throughout U.S. Cellular's footprint.
All campaign creative drove to the website, where the goal was to inspire action from the audience through either supporting the featured kids or finding other ways to help their individual communities.
