Today, one in three kids in America are growing up without a positive adult mentor. Over 30,000 of these kids are on the BBBS waitlist for a mentor—and many of them are Black boys.
In response, BBBSA launched the Game Changers influencer initiative in fall 2023 to unite a group of 18 influencer and celebrity Black men-- from ABC Shark Tank Star Daymond John to actor Wayne Brady (see bbbs.org/gamechangers for full list), to encourage more volunteers, particularly male volunteers of color, to become mentors (“Bigs”).
Guided by the message “If you can see it, You can be it”, the impactful group of influencers enabled BBBSA to reach new audiences, directly impact youth, and achieve greater relevance in culture, illustrating the universality of mentorship in society.
To drive awareness and create access to mentorship opportunities for youth, the group of dedicated Game Changers mobilized their voices, support, and time by:
Building Awareness: Leverage personal mentorship stories to inspire youth and prospective volunteers of color. Spotlight the mentorship gap through media, thought leadership, digital content, integration into cultural moments such as the Superbowl and Essence Fest.
Expanding Connections: Open doors for BBBSA to the Game Changers' personal networks, partners, and platforms for growth and amplification.
Creating Experiences: Create access and opportunity for youth, directly impacting them by engaging the Game Changers to provide valuable mentorship “Big for a Day” experiences. The Game Changers exposed youth to new careers and what’s possible, combined with the power of representation.
Game Changers was built on evidence-backed insights that mentorship bridges opportunity gaps across diverse communities by boosting social and economic outcomes. Market research also revealed that the greatest barriers to mentorship were perceptions around the required time and expertise.
Game Changers applied a 360-degree approach to shift perceptions, to demonstrate that mentorship is universal and that seemingly small moments can be powerful-- with dedicated influential voices leading by example.
Eighteen Game Changers celebrities and influencers were authentically integrated across key elements of pop culture, thought leadership, youth experiences, storytelling, and beyond to build awareness, access, and opportunity, with key in-kind partners:
Building Awareness and Relevance
Thought Leadership –MSNBC Correspondent Trymaine Lee and NFL player Ray Davis joined a panel on mentorship at Essence Fest’s Global Black Economic Forum, targeting key audiences and integrating mentorship at a significant, highly visible cultural event.
Earned Media – NFL player Solomon Thomas joined Artis Stevens, BBBSA’s first Black CEO, for a national segment on GMA3. SiriusXM Host Sway Calloway interviewed Artis on “Sway in the Morning” and featured BBBS youth (“Littles”) on the air, to highlight their aspirations and mentorship experiences.
Out-of-Home Campaign - BBBSA partnered with Clear Channel Outdoor on an in-kind national billboard series across 29 major markets including a 30min roadblock at Times Square, featuring eight GC influencers with a message of “If You Can See It, You Can Be It”.
Digital Storytelling – GC influencers shared their personal mentorship stories and experiences on social media and BBBSA’s digital platforms, to inspire volunteers, potential partners and youth, with in-kind support from iHeart Media
Music – Grammy-nominated singer Aloe Blacc wrote “Never Let You Down”, an anthem for youth mentorship, which was integrated in in-kind radio spots through a media partnership with iHeart Media, encouraging volunteers to sign up to become mentors.
Youth Mentorship Experiences
To bring mentorship to life, BBBSA created "Big for a Day" experiences with Game Changers, where the influencers provided access and hosted youth of color for career shadowing and mentorship experiences during their daily lives as well as cultural moments like the Superbowl. These experiences provided the youth with direct mentorship and created storytelling opportunities to illustrate how everyday moments can make an impact.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges, identified through audience insights, was the public perception that mentoring required significant time or expertise, which deterred potential mentors. Game Changers addressed this by emphasizing that even small mentorship moments can make a big impact. By reframing mentorship as accessible and approachable, showing that small acts, like tossing a football or sharing career advice over pizza, could impact a young person’s life. This core concept was consistently woven throughout the initiative, in media messaging, digital content and more to dismantle these perceived barriers.
Game Changers achieved significant brand-building success and impactful results. The initiative, in collaboration with 18 influencers and celebrities (for full list, see bbbs.org/gamechangers), key in-kind media partners and combined with ongoing BBBS awareness activities across its network of 230+ local agencies across the country, contributed to a 33% year-over-year increase in volunteer sign-ups.
Earned Media: National media coverage included an in-studio segment featuring NFL player Solomon Thomas on GMA3, and additional influencer interviews on SiriusXM and beyond.
Social Media: Top posts related to Game Changers, including those by SiriusXM Host Sway Calloway and others, significantly outperformed baseline metrics, with a 1,709% increase in impressions, a 1,025% increase in accounts reached and a 1,148% increase in engagements.
OOH Advertising: Clear Channel Outdoor's digital billboard activation featuring eight Game Changers influencers, including CBS Mornings Co-Host Nate Burleson and others, spanned 29 major US markets, generating 66.3M media impressions, 2.5M total spots played, and a 30-minute Times Square roadblock—one of the most highly foot trafficked locations in the world.
Song: Aloe Blacc's original song "Never Let You Down” was created and donated to BBBSA. iHeart Media aired a 30-second PSA daily featuring the song across 829 stations for 14 days.
Youth Experiences: Game Changers hosted Littles for "Big for a Day" career shadowing experiences in sports, the arts, media, corporate settings, and beyond.
