Today, one in three kids in America are growing up without a sustained, adult mentor in their life and there are more than 30,000 kids on the BBBS waitlist for a mentor nationwide. To inspire more people to sign up to mentor, BBBS aimed to address the two biggest perceived barriers to being a mentor: time and the perceived burden of mentorship:
1. Time: Many potential mentors felt they don’t have enough time to commit and make an impact due to the pressures of work, family, and everyday life.
2. Perceived Burden of Mentorship: Many people believe they need to have a certain level of achievement, expertise or “superhero” to be a good mentor.
In response, in September 2023, BBBSA launched the "It Takes Little to Be Big" campaign to address the critical shortage of mentors, amidst an overall decline in U.S. volunteerism.
The campaign reframed mentorship with the message, “It Takes Little to Be Big”, to demonstrate the potential impact of seemingly small mentorship moments. It conveyed the power of simple everyday interactions—like grabbing a coffee, having pizza—activities that people already do every day, and how the shared experiences could make a profound difference in a young person’s life.
With a shared goal of breaking down barriers that many youth face in accessing the outdoors, BBBSA and corporate partner, Merrell produced an engaging and effective PSA to show just how little it takes to be big when the possibilities of the outdoors are endless.
How do you show just how easy and fun it is to be a Big? By making someone a mentor ("Big") without them even realizing it. Merrell conducted an exciting social experiment to prove how little it takes to make an impact.
Disguised as a parks and recreation commercial, Merrell casted six actors and instructed them to act as if it were just an ordinary afternoon in the park. Behind the scenes, Merrell worked with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay to help coordinate and cast six real BBBS mentees (“Littles”) to act as their onscreen co-stars who were in on it all along.
After matching the Littles' favorite outdoor activities with the actors' interests, Merrell set things in motion. The Littles were instructed to approach the unsuspecting actors for help or to ask to join in on their outdoor activities. The intent was to see if people were willing to spare the 10 minutes it can potentially take to make an impact as a mentor. Following the interaction, the Littles handed the strangers a Merrell shoe box with a pair of matching shoes and a message saying: “A little fresh air and a lot of kindness are all it takes to be a Big. Thanks for being that to me.”
Filming took place in Tampa, Fla., where BBBSA’s headquarters is located and was filmed, produced and edited by LiveTribe.
The PSA launched on the same day as the campaign in September 2023 and was incredibly well-received, contributing to the success of the overall "It Takes Little to Be Big" campaign. The video demonstrated the small yet transformative power of human connection that can be found in mentorship.
The Merrell PSA was an impactful complement to the It Takes Little to be Big Campaign. Results include:
YouTube: The official video has been viewed more than 2,300 times.
Facebook: The official video has been viewed more than 62,000 times and had an engagement reach of 996k as of January 2024.
Instagram: The official video has been viewed nearly 20,000 times and had an engagement reach of more than 24,000 as of January 2024.
Overall, the It Takes Little to Be Big campaign significantly increased volunteer engagement and awareness of BBBSA’s mission. Within just six weeks of the campaign’s launch in September 2023, volunteer sign-ups nationwide increased by 30%. As BBBSA celebrates the 1-year anniversary of the campaign launch, the positive growth in volunteer recruitment is continuing! As of 9/1/2024, there is a 7% increase over the same 1-year time period last year.
The PSA and partnership around "It Takes Little to be Big" has been so successful, in fact, that this October Merrell + BBBSA are launching a shoe collaboration featuring a custom-designed shoe in BBBS colors with ITLTBB messaging on the shoes and the shoebox. The shoes will be sold in stores and online with $10 of every purchase going back to BBBSA to support our goal of increasing volunteers and breaking down the barriers for youth to access the outdoors.
