Together We Can
Together We Can
A Branding Campaign with the Council Bluffs Community Schools
Before March 2020, wearing a mask was reserved for Halloween. Now face masks are the new normal. They’re available everywhere in different colors and styles, and would almost be fashionable if not for the serious illness they protect us against. But despite the warnings and the availability of face masks, convincing children and teens to wear them in the classroom was an unexpected and somewhat overwhelming challenge presented to Council Bluffs Community School District as administrators prepared for the upcoming academic year.
School leaders in the Council Bluffs School district presented the campaign: Together We Can. They had received grant funding from the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and the Iowa West Foundation to execute the program. They knew that normalizing face-coverings at school was crucial in protecting the students, teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and other school staff facing the risk of COVID-19 exposure that comes with in-person instruction, even if it’s part-time. But how?
That’s where we came in. District leaders asked the team at Tandem Works and their sister company Mac & V to come up with a campaign to promote mask-wearing at school. The goal was to make wearing a mask at school seem routine – cool, even. That way, students would see their classmates wearing masks, and hopefully want to do the same. Eventually, wearing a mask would be as routine as carrying a backpack.
To meet those goals, we needed branding that was holistic and would appeal to students of all ages – elementary, middle, and high school – as well as their parents. And we only had a few weeks to pull it all off.
Creative Assets - The really fun stuff
Our team went to work, photographing and filming video of teachers, community members, and students of all ages wearing masks around town, headed to class, and getting on the school bus. We scouted and secured 11 different locations and worked with 75 people to be our models.
Understandably, it took a huge amount of coordination of call sheets and other materials to ensure everyone was on the same page. We found masks to match the wardrobe and other props. The photos and video were only one piece of the full marketing and branding puzzle. The messaging was crucial to a successful, all-encompassing branding strategy.
Campaign logistics
Marketing and branding from start to finish
A “Together We Can” logo to brand the program
Print materials, including posters
Digital Marketing ads targeting parents and students
Social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more
Selfies by students wearing masks
A web page for the districts to promote the program
Public relations targeting local media
Together We Can Video
Results
School leaders were pleased with how our seamless and natural campaign messaging resonated with both students and parents – well before the first school bell rang.
As one school official told The Daily Nonpareil: “We know students are very influential on their peers, and the more people wear masks, the more it’ll just become part of how we go to school...We’ve gotten some athletes and some leaders to participate in this.”
Our team worked hard and fast to ensure that Together We Can was a success. We are honored to have helped provide school leaders with the certainty they are doing everything they can to protect students, teachers, and staff during a time of so much uncertainty throughout the world. Thanks to the Council Bluffs Community School District for the opportunity to help make a difference this school year!
About Tandem Works
Creatives, with just the right mix of quirk and right brain thinking. Makers of photo, video, and copy that’s driven by imagination and crazy ideas. Innovative planners with a passion for a clear strategy, organization, and ROI.
Ready to strategize and execute your company or organization’s marketing and branding plan for real, tangible results? Let’s talk.