11.15.21 | read time: 5 min
Inclusive Idaho: Spreading Light Across our State
116 & West
Each year, as part of our Partner116 program, 116 & West provides a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit $50,000 of marketing services. The services provided through this program range from website work, to logo redesign, to brand awareness campaigns, designed to meet the business needs of our partners.
For 2021, we selected Inclusive Idaho, a local nonprofit dedicated to inclusion and equity in Idaho. Our work for Inclusive Idaho centered around a campaign designed to get people to act. The campaign we developed for our partner was called “Light Up Idaho,” and was a comprehensive campaign including resources and tools to inform people about Inclusive Idaho and support their action in driving change.
Light Up Idaho is a call to Idahoans to have difficult conversations about race, sexism, homophobia, and other dividing topics. The impetus of these talks is to spread change by speaking up, and then sparking the light in others to do the same.
Creating a Better Idaho
We felt like this campaign would allow the people of our state to hold each other accountable for enacting change in our communities. If we want our children to grow up in a better place, the change has to start within.
The metaphor for this idea came to life in a video ad which ran on television and on digital platforms, including a fun edition for TikTok. The video depicts an 8-foot wooden Idaho—handcrafted by our team. We installed lightbulb sockets on the Idaho, which were wired on the back with 150 feet of string outdoor lights.
The Campaign Comes to Life
As the commercial begins, hands reach into frame to screw in filament bulbs into the wood. As the lightbulbs are screwed in tightly, they light up. Each lit bulb represents a difficult conversation, where one speaks up against injustice. Diverse sets of hands move into frame and light the bulbs. As more lights turn on (conversations are had), the light spreads. Finally, the last bulb is lit, and a crowd of people stand to see the state of Idaho, alight and beautiful.
To support what’s happening on screen, the voice over tells the audience that it’s not enough to stay silent when someone says something racist, homophobic, sexist, or abelist. In order to create a brighter, more beautiful state, we have to speak up.
We continued this idea through the tagline, “Spark Change. Speak Up.” To further activate the campaign, we created street banners, window clings, organic social posts, vinyl stickers, and yard signs.
We also developed a landing page for the campaign on the Inclusive Idaho site, and wrote, edited, and designed digital resources for Idahoans to support and guide them in having difficult conversations, as well as provide educational material about inclusivity and equity in Idaho. These PDFs could be downloaded for free.
View the Light Up Idaho landing page >
Inclusive Is as Inclusive Does
It was important for this campaign to be as inclusive as possible. Idaho is home to a large Latinx population—some small towns have a population as high as 45%. Each video had a Spanish script as well as closed captions in English and Spanish for those who are hearing imparied. We also designed Spanish versions of the street banners.
These street banners (in English and Spanish) hung in the heart of Downtown, capturing driving, walking, and biking commuters.
The culmination of the campaign occurred at TreeFort Music Fest. TreeFort is a 5-day indie rock festival. It’s made Boise a destination, and includes other community avenues such as “ComedyFort,” “StoryFort,” and “YogaFort.” The Inclusive Idaho booth displayed the 8-foot lit up Idaho from the commercial. Volunteers handed out Light Up Idaho yard signs, as well as vinyl stickers and blinking green lights—to help illustrate the light—in a branded little bag.
An Agency Comes Together
Almost every single person in our agency worked on this campaign, making it a truly collaborative, integrated campaign. Every piece of the campaign was handcrafted by us—from the initial idea pitch, to the media plan. The media plan included a bonus interview with KTVB on Idaho Today, further adding value for Inclusive Idaho.
While we came across some pretty big challenges (like how to build a giant wooden Idaho, wire lights on it, and then figuring out how to move it), we always found a way to get it done. This campaign exemplifies our collective creativity and individual skill sets, and how well we come together to create work that we believe will make a difference.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention our incredible production partner, North by Northwest. They lit and shot the spot beautifully, and did it for nothing but high fives. We’re so thankful for our partners. Not only for the work they do, but for believing in Inclusive Idaho and the importance of their message.
The Results
Our media partners were generous. They provided Inclusive Idaho with 341 PSA (free) spots in the Boise, Twin Falls, and Lewiston areas. KTVB also provided an opportunity to interview Inclusive Idaho on Idaho Today! It was a unique opportunity for our nonprofit partner to get some face time with our community.
Light Up Idaho garnered 130,866 impressions via connected TV (Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, etc.), and 52 clicks. We rarely see many clicks on a connected TV campaign, and were thrilled the spot received that many in just 13 days.
We also ran the video ad on social media. The spot was placed on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok in :30 and :15 versions. The ad received a total of 2,617 clicks across the three social platforms and 436,579 impressions.
The campaign resulted in thousands of unique clicks to the Inclusive Idaho website, as well as hundreds of downloads of the free resources.
Light Up Idaho!
We created the spot so that it could be run throughout the year, especially during the holiday season when families around the state sit around the table together. Our hope is that this spot will encourage people to speak up, especially to those we love the most.
We’re proud of our work and proud to help such an important organization. If you’d like to know more about Inclusive Idaho, please visit their website at inclusiveidaho.org.
We can help you make your next campaign come alive!