Design-a-Thon Case Study
Design-a-Thon Case Study
Design-a-Thon Case Study
www.youthturns.org/wp/design-a-thon
This case study is presented in the hopes that others will learn from the experience
of a group of volunteers. In the open source tradition, we invite you to improve on any of this.
It is our hope that others will be inspired and empowered to replicate, iterate and improve
the Design-a-thon model in cities around the world for other worthy causes. Share it!
List of Contents
Introduction
Case Study
Our Challenge(s)
Our Process
Pre-planning
Event Kickoff (also see “Day-of Timeline,” below)
Teams/Team Leads
Strategy
Event Marketing
Group Check-Ins
Client involvement, approvals
Wrapping up
Event Day-of Timeline:
Final Deliverables
A name (YouthTurns was created in pre-event planning to allow time for Trademark
research)
Lessons
What We Did Right
Areas for Improvement, notes for next time
Project Management Notes (by Ian Rhett)
Conclusion
Tools used:
Project Documents:
Project Document: Media Release
Project Document: Creative Brief
Deliverable: Social Media Implementation Guidebook
Raw Survey Data - Free Responses
How well did you understand the purpose of the project/the client’s goals prior to the
event?
How well did you understand the scope of the project?
What is your level of satisfaction of the experience working on the project?
What is your level of satisfaction in the outcome of the project?
What was your biggest challenge in this project?
How did you overcome it?
If you did another Design-A-Thon, what would you personally do differently?
What definitely DID work, or rather, what would you keep the same?
What were the most innovative breakthroughs you made?
How (if at all) did you adjust your typical client-facing process to adapt to the needs of
this project/client?
Would you do another Design-A-Thon, and why?
What was the most rewarding aspect of the experience?
What should the organizers do differently next time?
This is a slide from the Ignite presentation (one of the Design-a-thon deliverables), showing some of the work, as well
as the team of amazing people who did something extraordinary.
Introduction
Nothing happens in the world without the coordinated effort of human beings aligned
around a common purpose or intention. When people are working together for a higher
purpose, incredible things can happen. And something incredible did happen on July 24, 2010
in Nashville, when a group of incredibly talented professionals from Nashville’s social media,
advertising, marketing and technology communities volunteered to perform the modern
equivalent of a barnraising.
The goal of sharing this exhaustive archive of information is to empower people all
around the world with the lessons we learned from inviting 30 people to spend 24 hours working
together to create a marketing platform for an inspiring nonprofit program. Our sincere hope is
that others will take this model and replicate it around the world and that this case study will
provide useful information about organizing and running such an event. During our planning
process, we did not find any such resource, so we added it to our list of deliverables.
The Design-a-thon experience created not only a marketing platform for a worthy
nonprofit, but lifelong bonds between teammembers, most of whom had never worked together
before. A deliverable that was unstated, but clearly a result of the event is a deeper network
of “geeks” doing good work.
This case study is licensed under a Creative Commons Share-alike license. If you would
like to discuss planning a design-a-thon in your area, please contact @jessicarmurray or
@ianrhett and we’d be happy to help you get your design-a-thon off the ground. Whether you
contact us for help or not, if you DO put on a Design-a-thon or similar event, please share the
process and learning so others can continue to improve this model.
Case Study
In the first quarter of 2010, a very special nonprofit came to the attention of the
web, design and marketing community in Nashville. This nonprofit, which would come to
be known as YouthTurns, is dedicated to ending generational incarceration. The face of
YouthTurns is Andy Dixon, an ex-con for whom crime was “the family business.” Andy spent
27 years in prison, and is now determined to keep other youths from following in his footsteps.
While on a trip to California after his release, Andy serendipitously bumped into Geo
Gellar, one of the organizers of a social media event called the 140 Character Conference.
Attending the conference was a kind of “digital initiation” for someone who’d spent almost all
of the Information Age behind bars. This experience immersed Andy in all that is possible with
social media, and he was encouraged to get in touch with one of the leaders of the social media
community in Nashville, Jessica Murray. Jessica was inspired by Andy’s story and brought
in a friend of hers, Ian Rhett, to find a way to help Andy’s cause. The 24-hour Southern Fried
Design-A-Thon was born.
Our Challenge(s)
Like the name “Design-A-Thon” implies, this event had some inherent challenges.
Working creatively for 24 hours straight (with an hour-long fire alarm thrown in at 5am) with
a volunteer team that had never worked together, for a startup program that didn’t even have a
name were a few of the initial challenges we faced.
Additionally, the client’s technical understanding was somewhat limited. Andy went
into prison at a time when people were afraid to plug in their microwaves for fear of burning
their houses down. He emerged into a world of the iphone, Facebook, and Twitter. He’s learned
remarkably quickly, but he’s still a stranger in a strange land when it comes to computers. So
working with Andy in the decision-making process involved a fair amount of “client education.”
Andy’s organization was technically a project of another nonprofit focused on serving the
families of the incarcerated, a Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) called “Reconciliation.” The project
concept meets an obvious need (the 1.7 million children of prisoners in the US), with an obvious
solution (mentorship, education and awareness). However, it was clear from the beginning that
the program had no marketing or strategic direction. The project lacked a name, logo, website,
or any social media outlet. It also needed marketing materials such as brochures and any other
resource Andy could use to promote the cause.
In the 24 hours that followed, Andy would receive a new logo, brochure, business cards
and letterhead, marketing strategy, a 5-minute Ignite presentation, a 7 minute video package, a
handbook for prison families, social media accounts, and a new website, complete with
an “owner’s manual.”
Our Process
Pre-planning
The organizers reached out to the marketing, design, and web community in Nashville,
relying heavily on Jessica’s connections in these communities. Independent designers and web
developers, small design firms, and representatives from the corporate marketing world signed
on, including a marketing non-profit called “The Collaboratory” which engages marketing
professionals in job transition to work for non-profits.
Early meetings established the leadership team. We selected a Press/Media Director,
Creative Director, Recruitment Director and Production Director, and determined that the
project’s name had to be determined well in advance of the event. We held a potluck with many
of those who had signed on for the event and brainstormed for a few hours. “YouthTurns”
emerged as the new brand for fighting generational incarceration. Volunteers researched the
availability and checked with a local attorney to ensure that there was minimal risk to using the
name.
An email list on GoogleGroups was set up to manage an email list. Five days before the
event, an email was sent to the list with details about When, Where, What to bring, etc..
The Creative Director, Project Manager and Marketing leads met two days before to get
acquainted, review the plan and map out a schedule for the day of.
Teams/Team Leads
Everyone was assigned to a team. We separated into Design, Web Development,
Marketing/PR, Video and writing teams, with photographers floating around. Each team also
had a Team Lead which would be responsible for any needs associated with that team after the
event, and ensured their group’s deliverables.
Strategy
In the initial hours of the event, we gathered all the writers, PR persons, Team Leads,
and Creative Director together to create a comprehensive overall strategy for the creative. We
held a group meeting shortly thereafter and communicated the strategy to the rest of the
participants. We also gave Andy time to tell his story to those who were not yet familiar. A final
crucial part of our strategy was check-ins every 4 hours, so teams could familiarize themselves
with the work of other teams, and communicate breakthroughs to everyone.
Event Marketing
We let the world know what we were doing through our PR campaign and social media
outlets. Three television stations visited us and did segments during the 6:00 news. We also
extensively used Twitter and the hashtag #designathon. Finally, we broadcast the whole
event live on the internet via Ustream. We even did some brainstorming with the participants
watching our streaming feed.
Group Check-Ins
We had many group meetings throughout the night. The first established the timeline for
the event and the second communicated strategy. After that, we met every 4 hours for updates
and to communicate the needs of each team. In the first update check-in, we saw the progress of
the logo and each team communicated what they needed from each other team. In the second
check-in we saw the final logo and learned the tagline that had been approved by the client: “A
free generation.” In the early morning we were able to see nearly complete versions of
everyone’s projects. Then at 11am we all came together with the media present to do a final
reveal and show all aspects of each deliverable.
Wrapping up
At the final group check in, we reviewed the items that could not be fully, 100%
completed by the end of the 24 hours. The case study, for example, got kicked into the near
future. The website also needed some tweaking, and for the next several days, spelling
corrections and some minor content edits were made. Each remaining, incomplete deliverable
was assigned an “owner” who was responsible for making sure that the deliverable was not just
completed, but delivered. In the case of the printed materials, this meant taking the files to the
printer, etc..
11:30am:
- Team leads, writers, client and Creative Director meet to discuss strategy. Key questions: what
are goals/intent? What story are we telling?
- Designers begin work on logo explorations
- Designers meet with copywriters to start brainstorming a tag to go along w/ logo ideas
1:00 pm:
- Everyone gathers back up. We take group picture for critical mass.
- Creative strategy is shared.
6pm:
- Concept review
SUNDAY
12:00a
- Creative review
3:28am:
- We have a tagline! "A free generation"
4:40 - 5:40am:
- Fire alarm in building. Incessant. Fire trucks. Firemen can't turn off alarm, go home. Alarm
continues. Insanity is bricked.
8:19:
- Breakfast arrives
8:30 (?)
- Progress review
10:00
- Wind down
- Creative freeze, finishing up. Writers in a mad dash.
11:00am
- Final creative presentation
- Assigned owners to manage deliverables production
Final Deliverables
1. A name (YouthTurns was created in pre-event planning to allow time for Trademark
research)
2. Tagline (“A Free Generation”)
3. Logo
4. Business card and letterhead
5. A website with donation capability
6. Tri-fold brochure
7. An Ignite PowerPoint presentation
8. A 7 minute video (assets shot before and during the event)
9. Facebook page
10. Twitter page with custom background
11. Marketing & Social Media plan
12. layout of a 64 page handbook for prison families (for parent organization Reconciliation)
13. A website owner’s manual to help the client manage their site.
14. A case study about the event to share what we learned.
Lessons
We surveyed our participants to see what insights we could glean from our process,
determining what was done well, and what areas needed improvement. Here are some summary
notes. The actual survey data is included below and we encourage you to read those, as they’re
full of insight.
Conclusion
The Design-a-thon model of compressed community engagement resulted in an
impressive scope of deliverables and forged a team of community-minded communications
professionals who are excited about doing this kind of project/event again. Many loved the
opportunity to stretch their creative legs, and were rewarded by getting to see the deep impact
this event had on our client and the future of their organization. We estimate that at national-
level agency rates approximately $60-65k worth of services were rendered. Donated space, food,
printing, web hosting, email marketing, and other in-kind donations were valued at
approximately another $10k.
In the spirit of Open Sourced collaboration, we offer our learning about doing this kind of
an event in the hopes that others will take our work apart and put it back together in new, more
efficient and effective ways. Please share what you find out.
Tools used:
Adobe Creative Suite
OpenOffice.org
Wordpress
Ustream and webcam for live video streaming
Powerpoint
Sugarsync for easy file sharing
Googlegroups for list email
Twitter, Tweetdeck, Facebook for social media-ing
Google docs for team roster, collaborative writing, post-event survey
Final Cut Pro for video editing (plugins?)
Video camera
Mobile phone cameras
Digital still cameras
Chalkboard for sign-in/out board
ping-pong paddles, balls and table
XAMP for development web server
Whiteboards, Large Paper Rolls, Markers
Sweet sugarsnacks (oreo’s, chocolate, etc.) for midnight pep
Lots of caffeinated sodas
Media Contacts:
Susan Sizemore, 615.584.3190, susanwsizemore@gmail.com
Claire Ratliff, 615-476-3200, laughingpenguin@comcast.net
Nashville, TN (July 16, 2010) — Reconciliation, Inc., a 24-year-old non-profit agency, is getting
a youthful face lift with the creative genius of more than 30 design professional volunteers.
In an effort to break the endless cycle of generational incarceration, nearly three dozen creative
marketers are collaborating to redefine, expand and develop a logo, collateral pieces and
marketing strategy as well as a website for “YouthTurns,” a newly formed initiative under the
Reconciliation umbrella.
The 24-Hour Design-A-Thon event begins at 11am on Saturday, July 24 at CoLab Nashville (230
4th Avenue North) and is expected to attract volunteers from some of Nashville’s most creative
design teams.
“I am thankful for the outpouring of support for Reconciliation,” said former board member
Anderson Dixon, who knows firsthand about generational incarceration and whose passionate
and compelling story gave birth to the “YouthTurns” initiative as he works to break the cycle he
learned from his father, grandfather and uncles.
“I wasted twenty-seven years of my life in prison,” said Dixon. “This is not something I am
proud of ... it is simply a reality. When I was in prison, microwaves were not even available...”.
He added, “I met some of Nashville’s creative team on Twitter and now they are helping me help
others. The response from Nashville’s tech community is unbelievable. The services provided by
this team are something we simply could not have afforded on our own.” Dixon continued, “We
are hopeful the new website and campaign to support ‘YouthTurns’ will raise much-needed
awareness to stop the alarming trend of generational incarceration.”
The volunteers participating in the 24-Design-A-Thon event represent members of the Nashville
technology community who also donate their time and talents throughout Middle Tennessee.
Other volunteer groups partnering in the effort include CoLab Nashville, the Collaboratory,
GeekforGood.net and Social Media Club Nashville.
In addition to marketing support, local businesses are donating food and services to support the
volunteers during the marathon marketing effort including Advocate Printing, Ellendale’s, Guy
Brown Products, Maffiaoza’s, Panera Bread, Peak 10 and Primarily Rye.
Challenge:
Currently, the project has no identity and no marketing materials to support its mission.
Reconcilliations has an identity, untouched in 25 years, and minimal graphic materials.
Objective:
The goal of the design-a-thon is to deliver usable materials to YouthTurns to begin their
work. Using the materials generated by this design-a-thon project, YouthTurns will be
empowered to speak to audiences about this issue, and have a place to send people to
capture their interest, support and generosity(donate).
Strategy:
As a startup project, the project has a number of programs it envisions:
1. a curriculum for young people
2. an awareness campaign about the issue of generational incarceration
3. extending the reach of the current suite of Reconciliations services.
Initially, the bulk of the work done by YouthTurns will be an extension of the
Reconciliations services, with a focus on intervention and services to youth to divert
young people from following their parents to prison.
Andy Dixon, the principal behind the YouthTurns project is a former convict who has
become a tireless advocate for children of felons. Having served 27 years on an
illegal conviction, he witnessed first-hand the children of prisoners visiting the prison
as children, then landing in prison as convicted criminals. Andy’s first-hand prison
experience, combined with his extensive prison-library-accumulated knowledge of the
corrections industry, his engaging mannerisms and compelling story make Andy an
effective spokesperson for this issue.
After getting out of prison, Andy met an individual with connections to the social media
community, and has spoken twice at the annual 140 conference in New York City,
comparing Twitter to the prison yard.
Our goal is to provide him with the materials he needs to speak in public about the issue
and to leverage his already-emerging platform in the social media world.
2. Tagline (Writers)
A tagline for the YouthTurns project. “Breaking the cycle of generational incarceration”
Audiences: (Who are they, how will they use this brochure or website, what should be
avoided in talking to these audiences)
We are targeting two audiences with two purposes; 1) religious and secular
communities or individuals willing to contribute resources; and 2) potential clients
to inform them of our services. Our greatest concern regarding the solicitation of
communities and individuals is that we not offend some potential contributors by
mentioning religious themes or issues and that we not offend others by excluding them.
We want to avoid demonstrating any type of political or religious bias.
Tone and Image: A serious tone would be most appropriate in presenting our desire
to improve society by supporting families and preventing future crimes. Studies show
that recidivism is reduced when men and women released from prison are happily
reunited with their families. Our focus on helping the children of incarcerated adults
will also significantly reduce the likelihood of future crimes. If we can convince these
children to complete their public education and enter college, society wins because they
will grow into adults who do no commit crimes. It is our hope that those released from
prison will join with their children become viral, and transform society with their message
and actions.
Additional Thoughts:
- Make sure you’re working within the planned donations from vendors. Meaning, don’t
create something that can’t be produced.
- Plan for your process to include presenting your work internally(project leads or
Creative Director) for cohesive brand message
- Plan for your process to include revisions after presenting
- Plan for your process to include presenting your work to the brand’s director. In this
case it will be Andy Dixon
- Plan for your process to include revisions after presenting
- Plan for final presentations
- Plan for releasing all assets of your assigned project/s to the assigned director who
will facilitate the production of the final product
- Make sure we know all the deliverable quantities and launch dates for each
deliverable
Deliverable: Social Media
Implementation Guidebook
Introduction
Andy, it has been an amazing 24-hours learning about generational incarceration, hearing your
plans for Youthturns, and helping to create the materials that will strap rocket boosters to this
organization.
However, with all these new resources, we want to make sure you have a clear understanding of
how to put everything to use. This guidebook is dedicated to making Youthturns social media
and web marketing strategy accessible.
We will outline the networks and platforms we are setting up for Youthturns below. We also
are providing some “best practice” tips for ways you should use each network for the optimal
success.
Target Audience
You will have a diverse group of “listeners” across your social channels that you need to consider
when speaking or posting content updates. These groups include: general consumers, potential
volunteers/mentors, potential donors, potential candidates for the program, members of the
media, and people who are already actively involved in your organization. Speak in a language
that is appropriate for your target audience. How do you know this language? Follow them, and
emulate the way they communicate.
Twitter
You are already connected to Twitter personally. Now take it to the next level with Youthturns.
Think of Twitter as a cocktail party. There are millions of conversations going on around you.
Some have no meaning to you, and never will. But there are many that do. And you need to
interact with them in an engaging fashion. However, the last thing you would do at a cocktail
party is barge in uninvited to an existing conversation. Instead, you stand off to the side, listen
to the interaction and wait for an appropriate time to interject. Choose a time when you’re not
just noise, but able leave the conversation better because you joined it. Find influential people
to follow on Twitter, listen to them, and offer up any help you feel you can provide. Once you
open yourself up and give advice, send a kind word, and prove that you are a thought leader in
your arena, people will want to connect with you.
Use your lifelong experience with generational incarceration as a launching pad for discussion
on the issue. But also do topical research and share useful information you find, with links to
sources. Emphasize credibility in every way, and you will increase awareness of how this cycle
can be broken.
Seek out anyone who is in education, parents, community leaders, politicians, influential
friends, and social media thought leaders (and more that you think of). But don’t just ask then
to retweet your information. Give them a reason to. Make your information so compelling and
filled with facts, case studies, real life testimonies that they can’t help but want to spread the
word.
Tool tip: use search.twitter.com to search for keywords associated with Youthturns. When you
find someone having a conversation that fits, make a connection by following, replying, and
retweeting.
Facebook
Many nonprofits are starting to use the Fanpage as a way to connect with volunteers and solidify
their brand. Use your fanpage as a resource for those who share a common interest and passion
for your cause. Start with your existing friends, and ask them to be your fan.
After your fan page is set up you should embed the link into your newsletter, email, and website
to encourage more people to join. Don't be shy about letting people know about your page as
a means for communication. You can also track how many people view the page on particular
dates by going to the view insights link on your page. You can use this as a metric system to see
how effective this type of advertising is in helping your organization grow.
We have linked your Twitter stream to your Facebook Fan Page so updates you send out over
Twitter will also show up in Facebook. Facebook Fanpages are not permission-based like
personal pages. Anyone can become a fan of your page. Once they “like” your page, help them
interact by asking them to post their stories via video. Tools:
Tool tip: Check out http://www.facebook.com/nonprofits for more tips
Blog
Blogging is a form of communication that allows your organization to build your brand and
personally to feed and inform your audience of what is important to the cause. It reminds
your audience of the problems that exist and the solutions that can be offered. You also build
rapport and attach personality to your brand. But content is king; new statistics or personal
stories keep your audience engaged. Therefore, it is important to regularly update a blog on a
consistent schedule (i.e. every Monday posting new information). And the benefit isn’t just for
your current readers: putting out new and fresh information gives priority to your site in search
engines.
Video Blog/YouTube
YouTube is the largest video sharing site in the world. It lets registered members to upload
videos which can be viewed by the people on the internet. Videos put up are anything from
novice to more pro videos. YouTube is the 2nd most visited internet site, after Google. Andy’s
story is best when heard and video is your number one tool to get that message to your target
audience.
When you post a video, you’ve got to make something that people will find intriguing or helpful
so they’ll check it out. If its uninteresting at the beginning, then they wont even bother viewing
the whole thing. Finally, use your keyword in your title. Make sure you Include the keyword in
your tags and description. A good description should answer the questions of the audience; How
is this video going to benefit them? Finally make sure you “Tag” all your video clips with terms
you want to be associated with “generational incarceration”, “youthturns”, etc. Make sure you
remember to optimize in order to get good search engine rankings. Video is a great way to build
stewardship. Say thank you to your fans, your volunteers and your donors.
Email Marketing
Brand identification is one of the fundamental concepts of marketing, and you can use emails to
contribute to yours. Brand identification is letting people know who you are, and what you stand
for, by creating an image in their minds. This is literally gold in the marketing arena. Email
marketing is a very cost-effective marketing tool that is a simple way to deliver your message.
You must build your list organically and with permission. It is imperative that you ask someone
for permission to send them an email. Otherwise, you are spamming them. Once you have your
list of targeted prospects, use your custom template to deliver timely and effective messages.
Make sure your subject line is catchy, but does not contain Spam content. Do not send emails on
Mondays or Fridays, as these days are when most people are not opening non-essential emails.
Timing of your email is important as well. Send your emails when your audience is most likely to
open them, normally after breakfast or after lunch.
Once your campaign is sent, Emma gathers analytics and will tell you who opened the email,
who clicked through it, who opted out and countless other information that can be used to guide
you in meeting and following up with potential donors and sponsors.
Website
● Traffic/Awareness:
○ Tag all communications, marketing pieces, speeches and company collateral with
web address.
○ Include website url in all social channels as a way for your following to learn
more, donate, etc.
○ Join appropriate directories, non-profit listings (research).
○ Search Engine Marketing: once Youthturns achieves 501c status they should
apply for a Google Grant ($300 AdWords per month) http://www.google.com/
grants/details.html#eligibility.
○ Content on website should include pages targeted at owning the keywords on the
subject: "generational incarceration", "inter-generational incarceration". Suggest
blog posts and informational back pages on the site for each major keyword
group you want to target.
● Content Updates:
○ Update content on a regular basis with information about
■ Speaking engagements (where Andy speaks at, image/clip from
speaking).
■ Research and share news updates on the issue (either press mentions
of Youthturns or simply press coverage on the topic of generational
incarceration).
■ Anonymous stories of real children assisted by the program (show the
children who are benefiting from this program, number of children
served, success stories.
■ Ways people can get involved (donate, share with friends, attend speaking
event, request Andy for a presentation).
○ Video Updates from Andy
■ Video is recommended to highlight Andy's passion for the subject and
authenticity.
■ Clips should vary between clips of him speaking, clips of children sharing
about the program, Andy giving recent "success story" or updates on
Youthturns.
How well did you understand the purpose of the project/the client’s goals
prior to the event?
-- “I don't think the client themselves had more than a general idea of goals/scope of the project
as it relates to the underlying strategy. I think they put themselves in the hands of the team, and
they came through brilliantly.”
-- "A more thorough content strategy and overall planning session that involved all of the team
leads would have been very helpful.
Also, wireframing, site map and page map for Website would have knocked time frames for
completion down, IMO."
-- “Pre-meetings were very helpful and the leadership meetups were crucial.”
-- “The Creative Brief was very informative. I do not know if it could have been explained any
clearer prior to hearing Andy tell his story. However, maybe tasks could be assigned beforehand.
For instance, I was on the design team, I probably could have been doing research about non-
profit design, youth design, even existing programs focused on prison outreach.”
-- "An overview of expectations would have been good although I know team leads were in the
loop.”
-- “Changing agenda made it a bit hard to plan, especially for media - but then they can be a
fickle bunch as well.”
-- “I think there were some areas of the services they provide that were not full flushed out (on
their end) which made creating content for it difficult.”
-- “I found out about it through Primarily Rye's newsletter. I honestly had no real clue except
that it was a 24hr event. I am so glad that I did it!”
-- “What are the next steps for ongoing help/continuity? Did we discuss this and I missed it?“
What is your level of satisfaction of the experience working on the project?
-- “Timing was everything. And we did a good job with the process and how everyone new at
what stage we were in and what was needed. The talent selected was great. The right amount of
people to accomplish what we needed”
-- “It was an incredible event and I think that a lot was accomplished.”
-- “Hard to access all online in google docs, I tried to access the Marketing Plan but I don't seem
to be able to edit it.”
-- “I think there was a lot of chaos at times, which can be good, but only the outcome of that
chaotic event is then properly focused into real deliverables. Also, my team (web) needed
another person in order to let some of us take a break (or a longer one). This resulted in very
tired team members by the end, and a lack of focus through the meat of our work.”
-- “Feel we nailed it. The message was really important to the success and the language and
concept I feel will get attention.”
-- “my team leader was dogmatic in his insistance on doing things his way which he believed
was the only right way - I know we could have accomplished a lot more if he had been open to
listening to others”
-- "Pre-event coordination and planning time. Jessica made the event possible with all her work
prior to the event. I would have liked to have coordinated more with PR. I'd've liked to have had
weeklies and newspapers covering as well. The TV coverage RULED. It was totally awesome to
see.”
-- “I was also pretty nervous about the scope. It was an ambitious project, and everyone came
through HUGE to deliver an impressive amount of work."
-- “Implementing content strategies on the fly, and trying to write copy with little background or
comp. research.”
-- “Working with people I never had before. But it ended up like I had. Web development team
needed input faster than they actually got it.”
-- “This project was amazing to be a part of. One suggestion would be to give the teams a little
more background info on the organization before hand (competitive info, general info on the
org, etc). I think this would have saved some time in the beginning when we had a lot of our
energy haha.“
-- “It took me a little while to clue in to what was going on. However, I also showed up 2hours
late, so that might have been my fault.”
-- “The organization of what we needed to do and having all the files readily available. Also,
dealing with some stronger personalities! :)”
-- “I worked hard to do the tasks assigned even though they didn't seem very useful to me
-- ”Relied on Jessica to handle the pre-event/sponsorship details and recruiting. Being new to
Nashville limited the depth of my resource pool to draw from. As a result of the event, though,
my networks' grown by 30 Nashville geeks! W00t!!”
-- “Collaboration was great!. Communication. Getting the web team the audience flow and needs
faster. They didn't need content, they needed how the user engages with the site info first.
We just rolled with it!”
-- “Went home - lol. Asked questions and ALL were eager to share.”
-- “Trying to be a self-starter, I used what information I could to start and just update as
information trickled in.”
-- “I would be more vocal at the beginning about my team's need for better direction and more
concrete ideas of what we could do to benefit everyone else and better accomplish our part of the
deliverables.”
-- “I'd like to have an easier way for people to stay connected, too. Like I'd like to be able to
add everyone's email address to a form and have it automatically connect me via FB, Twitter,
LinkedIn, etc.. I'm working on a GeekForGood profile system which might be able to do that,
too.”
-- “Sweets and chocolate covered espresso beans available in the evening, too. Made a late night
run to pick up snacks.”
-- “On the sponsorship tip, I'd probly find a single money sponsor to pay for meals and
materials. While it worked out, we had more food than we needed.”
-- “Relating to the writing team specifically, there were some brainstorming notes made in prior
meetings that would have been helpful to us in the beginning that we ended up getting later in
the day.”
-- “I don't know that there were many notes made at prior meetings for this event, but my
suggestion would be that any notes in general made prior could have been posted to a Google
doc somewhere so each team could have reviewed before hand."
-- “I think it might be better if it started at 8am and ran into midnight. Then maybe the next
day could be a "clean-up" crew. So whatever projects had lose ends could be pulled together to
completion.”
-- “Probably stay”
-- “Have some thing ready to go...like content. It's mostly supplied from the client, so that way
all we'd have to do is tweak/dress up and move forward.”
-- “Push the design more, therefore, having some prep time before the event to get things super
organized so we can hit the ground running with design.”
What definitely DID work, or rather, what would you keep the same?
-- “The teams openness to working with other teams.”
-- “I really enjoyed the team approach where we were divided by skill sets - it's very conducive to
getting things done.”
-- "Wow. So much worked really, really well. Identifying team leads and making sure that all
volunteers knew who their leads were. Tying deliverables to teams, so teams knew what they
were working on. Having a passionate, committed client who was available the entire time was
essential. The communications loops were super tight.”
-- “I also think that focusing on a single non-profit and going deep was a good idea. Bruce's
experience in doing many non-profits in a night confirms this for me."
-- “Team leads and participants devoted to specific tasks. The regular group meetings were very
helpful.”
-- “I thought the size of the teams was appropriate. It seemed that each team ended up being
around 5 people (or less), which I think was the perfect size. Too many more might have not
made it such a cohesive working group.”
-- “The team leaders were great. The meetings were productive. The tasks were delegated very
well.”
-- “Crowdsourcing”
-- "Same group!”
-- “Don't know about breakthroughs, but really blown away by the power of alignment - what
can happen when talented made a people come together with common cause. I think I got
another glimpse into group dynamics/energy. Witnessing ‘the team’ as an entity was cool.”
-- “Not sure innovative would accurately describe, but I'm happy that we pulled together and
stayed on the same page for the most part.”
-- “Continue talks with Andy and Linda to find out more needs they didn't even realize they
needed that could have made them even more successful. Like the educators angle.”
-- “Coming up with concepts rather quickly (especially after just learning about the client), i.e.,
the "Imagine If..." campaign, tagline, etc. “
-- “Teamwork. It was so cool to work with people that I had just met.”
-- “The marketing ideas behind building a brand weren't transparent to me before and now I'm
able to take that and apply it to my profession.”
-- “Realizing that this in a non-profit with little knowledge of the internet so we kept things
simple.”
How (if at all) did you adjust your typical client-facing process to adapt to
the needs of this project/client?
-- “More hands on deck, more listening and negotiating.”
-- “Rather than establishing a command-and-control structure with one person "in charge"
the event was pretty well distributed. The CD did an awesome job of guiding the process,
providing feedback, insight and direction, but it really felt like the teams themselves defined and
delivered.”
-- “Usually require a content strategy and critique before any copywriting, so we had to lean on
each other for information and research.”
-- “Andy was so laid back, so the approval process was very different.
-- “Not really changed... altered in the sense that the client was there the entire time, but how we
talked to them wasn't much different.”
- “I did not.”
-- “I would be a little careful about making sure my skills were needed but if it was a good fit,
yes,I would do another design-a-thon.”
-- “Yes, I love wortking with talented people in a fast-paced environment for a good cause.”
-- “Most likely, it was fun (until I crashed afterward) and I made lots of great connections.”
-- “Yes, really neat idea, great collaborative tool. A great way to show that good design is relevant
In the life of a non-profit and helping getting a solid message across.”
-- “Absolutely - it was a lot of fun watching everyone work in something they were so passionate
about.”
-- “It feels good to have been part of the process of helping YouthTurns. It's a great organization
and knowing I had a part in helping Andy with his work is very rewarding.”
-- “Connecting with the team. I feel so much love for each person, it's silly. The bonding that
occurs from working together like that is really awesome.”
-- “Knowing that we've helped a great organization take very important first steps.
helping someone in need. And that someone shared a very personal part of their life with all of
us.(Jamie)”
-- “All of the completed, great work we were able to accomplish in the short time frame that will
really help to get YouthTurns up and running. The most rewarding aspect was working with
amazing people who wanted to make a difference.”
-- “Everything. From meeting Andy and Linda and hearing their story to seeing everyone else
give up their time, energy, sleep and skills to work towards this cause. People continuously
amaze me.”
-- “Contributing to such a tremendous cause. Meeting Andy (and all of the team)
feeling like i made a difference for a good cause. andy was an amazing person.”
-- “Knowing that a worthy cause was helped, and working with so many great people/peers.
The personal connections made.”
-- ”Working with everyone and all the laughs!”
-- “Seeing that we really helped Andy move forward with the tools we provided.”
-- “Planning sessions with more specific progress measurements and goals prior to event.”
-- “More time with the client (maybe it was because I missed some of that).”
-- “I think the Ichat room was a good idea but it wasn't really utilized. So things that we had
questions about, such as typefaces, colors could be quickly answered if everyone had connected.
- just a thought.”