LUME Institute works each day to elevate the field of early childhood education, starting with our most valuable asset to young learners: our teachers.
Objective
LUME’s research lead them to the understanding that children learn better when their emotional needs are met in the classroom, however they lacked direct evidence that their methods worked. So when the results from a long-awaited study confirmed that LUME’s approach improved the mental health of children taught by LUME-trained teachers, they wanted to get the word out.
Strategy
After combing through the impressive 50+ page report and talking to a variety of stakeholders, the heart of the matter was clear: children learn better, and feel more supported, under the care of LUME-trained teachers. To share this with the world, we created a video, website, and social media campaign that reaches their target audience–educators–by first establishing common ground through shared classroom experiences and emotions.
They Call Us Educators
The core of our campaign was an animated video that showcases a day-in-the-life of a LUME teacher and how they use their expertise to impact young learners emotionally and academically.
““ I appreciate your commitment and dedication to our project and the thoughtful nature of your thinking. I loved working with your team.”
Steve Zwolak, CEO, LUME Institute
Spreading the Word
A campaign landing page serves as a home base for the video, and point of promotion for pushing the video live to their audiences. It also gives users more information, a link to the full study, and a quick way to check out key statistics.
Results
The video and coordinating handouts are used at speaking engagements across the country, connecting with potential LUME-teacher-training participants. While the campaign helped raise awareness of LUME’s work in general, it’s also been a heartfelt way to recognize early childhood teachers for the hard work they put in each day. And finally, the organization increased its return on the investment of creating these assets when they chose “Year of the Teacher” as the theme for their annual gala, sharing the video with their strongest supporters and inspiring additional investment in their mission.