Nike | Girl Effect

Nike had caught the world’s attention with a powerful advert for empowering girls. Now what?

Nike needed to capitalise on the runaway success of their Girl Effect launch film by turning the compelling 2 minute film into a content resource for NGOs and KOFs. Designed to shake up the global development sector for girls.

Approach: I led the project to find a way to use content to reach, engage and inform people from government to grassroots NGOs to girls themselves. The result was

Results:

A multimedia website and social presence that allowed people to learn more, and to discover the free downloadable tools and resources they needed to make change happen.
A social strategy and weekly content publishing

Nike’s Girl Effect is an innovative non-profit born out of a collaboration between the Nike Foundation and the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID). Their mission is to educate, empower and inspire girls in developing countries so that they stay in school longer, have children later and are therefore more likely to be able to support their families and break the cycle of poverty.

Role: Group Editor

Agency: Zone

In detail

This project began with a two-minute animation posing the idea that to truly change the world, development organisations should invest in 12 year old girls. The film was shown by Oprah Winfrey and had attracted millions of views and comments of support - asking how to get involved. The problem was Nike hadn’t got that bit ready yet. I was part of the pitch team that had the ‘what next?’ solution. We would join the Girl Effect team in the partnerships it had forged with NGOs and Development agencies to create a comprehensive destination for all people working in development for girls, globally.

It comprised information, tools, video case studies and comprehensive reports and policies set in an innovative, responsive learning website.

Research and development

I ran a series of interviews with grassroots and high profile NGOs to understand development progress, mis-steps and frustrations from those running programmes for girls around the world. This included a three day workshopping session with programme leaders from DFID, UNICEF, Care, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UN World Food Programme.

Tone, Art Direction and Content

It was fundamental to the concept that the tone of the Girl Effect was uplifting and empowering. We were giving a platform to the girls and their potential, not presenting them as victims. We needed to develop the brand to be a reflection of their energy. To speak to a more youthful, global target audience.

This direction was applied across photography and video briefs, in the written tone of voice and into the design direction with the choice of brand colours, use of graphic imagery and kinetic typography.

However, what we were talking about was serious - and so behind the upbeat and engaging content was rigorously researched data, whitepapers and effectiveness studies. All of this foundational content was referenced and linked on the website, even from the most ‘snackable’ content.

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