Fostering healthy relationships begins at a young age. Recognizing this behavior, Mecklenburg County’s Community Support Services tapped the creative work of Lyerly Agency for a campaign directed at middle and high school students on choosing positive relationships each and every day. With a goal of capturing this audience through Mecklenburg County Schools, Lyerly developed a strategic and dynamic plan to share motivating messages with students.
A distinct, memorable brand was the first step in gaining the attention of a youthful audience. With goals of violence prevention, respect and positive relationship awareness at the forefront, Lyerly created The CLEAR Initiative – Choose. Listen. Engage. Avoid. Respect. By encouraging students to choose healthy relationships; listen without blame or judgment; engage outside help if it’s needed; avoid at-risk situations; and respect everyone, LA presented a cohesive campaign promise in conjunction with its name. A colorful logo was also developed and implemented across all branding collateral.
Once these core branding pieces were in place, an informational brochure was created for the project – from concept to design through printing for distribution. Lyerly also designed and directed the creation of several marketing pieces that would gain student interest – friendship bracelets, bookmarks, branded 3-D puzzle cube, T-shirts, earbuds and water bottles. The friendship bracelets as well as a branded mascot – including a costume – were implemented at the middle school level.
A social media vending machine also was implemented as part of the campaign where the “currency” was a tweet using the campaign hashtag. Upon receiving the hashtagged tweet, the touchscreen machine would dispense a free branded item. This revolutionary machine created quite a stir among students and staff on school campuses.