For the 2013 Cannes young Lions Media Competition, contestants were tasked with creating a strategic media plan that would increase awareness and engagement for the KaBOOM! brand; an organization leading the charge in building play spaces for kids across america. My teammate and I made it to the finals along with 6 other teams out of 125 nation wide. We places 3rd in the U.S. Finals.

2. KaBOOM! is an important, but small part of a larger
ecosystem
Play movement ecosystem
this is a sample of some of the organizations
Researching
benefits of
play
Policy/
Governmental
organizations
Bringing play to
communities and
schools
Importance
of exercise
and health
for kids

3. Considering KaBOOM!’s current position in the play
movement, we see two problems
Cultural Issue
KaBOOM! is a part of a movement
everyone agrees with, but few are
willing to fight for
99%
of people believe play is important
for children
but only...
are currently involved in any
% organization devoted to child wellbeing, recreation or health
16
KaBOOM’s Issue
KaBOOM! has an amazing offering,
but barely anyone knows about us
Over
of planning committee members
% were satisfied with the KaBOOM!
process
90
but only...
7%
of adults in the U.S. have heard of and
are familiar with KaBOOM!’s offerings
How can KaBOOM! raise awareness by reframing the
play movement as something worth fighting for?
KaBOOM! Research n=400, nationally representative sample of adults between 18-65
Knight foundation Evaluation (www.knightfoundation.org)

4. By exposing the most important issue...
The United States doesn’t consider ‘play’
to be a Human Right for children.
Even though...
and..
3 out of 4
adults in the U.S. believe that
play should be considered a
human right
United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 31: “States Parties recognize the right
of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in
play...”
The U.S. and Somalia are
the only countries yet to ratify this treaty
KaBOOM! Research n=400, nationally representative sample of adults between 18-65

5. This means redefining our DNA - we don’t just build playgrounds,
we’re a Human Rights organization fighting for a Child’s Right to
Play
The Transformation
From:
Play movement
a fight against:
Obesity
ADHD
Stunted social, cognitive
development,
Fragmented communities
Playground-building
NGO
KaBOOM! building playspaces
To:
Human Rights
Issue
a cause worth fighting for
For:
Human Rights
Organization
KaBOOM! defending the right’s of a
child
Building a
playground
Building a coalition
around the issue
creating a space for kids to play
fighting for a child’s right to play
Petition to the
U.S. Congress
We’ll raise awareness of
KaBOOM! by leading the
charge to ratify the
Convention on the Rights
of the Child -- The petition
will be featured on the
KaBOOM! website

6. A human rights organization needs activists to fight in its
corner -- children are the best activists we can have to
fight this issue with us
Why Children?
Because children are innately play
activists
Children have enacted
social change before
Sara Kavanaugh successfully
petitioned Gatorade to remove BVO
from it’s drinks with over 200,000
signatures
Severn Cullis-Suzuki silenced the UN
General Assembly speaking about
environmental issues
Children most
immediately effected this is their reality
85% of adults believe that the
amount of play (for kids) has
decreased since they were a kid
KaBOOM! Research n=400, nationally representative sample of adults between 18-65
http://www.addletters.com/pictures/newspaper-generator/3759001.htm
P amplification could
.R.
be enormous

7. We’ll seed the cause through them -- Children will be our
grass roots activists
Who
Action
Our influencer/activists
who articulate the
urgency of the issue to
adults
Children
Audience
Parents and
adults
Petition
Legislators
Schools, Digital Media,
Events
Adults who need to get
on board with the cause
and sign the petition
Conduit
Primary Target
How
Through their children,
Mom blogs
Petition
Our primary target of
legal change makers
who will receive the
petitions
Ratification
KaBOOM! Research n=400, nationally representative sample of adults between 18-65
http://www.addletters.com/pictures/newspaper-generator/3759001.htm
Petition from the
Children and their
parents
Ratification

8. Each message will educate play activists about their right
to play and provide means to sign the petition
Key channels for children
Out of home
Supplementary
channel
Digital Media
Events
What:
What:
What:
Via re:fuel - a youth marketing
service that specializes in targeted
media plans in schools. (Based off
offerings we choose we have the
potential to reach over 5,000
schools during Q3 and Q4)
Poptropica is a massive multi player
online virtual world that reaches 8
million unique kids/month aged
6-11
KaBOOM! done-in-a-days builds
can serve as play activist rallies in
communities. (38% of build day
volunteers became involved in new
volunteer opportunities)
Why:
Through schools we will tell our play
activists that they have a right to play
Offerings:
A branded curriculum paired with an
in school competition. Bookmarks,
and PTO Back to School Packs all
designed to drive back to the petition.
Prior to school, we’ll distribute back to
school parent packs with information
regarding KaBOOM! and the
competition
Why:
Screen based platforms are the
norm for children - rather than
challenge the dominance of the
screen let’s use it to our
advantage - gamify KaBOOM! and
the Right to Play
Offerings:
Allows KaBOOM! to custom
design mini games centered
around the Right to Play through
an interactive experience that will
drive them to the petition.
re:fuel capabilities and pricing
Poptropica capabilities and pricing
Knight foundation Evaluation (www.knightfoundation.org)
Why:
By owning the issue themselves they
become direct enablers of change.
Offerings:
Every KaBOOM! done-in-a-day will
feature information about the child’s
right to play and a way to push the
petition forward
Mom Bloggers
What:
We preach to influential Mom
Bloggers about the urgency of
their Child’s Right to play
Why:
There are nearly 3.5 million
mom bloggers in N. America
with kids aged 2-11
We’ll provide with them
spreadable information
about the US’s failure to
ratify the Convention on the
Rights of the child and to
sign and share the petition

9. The program explained
Digital Media
Events
KaBOOM! will build an exclusive Custom
Quest game in Poptropica that will give
children a chance to interact with the
brand and idea of their ‘Right to Play’
KaBOOM! done-in-a-days will transform
into a Child’s Right Rally -- we’ll invite
speakers, community leaders and
children play activists to speak about the
right of the child to play.
31
Out of
home
Ar
tic
le
Defend
your
right!
KaBOOM! will develop a in-school
curriculum centered around human
rights. As a part of the materials, children
will be exposed to the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child. Following the
curriculum there will be a competition
based on KaBOOM!’s design day
concept.
Children will be given the chance to
concept a playground for themselves and
a community in need and to bring a copy
of Article 31 and the petition home.
Additional materials such as book covers,
book marks and locker calendars will be
designed to be mailable as a petition.
Petition
Petition
The game itself will challenge children to
help rescue other kid avatars in the
game from the obstacles preventing
them from getting to ‘their’ playground.
The game will ultimately drive winners/
completers to the petition housed on the
KaBOOM! website.
Materials such as t-shirts with Articles 31
(Right to Play), stickers pronouncing “I’m
a play activist”, badges with “I fight for my
right to play”.
Additionally, we will have banner ads on
casual gaming and entertainment sites
frequented by 6-11 year olds
Petition
Petition

10. Flowchart: Total budget $3,000,000
Sources: re:fuel capabilities estimates, Poptropica capability estimates, Ad Network: Genome by Yahoo! estimates, done-in-a-day materials and shipping estimates