2. Table of Contents. !
BACKGROUND !
Project summary and info about BYO consulting!
!
PROCESS!
Description of our bespoke audience centered
design process!
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SAMPLE DISCOVERY TOOLS!
Description of our bespoke audience centered
design process!
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WHAT WE LEARNED!
Key learnings from the discovery and refinement
phases of the project!
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FINAL STRATEGY!
Description of the final design concept!
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IMPLEMENTATION !
Implementation of final strategy!
!
4. Established in 1943 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Architectural
Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates the public about
the power of architecture to improve lives and transform communities. !
!
Each year AAF is on the ground in more than 75 cities across the country, helping local
leaders use design as a catalyst for innovation and action.!
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5. AAF hired BYO to create a
constituent engagement strategy.!
Project Goal: Develop a range of engagement strategies that
will strengthen community and raise the profile of !
!
Project Process: BYO ran a strategy design process to
develop a set of delightful social communications strategies
that engage audiences, and fit AAFʼs organizational style
and capacity. !
!
Project Timeline: Strategy (January-February 2011)
Implementation (April 2011)!
!
!
!
6. Why they chose BYO. !
We solve public problems through digital innovation. !
BYO was chosen to lead this project because of our strong background in government technology and
our focus on solving public problems through human-centered digital strategy and design. !
!
We focus on the user. !
Working across the government and non-profit sectors, we help our clients leverage social technology
for the greater good by understanding their audiences and crafting impactful digital strategies, products
and services that meet their needs. !
!
We understand government and social change. !
We have deep expertise in government and social sectors, and our clients span a variety of sectors;
from arts administration to aerospace, the media to the military, and architectural design to education
reform – we speak our clients language. We understand their motivations. We feel their challenges. And
we take great delight in crafting innovative solutions that solve their problems in meaningful and
engaging ways. !
!
We develop creative yet appropriate//practical solutions!
Creativity is important, and we are constantly creating ideas for cutting edge campaigns. However, we
will never propose something that does not match our clientʼs brand or organizational goals. !
!
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7. What we do.!
We design strategies and products…!
• Online Communications // Marketing // Engagement!
• Digital Technology Product Requirements !
• Public Services !
• Social Media Engagement!
• Community Building!
• Organizational Development!
• Training and Curriculum!
!
…using human-centered research and design techniques: !
• Interviews !
• Field Observations!
• Focus Groups !
• Surveys !
• Design Charrettes !
• Ideation Sessions and Workshops !
• Desktop Studies !
• Literature Reviews!
• Quantitative // Qualitative Data Analysis!
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9. We use an audience-centered model !
to design engagement strategies!
!
We believe that the most effective products, services, and strategies are those that tap into the
needs, desires, behaviors, and motivations of their intended audience.!
!
However, in the government / social sector, the funding, policy and political ecosystem,
organizational constraints, and project capacities are all important factors to include in the analysis. !
Who are the stakeholders
How can we leverage the Eco-System! that we should involve in this
expertise and resources from project? How can we help
the organization to support them, and what do we need
this project? ! Organizations! from them?!
What are our funding and
sustainability constraints?!
Products //
Services! How can we ensure that
the strategy meets our
What does our community intended policy goals while
care about? What are their engaging our audience?!
Audience!
motivations? How can we
engage them while meeting
their needs?!
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10. Itʼs important to consider the range of audiences
when developing engagement strategies.!
The Core: this group is your creative
heart. They are your content creators
and key evangelists that energize the
campaign. They need to be the center of
attention and incentivized to drive
engagement.!
Moderates: this group is your
megaphone. They help you get the
word out, blog about your cause, mash
up and distribute existing content,
comment on videos and promote the
work of the core. Look after them and
they will spread the word far and wide.!
Passives: The largest group are
your consumers. They eat up the
work of the core and the moderates,
watch the content, and share it
throughout their network.!
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11. Our design process starts with participatory
ideation and ends with focused user input!
HOW IT WORKS - We start by collecting data and running ideation sessions with stakeholders to
develop a large solution set. Then we test those potential solutions with our core users through design
charrettes, site visits, and focus groups to refine and select the most meaningful solution. !
Project Kick-off!
Discovery! Discovery:
desktop studies,
user surveys,
and expert
interviews
Refinement!
Refinement: design
charrettes, site visits,
focus groups
Design Sign-off! Most meaningful solution
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14. BYO conducted a variety of discovery
techniques to learn more about AAFʼs
mission, goals, and audiences.!
!
Through this discovery phase, we
uncovered AAFʼs identity and potential
for engagement. !
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15. !
BYO asked staff members to envision their constituent
engagement goals. !
17. These are the engagement goals
that emerged:!
1! 2! 3!
Consistent Engagement:! Connect + Catalyze:! Expand Knowledge:!
! ! !
Maintain consistent Be a respected connector Expand the knowledge
engagement with constituents and catalyst. Grow the base for constituents.
and implement consistent community and Provide more access to
messaging across all content acknowledge our high quality resources and
platforms. ! sponsors. Create new information. !
opportunities for
engagement. !
These goals provided the framework for the rest of our
work together. !
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20. AAF Identified three audience categories.!
!Funders: they give us the jet fuel that makes things work. !
City Leaders: Mayors K-12 Leaders, and other decision
makers!
Resource Team Members: Architects, planners and other
design professionals!
!
!These groups all have different needs and required
!different engagement strategies (see design section) !
!
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21. Everyone LOVES what AAF does. AAF
touches a lot of smart people and holds
a lot of social capital. People see it as
part of their professional network.!
!
“AAF helps us stay on top of the game!”!
!
!
Programs: The Sustainable Cities Design Academy,
Great Schools by Design, The Mayors Institute on
City Design, Architecture + Design Education
Network, Accent on Architecture Gala, and more! !
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22. !
AAF staff members then mapped out where AAF stands in
their ecosystem, including 1. groups who share the space, !
2. partners, and 3. competitors. !
23. AAF resides within an ecosystem of
robust organizations who come to AAF
for its design and architectural expertise.
!
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24. Understanding Your Organization!
CIRCUS! LAUNCHPAD! SQUARE!
!
MARKET! SCHOOL! STORE!
!
We then asked staff, “If AAF were a place, what would it be?”
These were the places they listed. !
LIBRARY! BUFFET! BAR!
25. Understanding Your Organization!
!
In subsequent meetings, we discussed the significance of
these places and how they relate to each other and to AAF !
26. AAF is a platform for engagement and action
based on their goals, the places they identify
with, and the way that people describe them.!
“We provide professionals with the space and time to think about the issues
that constrain them and the solutions that will provide them with opportunity.”!
!
“With so many partnerships that are crucial for us, making and keeping
connections and acting as a roundtable is important.”!
!
“Weʼre a convener. We connect people to resources and other people.”!
!
!
“AAF connects audiences and convenes key stakeholders. They facilitate
the process of mission critical dialogue – that results in decision makers
making better decisions.”!
!
!
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27. The bottom line is, AAF had all the right
ingredients – they just needed to be put
together in the right way.!
!
!
People want consistent and ongoing
connections. They want an active online
presence. !
!
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29. !
AAF AS A PLATFORM!
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30. AAF is a platform for engagement and action
based on their goals, the places they identify
with, and the way that people describe them.!
!
“AAF is like a great airport. Always unique, but performing an important
function of bringing people together, giving them what they need, and then
sending them off to where they need to be.”!
!
!
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31. !
Operating like a platform allows for an open and simple yet robust infrastructure
that exposes and celebrates their community. AAF should act like a marketplace
or a bazaar for ideas and as an enabler of change.!
32. The good news? Theyʼre already doing it.!
By recognizing and owning that, itʼs possible to build the
communications infrastructure and processes to support it.!
!
…which leads to the ability to: Engage. Aggregate. Amplify.!
!
!
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33. So how can AAF build on that and become
even more like a platform?!
!We suggested the following:!
!!
!1. Be ROBUST: Be intentional, invest in flexible infrastructure, !act
!as a service provider, set standard process!
!
!2. Be SIMPLE: Build a simple system and let it evolve, start small
!and build on success, watch and respond to patterns of use, learn to
!love the unexpected.!
!
!3. Be OPEN: Give your community a voice, set your defaults,
!provide opportunities for connecting, sharing and cross pollination !
!of ideas.!
!
!4. Be DATA DRIVEN: Collect data about everything, set targets and
!metrics to measure, review and respond accordingly.!
34. Being a platform helps meet the
engagement goals.!
1! 2! 3!
Consistent Engagement:! Connect + Catalyze:! Expand Knowledge:!
! ! !
Maintain consistent Be a respected connector Expand the knowledge
engagement with and catalyst. Grow the base for constituents.
constituents and implement community and Provide more access to
consistent messaging acknowledge our high quality resources and
across all content sponsors. Create new information. !
platforms. ! opportunities for
engagement. !
Proprietary // Confidential // BYO 34!
consulting LLC 2011 !
35. Based on our analysis, the critical areas
for communication were:!
Website!
Content!
Events!
Social Media!
Email!
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37. !
!
www.archfoundation.org!
Goals:!
- The web becomes the heart and soul of the AAF community!
- Showcase programs, work, resource team members!
- Celebrate the success of program participants and partners/
founders!
- Break down barriers between programs!
Implementation Plan:!
-Develop a monthly content plan to provide structure!
-Curate content streams to allow the community to have a voice!
-Share posting responsibilities between individual programs!
-Develop a robust tagging vocabulary, allowing for cross-indexing
and social sharing of content !
-Invest in training for staff that will be updating the site!
!
38.
39. !
!
Twitter – @aafdesign !
Goals:!
- Use Twitter as a megaphone for announcements to increase
awareness about AAF and to reach people in existing online
communities!
Implementation Plan:!
-Establish a content plan that is linked with the website content
strategy!
-Find partners/community and follow them, retweet them, and link
to their content in tweets!
-Reach out to a broader range of constituents by using relevant
hashtags!
-Use tweets to announce project/program updates!
40.
41. !
!
Video!
High quality, engaging video will become a major pillar of content
offered by AAF. !
!
Goals:!
- Build up a library of content from site visits, events, and interviews!
- Make video library searchable and systematized!
- Distribute video on the web using Youtube and Vimeo, live stream
using Ustream.!
!
Implementation Plan:!
-Staff should bring a fully charged flipcam to every site visit, and
shoot short (<5 min.) clips to allow for easy editing in the future!
-Use descriptive titles with dates, locations, and interview subject
names, and tag the videos using the dedicated tagging vocabulary!
-Post on Youtube, Vimeo, and elsewhere online with AAF branding!
42.
43. Campaign: Video!
Site Visit Scavenger Hunt:!
- Develop a checklist of items to film on every site visit, such as a
busy main street, children playing, a bus stop, bike riders, a
residential street, etc.!
!
Community Interviews:!
- Collect short conversational interviews with relevant AAF
community members (mayors, funders, resource team members)!
- Create a list of standard questions to ask each participant that can
be used in short and long form videos. !
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44. Campaign: National Mayors Summit on
City Design !
Campaign Goals:!
- Extend online impact of the National Mayors Summit on City Design !
- Celebrate the voice of our community !
- Gather content that aligns to strategic goals !
-Elevate AAFʼs status as content curation experts !
- Raise AAFs profile (credibility by association and affiliation) !
- Launch AAFs Social Media Efforts !
Strategies/Methods:!
-iPad interviews!
-Flipcam interviews!
-Twitter!
-Photography!
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45. NMSCD: goals/strategies for interviews!
iPad Interviews:!
- Demonstrate AAF as a platform who AGGREGATES, AMPLIFIES,
and ENGAGES its community by collecting and sharing their
thoughts, expertise, and opinions. !
- Ask a simple, non-intrusive question pertaining to city design.!
Flipcam Interviews:!
- Ask everyone the same ONE question to encourage interest in
comparing responses!
- Ask reflection questions, allowing people to feel connected to the
event and to AAF.!
- Ask questions connected to the content of the event, that extend
beyond its reach. This creates a great resource for future ideas.!
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46. NMSCD: goals/strategies for twitter!
@AAFdesign:!
- Develop AAFdesignʼs voice, which is all about AGGREGATING,
AMPLIFYING, and ENGAGING!
- Use hashtags, retweets, mentions, lists, and direct messages !
!
@ronbogle:!
- Ron should tweet using his own personality, to begin to develop his
voice on twitter!
- Should interject personal beliefs, ideas, and feelings into stream !
- Respond to peopleʼs ideas, tweets, and comments !
- Aggregate, amplify and engage, with the focus on the face of AAF !
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