Students work for “More Good”
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ommunications students at BYU have taken to heart the counsel of Elder M. Russell Ballard urging Church members to spread gospel messages through new media. “The emergence of new media is facilitating a worldwide conversation on almost every subject, including religion, and nearly everyone can participate,” Elder Ballard said. “This modern equivalent of
“Text, video, blogs and other online venues are accessible to those seeking truth from Tooele to Tokyo.” the printing press is not reserved only for the elite.” (Ensign, July 2008, p. 58) The Ad Lab and Bradley Public Relations recently did their part by offering their services to the More Good Foundation (www.moregoodfoundation. org). The foundation, a nonprofit organization, shows Latter-day Saints how to share their beliefs online. David Neeleman, founder and former CEO of JetBlue Airways, and James Engebretsen, assistant dean of the BYU Marriott School, created the foundation (which is not affiliated with the Church) in 2005. Its goal is to increase positive and accurate information about the Church on the Internet and to provide Web applications to assist and support members in sharing their life experiences online. In its three years of operation, the foundation has created approximately 125 Web sites that invite friends of other faiths to hear the gospel from ordinary members of the Church. These sites include
Mormonbeliefs.org, Christ.org, LDS.net, Mormonwoman.org, Mormonchurch.com and many others, with translations into nearly a dozen languages. “Returned missionaries, as well as individual members of the Church, often feel there is less to do here in Utah Valley to share the message of the Restoration,” said Karen Merkley, director of marketing and public relations for the foundation. “Now the world really is at their fingertips and their voices can be published almost instantly in text, video, blogs and other online venues that are accessible to those seeking truth from Tooele to Tokyo. Our potential outreach is exponentially increased.” Under the direction of Kevin Kelly and Jeff Sheets, the Ad Lab organized teams of students to develop a marketing brand, identify Internet super-users who may contribute to the sites and create potential ads and e-cards for use on the foundation’s sites. Mark Callister and Brad Rawlins, along with Jeff DuBois of Bradley Public Relations, also got their students involved. They developed and sent out an online survey to a sample of LDS respondents. They examined the attitudes, knowledge and behaviors regarding Internet usage of the 700 respondents. More specifically, the students measured the users’ level of comfort in sharing their religious beliefs online with friends. They analyzed the results and presented their findings to the foundation. Jonathan Johnson, president of the More Good Foundation, was excited to see the results the Ad Lab and public relations classes and agency produced. “The amount of research and quality of the results they provided actually exceeded my expectations and will influence our
venues and the paths we pursue,” Johnson said. “We’re thrilled that this kind of interdepartmental effort was initiated for such a significant nonprofit cause.” Students who participated in the project felt fortunate to have the opportunity to gain not only work experience but also to be a part of something that could help spread the gospel globally. “I feel the More Good Foundation account exemplifies something that sets our program apart from all other advertising programs,” said Kevin Wunder, a student who acted as the foundation’s advertising account executive throughout the project. “The Ad Lab is an amazing thing for students because we are able to work with big brands like Nike, yet our professors always jump at the chance for us to work with an organization like More Good. They always want us to remember that our advertising abilities are not only meant to make us a living, but also to better the lives of those around us and move the kingdom forward.” How to Participate in the Online Discussion 1. Participate at LDS.net. 2. Share your beliefs on Facebook. 3. Post a video on a video-sharing Web site. 4. Support Mormon videos on YouTube. 5. Post mission and wedding photos on Flickr. 6. Answer a question at Yahoo! Answers. 7. Blog what you’ve learned and how you know. 8. Comment on other blogs. 9. Edit Wikipedia.org or MormonWiki.com. 10. Donate to or volunteer with the More Good Foundation www.moregoodfoundation.org
2008-2009
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