Jen Vladmirsky's TIE case study - Wieden+Kennedy & Iracambi

IRACAMBI | BRAZIL

JEN VLADIMIRSKY FOR WIEDEN + KENNEDY, NY CASE STUDY

THE PROPOSAL

IT ALL STARTED WITH AN EMAIL AND A DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

WHAT IS TIE TIE’s goal is to change the world one brief at a time.

TIE links future leaders from the communications industry with social initiatives around the world and provides a platform for the creation of campaigns and strategies that impact organizations, their beneficiaries and local communities.

BUT THERE’S MORE Being a part of TIE goes beyond them connecting you with an NGO. TIE is there to: • • • • • •

Teach you about the world of development Make you think about your true objectives for being a part of the program Inspire you to give everything you have to your project Listen to you when you’re overwhelmed by the new world you’ve been thrown into Support you through it all Return you to your world a stronger, more thoughtful person

FUNDRAISING Fundraising is an important part of TIE. It is the first step in understanding what it takes to keep these NGOs running. It grounds you in their reality. It also means so much more when you can see where this money is going and how much it is needed.

With the help of my co-workers, family and friends I was able to raise around $3,000 and was able to bring everyone into my Iracambi story with me.

THE PREP

EVEN BEFORE I GOT TO BRAZIL, THERE WAS WORK TO BE DONE

WHERE AND HOW First I had to figure out where I was going and how I was going to get there: • • • •

10 hour flight to Rio 6 hours by bus to Muriaé 2 hours by another bus to Rosário da Limeira Then I needed to get a taxi or take a school bus to Iracambi (luckily I was able to get a ride)

GETTING TO WORK I also spent months attempting to learn Portuguese and drilling all of my Brazilian friends for useful information.

With the help of my TIE coaches I also took a look at what was driving me to do this and figured out my personal, professional and business objectives. This project was not just about me growing and learning, but also what could I bring back to Wieden and to my day to day job.

IRACAMBI What I knew of Iracambi was very little. I had read up about Binka and Robin Le Breton and their amazing story of packing up their comfortable life and moving to the middle of nowhere to start a farm.

Once they started to understand the ecological issues and grew closer to the community, Iracambi the NGO was born.

Their mission was, and still is, to make conservation of the forest more attractive than its destruction. They set about doing this through educating the farmers and the local community, especially the children, about sustainable practices and forest conservation.

THE ATLANTIC FOREST What they were facing in the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica): • • • • •

Over 85% of the original area has been deforested Most of the deforestation is due to agriculture, logging and conversion of the land to cattle pastures With the fragmentation of the remaining forest, animal population size is declining Water sources are drying up Farming communities are disappearing as children of farmers are moving to cities since their family business is no longer sustainable

THE REALITY

IRACAMBI WAS REALLY A MAGICAL PLACE BUT IT ALSO NEEDED SOME HELP

IRACAMBI STAFF There were 2 full-time staff - Binka, the head of the NGO and her husband Robin, who managed the farm and oversaw everything at Iracambi. There were 2 part-time staff members, Gui, who ran the children’s eduction program and community outreach, and Tony, who managed the nursery.

Then there were the volunteers – a communications coordinator who had never used social media, a student who didn’t really know what he wanted to do his internship on and a recent college grad with a Finance degree who was trying to help organize the budgets and streamline the financial processes.

ORGANIZATION I came to understand very quickly what I was facing: •Volunteers were handling a lot of the day to day work at Iracambi, but due to the high turnover and the lack of proper handover documentation, each new volunteer was basically starting from scratch •Too much responsibility was being put on their part-time employee Gui, but his priorities were elsewhere •Too much knowledge (important contacts, historical information, structural information) was in Binka's and Robin’s heads and not in a central location accessible to the staff and volunteers who needed it •There were disagreements as to where money for funding projects and overhead should be coming from

IRACAMBI STRONG I had also thought that the 2016 Iracambi Strong program I was going to be working on a comms plan for was already set up, but quickly found out that nothing was in place. So step 1 was going to have to be to get the program up and running before I could figure out how to talk about it.

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT WAS DEFINED FOR ME BEFORE I SET FOOT IN BRAZIL, BUT I NEEDED TO FIRST UNDERSTAND HOW THE ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAM WORKED BEFORE I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW I COULD HELP

PROJECT OBJECTIVE Develop the appropriate tools to communicate the Iracambi Strong programs to national and international corporations and institutions, to increase Iracambi’s sustainability and ensure the continuity of the program.

PROJECT PLAN •Week •Week •Week •Week

1 2 3 4

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Discovery Communications Planning Execution Put plan into action

THE PLAN FALLS APART It all seemed simple at the start, but by the middle of week 1 I was completely overwhelmed. I found myself thrown into everything from teaching the communications coordinator how to do social posts, to writing drafts of project proposals, to going through budgets.

START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW So I started with what I knew best - looking at the website. I conducted a full site audit and worked with their webmaster in Zimbabwe to make functional and structural updates.

This actually proved to be a very good place to start, since I was learning how Iracambi spoke about itself and its programs. I started to see inconsistencies in how Iracambi Strong program was talked about on the site to how Binka wanted to present it. And the information was quite buried and incomplete.

LISTEN BEFORE YOU SPEAK Outside of my functional audit, I also starting to work on a content audit of the site and all of their other forms of communication, focusing first on Iracambi Strong, but also seeing how they talked about Iracambi in general as well as some of the other programs – Forest Restoration, Young Eco-Leaders, MonkeySpace.

IRACAMBI STRONG MESSAGING

*Messaging pulled from website, newsletters, conversation with Binka

• •

• • • • • • • • • •

Iracambi pioneered environmental education in the region, and our program of international student exchange is the first in Brazil to be funded under President Obama’s 100K Strong in the Americas Initiative This course is part of a year-long program of student exchanges with the goal of expanding opportunities for US and Brazilian students to live, study and do practical internships together in the fields of biodiversity conservation, agro-ecology and sustainable environmental management. Graduating students will receive a certificate issued by the Federal Technical Institute – one of the official organizations of the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

The programs will balance classroom learning with hands-on practical experiences in the challenges and rewards of protecting biodiversity while living sustainably.

We wanted to bring the special personal experiences we’ve seen happen at Iracambi to students in a more formal way We wanted this program to quell the tension between local and international This is more than a study-abroad program since its more practical experience and this makes us more than just an NGO planting trees This is more than an education, it’s a cultural experience We want to take people out of their normal lives and put them into a different environment where they feel their possibilities are infinite We want to show students that there is an alternate way of living and doing things We want to open students minds, and have them work towards something tangible Brazilian students are getting a cultural experience out of this program, especially the kids that come here from the technical institutes who may have limited access to foreigners The goal with this program is to have people go out into the trails to learn, to get people out of the classroom setting

Takeaway: Connection to original 100K Strong program is a good selling point, even though we aren’t getting funding from them anymore. Hands-on experience can be more closely tied to actual projects that are going on at Iracambi. Need to further highlight individual student experiences.

MESSAGING RECOMMENDATIONS Once I understood how they were talking about themselves and their programs, it made it easier to make more general messaging recommendations.

IRACAMBI STRONG COMMS RECOMMENDATIONS

Overall program info: Iracambi Strong connects International and Brazilian students in a 3-week course in biodiversity conservation, agro-ecology and sustainable environmental management.

Where we started: The Iracambi Strong program was initially funded

by President Obama’s 100K Strong in the America’s initiative.

Goals: Our goal is not just to open eyes, but to open minds.

Focus on culture: Iracambi Strong is more than a study-abroad program. It’s a chance to be immersed in a new culture, a new way of thinking and of living.

Hand-on experience: At Iracambi, the Atlantic Forest is our classroom.

MESSAGING SEGMENTATION STUDENTS

Focus on hands-on, immersive learning - In addition to classroom instruction, Iracambi Strong provides practical, hands-on experience in biodiversity conservation, agro-ecology and sustainable environmental management.

Focus on cultural experience - Iracambi’s location is a selling-point.

This is a part of the world very few foreign people come to. Students can get a chance to meet and interact with members of the local community who are open and excited to interact with them.

Focus on connections - Iracambi brings together people from all walks of life, from different countries, different cultures and different points of view.

EXECUTIONS And from there, I was able to go into much more specific recommendation – social posts, outreach emails, website language

DONOR OUTREACH Iracambi Strong Scholarship Program

Though the cost per International student to attend a 3-week course isn’t cost-prohibitive, we’d like to see if we can get additional funding for this program from corporate sponsors.

One tactic is setting up a scholarship program which companies local to the Universities we’re targeting can sponsor a student with a scholarship to cover the cost of enrollment (approximately $1300 USD).

This donation should be small enough for most companies to easily accommodate and can generate a great deal good will for the company between them and the University and students but also in general since they are contributing to sustainability and conservation education and students partaking in beneficial environmental projects while at Iracambi.

DONOR OUTREACH Iracambi Strong Scholarship Program Research will be conducted into small to mid-sized companies that are in the same cities as the Universities we’ll be reaching out to about Iracambi Strong.

We should engage them as follows: • • •

Introductory email with information about who we are and minimal information about the Iracambi Strong program.

Follow-up email as necessary (Once connection is made) Email directing contact to the website for more details on the program in addition to the following documents and info: Information on the University and types of students we’re targeting Benefits for being involved in program: ‣ Promotion across Iracambi channels - Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Newsletter ‣ Company logo on Iracambi website ‣ Iracambi Strong Sponsorship button ‣ Connection with student they are sponsoring (need to be sorted out with the University and student) Donation request Donation process information

IMPLEMENTATION STUDENTS - Social Post examples

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS General • If you have something to say, then say it. If not, try not to bombard your followers with too many social posts. General rule of thumb is no more than 1 post a day and more like 3 posts a week is a good start. If we have 3 posts going out a week, only 1 should be about Iracambi Strong.

Twitter • • • •

Tweets can only be 140 characters, including spaces If posting photos, you need to reserve 24 characters If posting a link, Twitter will automatically shorten it, but you need to reserve 23 characters In order to send a direct message to someone on Twitter you need to be following them and they need to follow you • If you @mention someone in your Tweet, it will show up in their feed, but not necessarily the feeds of everyone who follows them, depending on their settings

Facebook • Messages can be longer on Facebook, but should still be brief (after about 5 rows of text, Facebook will cut off your message with “See more…” unless users expand it) • Photos and videos work very well on Facebook for engagement • You can only @mention people in your post or tag them in a photo if you are connected with them; we should always try to do this when we can to get more eyes on the post

IMPLEMENTATION UNIVERSITIES - Getting to Know You form

Getting to Know You As you now know, the Iracambi Strong program focuses on conservation, sustainability and bio-diversity education, on top of cultural and language immersion. But you’ll also be bringing with you your own interests, experiences and knowledge so that you can trade ideas and skill sets with the people you meet here.

So we’d like to get to know you a bit better before you arrive. Please respond to the questions below.

Please tell us a bit more about yourself: I like to be called: ___________________________________________________________ Here’s how you can reach me (* means optional): • Email ________________________________________________ • Facebook*_____________________________________________ • Twitter*_______________________________________________ • Instagram* ____________________________________________ I am in my _______year at high school/college/university (please circle one).

I have studied these things in school that I think relate to what I’ll be learning at Iracambi:__________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ I’m interested in learning about:_________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Part of this program includes working with a team on a project surrounding something you’ve been taught here. Which of these projects interests you? (previous experience is not necessary) ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Water monitoring Agro-ecology Sustainable living practices Forest restoration Wildlife monitoring and inventories Flora and fauna Other_________________________________________________

I can speak the following languages: _____________________________ ___________________________________________________________ You’d never know it but I can: __________________________________ Thank you so much for taking the time to fill this out. Please email it back to IracambiStrong@Iracambi.com. We can’t wait to meet you!

IMPLEMENTATION DONORS - Emails Intro Email

Contact'Name' Address' Date' ' ' Dear'[Contact'Name],' ' Sometimes'small'things'can'make'a'big'impact.'We’re'looking'for'companies'like' yours'to'support'students'in'your'area'to'learn'about'and'help'the'environment.' ' We'are'Iracambi,'a'nonCprofit'NGO'and'Research'Center'in'the'Atlantic'Forest'in' Brazil.'We'are'a'leading'environmental'organization'that'fosters'multiCdisciplinary' collaboration'among'people'of'all'ages,'backgrounds'and'nationalities,'in'order'to' find'solutions'to'the'challenges'of'environmental'destruction'in'the'rainforest.'' ' Last'year,'we'started'an'education'program'with'funding'from'President'Obama’s' 100K'Strong'in'the'Americas'initiative.'The'goal'was'to'bring'US'students'to'Brazil' and'other'countries'in'the'Americas'for'a'crossCcultural'educational'experience.'Our' program'included'classroom'and'handsCon'education'and'training'in'sustainability' and'conservation,'bringing'together'Brazilian'and'International'students'to'seek' solutions'to'issues'like'climate'change,'biodiversity'conservation'and'sustainability.'

This'year'we'are'expanding'our'program'and'we'd'love'your'help.' ' We’re'trying'to'pair'up'a'student'with'a'local'company,'like'yours,'who'can'provide' them'with'a'scholarship'to'send'them'to'Iracambi'for'our'Iracambi'Strong'program' in'2016.'If'this'sounds'like'something'you’d'like'to'partake'in,'please'let'us'know' and'we'can'send'over'some'additional'materials'about'us'and'details'about'the' Iracambi'Strong'Scholarship'program.'' ' Help'a'student,'help'the'forest,'help'the'world.'And'you'can'make'that'happen.'If' you’re'interested'in'more'information,'please'let'us'know.' ' Thank'you,' ' Name' Title' Contact'details' '

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Secondary Email

Contact'Name' Address' Date' ' Dear'[Contact'Name],' ' We’re'so'excited'that'you’ve'taken'an'interest'in'our'scholarship'program.'We'had'a' great'deal'of'success'with'Iracambi'Strong'last'year'–'educating'and'inspiring'US' students'to'bring'home'the'message'of'sustainability'and'conservation.' ' You'can'find'specific'details'about'the'Iracambi'Strong'program,'as'well'as' additional'information'about'us'on'our'website'at'http://en.iracambi.com/theJ programsJatJiracambi/educationJforJsustainability#IracambiStrong.'' ' For'a'donation'of'$1,300'USD,'you'can'sponsor'a'student'from'your'area'to'take'part' in'the'Iracambi'Strong'course.'This'includes'the'program'fee,'full'board'and'lodging' and'transportation'within'Iracambi.'We'have'been'working'closely'with'[Local' University]'in'the'[Division/program/school]'to'get'their'students'involved'in'this' program'for'one'of'our'upcoming'2016'courses.'' ' Iracambi'is'a'registered'501c3,'so'your'donation'will'be'taxJfree.'If'you'become'a' contributor'to'our'scholarship'program,'we’ll'also:' ' • Promote'your'company'via'Thank'You'posts'on'our'social'channels,'on'our' blog'and'in'our'quarterly'newsletter' • Add'your'company'logo'to'our'website'with'a'link'out'to'your'own'site'J' http://en.iracambi.com/getJinvolved/sponsorJourJprograms' • Provide'you'with'a'Iracambi'Strong'Scholarship'sponsor'button'you'can'put' on'your'site' • Connect'you'with'[Local'University]'so'they'can'highlight'your'scholarship'in' their'own'materials' ' We'believe'strongly'in'community'at'Iracambi'and'this'scholarship'is'designed'to' bring'your'company,'the'student'you’re'supporting'and'their'university'closer' together.''' ' If'this'all'sounds'good'to'you,'let’s'set'up'a'time'to'talk'face'to'face'and'get'this'all'set' up.'Please'let'us'know'when'the'best'time'would'be'to'arrange'a'chat,'and'if'you’d'be' able'to'do'this'over'SKYPE.' ' Thank'you,' ' Name' Title' Contact'details' '

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WEBSITE UPDATES Programs Page

Update URL - We should change the URL structure, removing “#100k” and replacing with “#IracambiStrong” Update section header copy - This should be more focused on WHY we do these programs and WHAT is so different about Iracambi - making advocates for sustainable living and conservation, through hands-on, immersive learning which they can not get anywhere else.

Update Iracambi Strong copy - This copy should include: Quote from past participant • General program overview • Where the program started (info about connection to 100K Strong) • What we did last year •

We should also add back in the section that includes more detailed info on The Course and The Program Update photos

WEBSITE UPDATES Programs Page Copy

Section header copy - At Iracambi we believe that saving forests and changing lives starts with opening minds. This is why we started our Education in Sustainability programs Iracambi Strong and Young Eco-Leaders. And with each program we are equipping and encouraging students to become advocates for sustainable living and conservation, through our unique model of hands-on immersion learning.

Iracambi Strong Headline - Iracambi Strong: 3-Week Sustainability & Conservation Program Iracambi Strong Body Copy - “The emphasis on an individual doing their part has been engraved in my conscious. I have a desire to continue to work toward being a responsible inhabitant of the earth.” Shalanda Grier from Hampton University, Iracambi Strong Participant Jan 2015 At Iracambi, we believe that through education in sustainability and conservation we can make the world a better place. The Iracambi Strong program is a 3-week course for International and Brazilian students in climate change, agro-ecology, forest restoration, rainforest flora and fauna. For International students it includes classes in Portuguese language and culture as well as immersive experiences with the local communities. In addition to classroom instruction, Iracambi Strong provides practical, hands-on experience in the field - the Atlantic Forest is our classroom.

Iracambi Strong started in 2014 as an initiative funded by President Obama’s program 100K Strong in the Americas.

Over 3 courses we brought students from universities across the US together with Brazilian students to live, learn and work together.

This is far more than a study-abroad program. It’s a chance to be immersed in a new culture and a new way of thinking and living. It’s a cross-cultural learning experience that changes lives.

Courses will be held in January, May, June and July of 2016.

And then I just had fun with it

LOGOS

LOGOS IN USE

THE PLAN

THE PLAN WAS IN PLACE, BUT I KNEW I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT, SO I HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ENSURE THIS WOULD ALL GET DONE

GETTING IRACAMBI STRONG GOING In addition to communicating the program, I needed it to be up and running. Janet and I did some sleuthing to figure out the budget for the previous year and then needed to confirm with Leandro, who helped to run the original program. I also needed to make sure he was onboard for this year and could get the help of his professor-friends to staff the program. This took several weeks since Leandro was currently building his house and needed to get the roof on before the rainy season which was quickly approaching.

We tried several times to get him on a call or invite him over for dinner, but in the end we just went to his house on the top of the mountain. Binka did most of the talking and translating and in minutes everyone was hugging, he said it would be no problem and he’d be able to wrangle up the professors to teach the 4 courses.

We did have some more “formal� meetings after this, usually over dinner or on a Skype call, were we discussed timing, the program structure and put together a schedule for getting everything finalized.

THE NEXT STEPS Knowing that I wouldn’t be around to help implement the program, I put together some immediate next steps for the project. In addition to this, I created a 10-month calendar, which included everything from reminders to follow-up on emails to dates and content for social posts.

NEXT STEPS

• • • •

Update Website - including updated URL for Iracambi Strong direct link - by EOW Create Iracambi Strong email address - by EOW Send letters to Universities - by mid-November Send letters to potential Donors - by end of November

THE OUTCOME

TIME TO WAIT AND SEE It’s too soon to tell whether everything I put into place for Iracambi Strong will work out. I have been keeping in touch with Binka and she is very positive about the program and says she has a good deal of interest as well as a potential partnership with a school in Brazil.

More tangible items: • 2016 Iracambi brochure was created and printed • All proposed website updates have been completed • University contacts have been contacted and conversations have been started about getting students to Iracambi Strong • Brazilian University partnership in the works

A PRODUCER LEAVES HER MARK There were also some other initiatives I was able to help put in place while I was at Iracambi to help the staff, to help with fundraising and just make the place feel a bit more organized.

THE END