Design Leadership for Boys & Girls Clubs of America & University of Phoenix
“Within Reach”
“Within Reach”
Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and University of Phoenix (UOPX) each
served vulnerable families from different angles: the former as a safe haven for youth, the latter as a pathway for parent career advancement. The challenge was to bridge BGCA’s focus on child safety and mentorship with UOPX’s emphasis on career mobility for parents – requiring close coordination between creative teams in Phoenix and San Francisco, and ongoing collaboration with the Marketing Product Manager to align on campaign direction.
served vulnerable families from different angles: the former as a safe haven for youth, the latter as a pathway for parent career advancement. The challenge was to bridge BGCA’s focus on child safety and mentorship with UOPX’s emphasis on career mobility for parents – requiring close coordination between creative teams in Phoenix and San Francisco, and ongoing collaboration with the Marketing Product Manager to align on campaign direction.
Audience Insights:
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
4M+ youth served annually; 46% single-parent households; 64% eligible for free/reduced lunch
4M+ youth served annually; 46% single-parent households; 64% eligible for free/reduced lunch
University of Phoenix
69% female students; 60% below poverty line
69% female students; 60% below poverty line
Target
1M+ families, 300K staff/volunteers, 4,000+ local clubs
1M+ families, 300K staff/volunteers, 4,000+ local clubs
Insight
Both organizations were serving the same family unit from different angles, making a unified campaign both necessary and powerful.
Both organizations were serving the same family unit from different angles, making a unified campaign both necessary and powerful.
While parents turn to BGCA for child safety and mentorship, adult learners turn to University of Phoenix for career mobility. The design challenge was bridging these two distinct emotional drivers into one coherent story.
Project Goals
Unify parent career advancement & youth educational success under a single, emotionally compelling story
Resonate with both parents and youth, as well as BGCA staff and volunteers
Scale the omni channel campaign across digital, radio, print, and in-person touch points
Drive engagement by connecting storytelling to educational resources, such as online career assessments
As the Associate Creative Director, I guided the team in defining design direction and overseeing creative production, collaborating closely with the Marketing Product Manager to refine the campaign’s tactical direction.
While the broader campaign ("Within Reach") encompassed broadcast radio, social video, and digital advertising, Youth of the Year served as the physical, experiential anchor of the project. It provided a tangible platform to celebrate outstanding Club youth and model executive confidence for future leaders.
The team worked through many concepts to convey a dual achievement theme. In the overall strategy, Youth of the Year Award represented the youth development half of the "Dual Achievement" equation. While the event celebrated youth excellence, full-tuition UOPX scholarships and career assessment tools catered to parents and Club staff.
Our concept “Within reach,” centered on an authentic, unscripted interview format where a University of Phoenix student and single mother was interviewed by her own children in the campaign.
Key elements include:
Unscripted Parent-Child Dynamic
By putting her children in the interviewer seat, the video created a warm, candid banter between Mom and kids. As the children learned about her life before and after having kids—and how she balanced full-time work with online education—so did the audience.
Cross-Channel Integration
YouTube video placements featured clickable companion banners (such as "Click here to learn more about Sue's inspirational story") to drive viewers directly to the campaign resource page.
To lower production costs and maintain narrative continuity, Sue's children were also tapped during the video shoot to record the voiceover questions for the campaign's "What if?" radio spot.
Results
Unified Brand Platform
Successfully bridged two major brands, creating a campaign that felt authentic and empowering to both parents and youth.
Successfully bridged two major brands, creating a campaign that felt authentic and empowering to both parents and youth.
Scalable Impact
Established production frameworks that enabled rapid, consistent rollout across digital, print, and in-person channels.
Established production frameworks that enabled rapid, consistent rollout across digital, print, and in-person channels.
Increased Engagement
Produced a suite of high-engagement assets, including a social video that generated significant lift in engagement.
Produced a suite of high-engagement assets, including a social video that generated significant lift in engagement.
Concept Validation
The "Within Reach" concept was validated as the top-performing idea in emotional resonance and co-branding versatility during campaign testing.
The "Within Reach" concept was validated as the top-performing idea in emotional resonance and co-branding versatility during campaign testing.
Recognition System
Elevated the Youth of the Year experience with a premium, tactile recognition suite—ensuring honorees felt unique, confident, and optimistic.
Elevated the Youth of the Year experience with a premium, tactile recognition suite—ensuring honorees felt unique, confident, and optimistic.
Team Members: Jeff Kerrin, DeeAnn Hairgrove, Natasha Ness, Dante Dimabayu