2010 Gold Effie Winner

“I’m in.”
Category: Government/Institutional/Recruitment
Brand/Client: Detroit Public Schools
Primary Agency: Leo Burnett
Media Agency: Starcom USA
Contributing Agencies: Berg Muirhead & Associates /
Brian Alexander Productions

Strategic Challenge
Do the Math: A Decade of Declining Enrollment + School Closings = Millions in Lost
Funding
Detroit Public Schools (DPS) was advancing their curriculums and had an ambitious goal: to evolve
every one of its schools into a “Center of Excellence” despite the reality of its finances. In March
2009, Governor Granholm and the Michigan Department of Education declared DPS to be in a fiscal
emergency, a result of enrollment declining roughly 8,000 students per year since 1998. Over the
last decade, nearly 80,000 students have been lost. (Source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

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 As DPS neared financial ruin, the Michigan Governor appointed an Emergency Financial Relief
Manager (ERFM), Robert Bobb. Forced to make some tough decisions, the ERFM identified 29
schools targeted for closure, affecting 9,500 students. These school closings fueled outrage among
parents and students, as if DPS had abandoned them. For the district, losing these students could
be the fatal blow.

The state of Michigan allocates funding for public schools based on student enrollment; every
student represents $7,545 in funding. This decade long decline in student enrollment resulted in a
$139.7M deficit as of March 2009. DPS was projected to have a $305.4M deficit in FY 2010 (Source:
www.detroit.k12.mi).

Strategic Challenge
How does DPS slow the bleeding, preventing the loss of thousands of students and millions of
dollars in funding?

Objectives
Objective 1: Achieve enrollment of 83,777 students for fall 2009
DPS set an aggressive goal – to achieve enrollment of 83,777 students for fall ’09 – that would be
required to meet their $632 million budget and achieve financial viability. If they did nothing,
enrollment could be nearly 20% short of their ’08 enrollment; they could lose 16,750 students for
fall ’09, based on annual declines and the 29 closed schools. If these 16,750 students were lost,
enrollment could drop as low as 77,300 students, putting them nearly $49 million dollars under
budget (Source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.
 Objective 2: Generate $250,000 of unpaid media (press coverage)
While officials acknowledged a need for a city-funded effort, a near-bankrupt school district could
not afford much of a media budget. DPS wanted to double their initial $250,000 investment by
getting one dollar of unpaid media (press coverage) for every dollar spent in marketing.

The Big Idea

The doors of Detroit Public Schools have amazing and surprising opportunities behind them; open
one and find out for yourself.

Opening eyes. Opening doors.

Despite what parents may have heard, DPS has some amazing stories to tell:
• Five of the country’s top 20 high schools are located within the DPS system (Source: U.S. News
and World Report).

• DPS students lead the state in the number of National Achievement Scholarship winners,
earning over $54M in scholarships and grants during 2008 (Source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

• Unique and impressive curriculums; including a pilot’s license program, a world-class chef
program, as well as associate degrees.

• DPS has more nationally board-certified teachers than any district in the state (Source:
www.detroit.k12.mi).

• The challenge was to convince parents of the benefits of enrolling their child in DPS.

DPS offers opportunities; it’s a door to your child’s future.

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.
 Bringing the Idea to Life
Facts in the hands of the people = enrollment = funding

DPS didn’t need yet another “ad campaign.” They needed an idea that would truly inspire people to
act. Participate. Rally. Take ownership. And become vocal advocates for DPS. DPS needed a
movement. Key insights drove tactics for the movement:
• Many inner-city families don’t have access to TV; only 20% of Detroit residents have access
to the Internet. (Source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

• City residents are active, social and move throughout the city.

• City residents distrusted DPS; word on the street would hold more credibility.

A door was our in

We introduced the blue door, a simple metaphor for the opportunities that lie behind the front
entrance of every DPS school, as well as a beacon of hope and an icon for the power of a DPS
education. We partnered with Home Depot and created an event to make the doors; more than
500 parents, students and DPS supporters participated. The end result: 172 blue doors, one for
every school in the district. Every movement needs a rallying cry, and ours was simple: “I’m in!”
Creating momentum
The 172 doors then made their way around Detroit; 172 standing tall at Hart Plaza downtown, at
Belle Isle, the state fair, even a back-to-school rally and parade complete with floats, bands and
thousands of DPS supporters.
Some TV, radio and newspaper ads were produced, but what really got people motivated was the
ability to get involved. Our effort felt more like a social movement than an ad campaign, with its
rallies, yard signs, lapel pins, T-shirts, window signs, door hangers, word of mouth and those
iconic full-size DPS blue doors.
Power of the people, to the people
Before long, more and more people began saying: “I’m in.” Teachers. Students. Parents. Alumni.
Aunts. Grandmas. Neighbors. Even local labor unions called up asking for “their doors.” At local
events, city residents could be seen with homemade signs proudly professing, “I’m in!”
We put the message in the hands of the people: We gave them an opportunity to get involved and
take ownership of their school district. The movement was officially underway.

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.
 Communications Touch Points
TV Packaging Trade Shows
Spots Product Design Sponsorship
Branded Content Cinema Retail Experience
Sponsorship Interactive POP
Product placement Online Ads Video
Radio Web site In-Store Merchandizing
Spots Viral video Sales Promotion
Merchandising Video skins/bugs Retailtainment
Program/content Social Networking sites Guerrilla
Print Podcasts Street Teams
Trade/Professional Gaming Tagging
Newspaper Mobile Phone Wraps
Consumer Magazine Other_____________ Buzz Marketing
Print partnership OOH Ambient Media
Direct Airport Sampling/Trial
Mail Transit Consumer Involvement
Email Billboard WOM
PR Place Based Consumer Generated
Events Other_____________ Viral
Other ____________

Additional Marketing Components:

None

Reach:
Local

Total Media Expenditure:

Under 500 thousand

Results
Objective 1: Achieve enrollment of 83,777 students for fall 2009
DPS exceeded their enrollment goal, capturing 83,812 students, roughly 6,500 students above
their projected enrollment. As a result, an incremental $49 million of funding was generated for
DPS, keeping DPS financially viable.

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.
 Our results exceed everyone’s expectations; DPS is thrilled with the results of the movement.

“There are some extraordinary things happening with enrollments,”

says Robert Bobb, ERFM for DPS (source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

• Not only did DPS retain students from the 29 closed schools, they also converted students who
were previously attending competitive schools. Crocket High School is an excellent example of
this:

“Crocket High School had 894 students enrolled, surpassing their projections by nearly
11%, including 45 students from out of district or charter schools”.
(source: www.detroit.k12.mi).

• Actual enrollment was so much higher than the objective that DPS is now hiring additional
teachers.

Objective 2: Generate $250,000 of unpaid media (press coverage)

DPS exceeded their press coverage goal by 500%, generating $1.5 million in press, from their
initial $250,000 media investment (source: Meltwater News report).

The movement generated coverage from all the local NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox affiliates. The DPS
effort was also featured on the ABC evening national news. Dan Rather also covered the story for
HDNet after personally attending the city rally.
The buzz around the effort was so great that several high-profile celebrities lent their name to the
cause – unsolicited. Former NBA All-Star and DPS alum Derrick Coleman hosted our build event.
TV judge and DPS alum Greg Mathis hit the radio. And long-term public education supporter Dr.
Bill Cosby (yes, that Bill Cosby) was so moved by our efforts that he flew into town – twice, on his
own dime – to rally DPS students, parents and supporters.

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.
 Anything else going on that might have helped drive results?
An Executive Creative Director brought this opportunity to help Detroit Public Schools to our
agency. He knew this would be a massive undertaking but still believed in the city of Detroit and
the importance of providing a quality education to everyone. His passion quickly convinced our
team, and soon after he convinced DPS of the need for this big idea. Sadly, just days after
receiving approval to proceed, he suddenly passed away. We lost our leader, mentor, colleague
and friend – but we never lost sight of his vision to positively impact the lives of so many youth.
We truly believe his spirit continued to fuel this effort well beyond his life. While our agency may
not have been paid a fee for its efforts, we still had plenty of incentive to help the city and
students of Detroit, and in turn add to his already amazing legacy.

Effie® Awards
116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
th

Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242

2010: The information available through effie.org is the property of the Effie Awards and is protected by copyright and other intellectual
property laws. This brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast the information to anyone without the prior written consent of
the Effie Awards.