Pin It Forward – a case study of lapel pins use in nonprofits
Most of you have probably seen the “blue puzzle” piece lapel pin. You may not know what it’s all about but you probably have some vague awareness of it. If you saw someone wearing it, you would probably comment and ask them what it’s all about. That is exactly what the folks at Autism Speaks want you to do and they have done a brilliant job using the pin to raise awareness for Autism. Here are a few of the facets of their campaign that you may want to use with your clients.
At the heart of the campaign is a design that is simple, recognizable yet not obvious. The pin is clearly a puzzle piece in shape – yet it also has the rough outline of a person or child. There are no words, no call to action – the pin is designed to elicit the question – “what’s the blue puzzle piece represent?” At that instant when the viewer asks the wearer about the pin – the wearer spreads the message about the group. If the pin had copy on it such as “Support Autism Research” the person seeing the pin would know the wearer is showing support for autism but probably wouldn’t engage them any further. By being subtle, by getting people to ask that question, Autism Speaks has created an army of evangelists, talking about the organization, why they’re involved and how others can help.
Beyond the great design, the organization has a “distribution” strategy that has really catapulted their efforts. First, they decided from the beginning that they would never sell just one pin. Everyone gets at least two and is encouraged to “Pin It Forward” – giving the pin to someone else and discussing the need to raise autism awareness. Again, the act of giving the pin spreads the word about their cause and creates another evangelist!
Second, they made the pin “cool” by getting it into the hands of celebrities. The pin started showing up everywhere, on NBA Coaches, actors, musicians, all sorts of celebrities. The celebrities would even discuss their support for the group on national media – further raising awareness.
As you work with your non-profit clients, take some lessons from the success of Autism Speaks. Perhaps you can employ similar tactics in their campaigns.
~Dave