Planning For Good Brief #1

I'm excited.  We have the first brief for Planning For Good.  Rather than re-invent the wheel I'm going to say exactly what Jason said (by which I mean copy and paste):

The first assignment has been posted in the experiment that is Planning For Good. The brief is for the city of New Orleans; specifically for an amazing organization called the Idea Village.

The challenge is fascinating. While most of the coverage of New Orleans has focused on the problems and negatives, another story has quietly emerged: the city has become a magnet of sorts for adventurous young people with energy, a sense of purpose, and a realization that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to help re-invent a city. As Forbes Magazine has said:

"Now, instead of the brain drain, the city is nurturing a brain gain. New Orleans has become the testing ground for a new career and lifestyle ideal among today's 20-somethings."

The Idea Village is positioned at the heart of that. It's a not-for-profit that helps to fund and support innovative entrepreneurial ventures (about 250 so far) to not just rebuild New Orleans, but to turn it into a world-class model city.

The brief is to help the Idea Village build their brand, so they in turn can help build New Orleans. How should the Idea Village define and articulate who they are and what they do? How can they attract and motivate these smart young people moving to New Orleans?

See the Planning For Good page on Facebook for more detail on the brief and how to submit your ideas. Additional information and thoughts from the client will also be posted there as we get it. If you're Facebook averse, leave a comment here, at Influx,  at Fruits of The Imagination or at the Fallon Planning Blog and someone will send you stuff.

Please take a look at the brief and give it some thought. If every one of the talented and generous people (that means you) in the marketing blogosphere spends a few hours on this, some amazing stuff will happen.

We have one month to collaborate and collect ideas to send back to the Idea Village. Contributions from anyone are very welcome (you certainly don't need to be a planner). And while we hope to get some big, fully developed ideas, any little thoughts or even questions are also encouraged - they might spark an idea in someone else.

Comments

[Anitra Budd]

I'm in school right now, and I've focused most of my branding assignments on one local nonprofit. I feel like I'm getting much more out of my program than my classmates (who usually do their assignments on big corporations), mostly because I actually took my work to the nonprofit and got direct feedback and encouragement. Far as I'm concerned, anything that makes my schoolwork more "real" is fantastic, especially when it's helping organizations that really need it. Can't wait to start thinking about Idea Village!

[Andreea]

I think it's a great idea. I'm a begginer in copywriting and I enjoy every opportunity of thinking about new stuff. I will surely write about Idea Village on my blog and hope to get others in it. Something actually fantastic might come out of it! Thank you for your great and useful posts! They help me a lot! :-)

[Drew Neisser]

What a cool idea! We've been compiling cases of marketers wanting to do well by doing good over at marketingforgood.net for the last year--perhaps you'll find some inspiration for the New Orleans project there.

Renegade (renegade.com) will be devoting some time to this. If anybody wants to join us for a brainstorm or two, let me know.