Proposing Propositions & Crafting Communications: Reflections from a Facilitated YouthSave Workshop

I am always amazed by the creativity and the energy that is generated when a group of people with different perspectives comes together to solve a problem. One of the leading questions facing the YouthSave Project is how to use the market research they have conducted to create compelling communications directed at the youth of Project countries, Kenya, Colombia, Ghana, and Nepal. During the EAB/FI Learning Exchange in Bogotá, I was fortunate enough to moderate a day-long workshop with the goal of starting to figure out the answer to just that question. Over the course of the day, marketers, bankers, program managers, young people and professionals from all walks came together to learn, ideate, and share the first steps to creating a communications plan and strategy that will help make sure YouthSave achieves its ambitious goals.

The cornerstone of all good communications is the Unique Selling Proposition, commonly referred to as the USP. There are many definitions for the USP but essentially it is the aspect of the product or service that is valuable to the consumer and is “ownable” for the brand. In the case of the youth savings accounts developed with the support of YouthSave, this essentially begs the question: What is unique about their accounts (and therefore separates them from competitors’ products and alternatives to savings products like a piggy bank) and what is valuable to the youth? Using the market research to inform our discussions, we had a long day of debate, brainstorming and sharing. This day of thinking was capped off with participants creating and acting out advertisements based on the USPs they generated. The advertisements were viewed by a panel of Colombian youth and, afterwards, the youth selected which ads they found to be funniest, the most convincing, and their overall favorite.

By analyzing the information, getting into the shoes of our future clients, debating and challenging each of our assumptions, and opening ourselves to creative leaps, the teams were able to tease out great insights and potential platforms for future communications. The areas that really stood out were: 1) ‘The Future’ - with the key idea being that youth are interested in ensuring they have money for their future, 2) ‘Independence’ - as youth are looking for a way to have independence from their parents, and 3) ‘Safety’ - as youth are looking for a safe yet accessible place to store their money. These three areas, while still nascent, represent really powerful starting points, and will surely provide great fodder for further thought and refinement to see which ideas could work in each project country and how best to tailor them to the nuances of each culture.

While it was great that we were able to generate these outputs, what I really loved was going through the process. So often when creating products and services, we as program managers or bankers or marketers or analysts, separate ourselves from the clients, even in the nonprofit space. In order to really develop a powerful USP, it is key not only to be knowledgeable about your client, but to also put yourself in their shoes. Putting themselves into the shoes of the clients is exactly what the participants did (some went so far as to act like a young person in the ads that they presented) and thanks to that, the participants were not only able to come up with great ways to speak to the youth, but the process also reminded them of why it is so important to help youth save. In the words of Pearl Buck, “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation”.

Cerrone Lundy is the founder of Seam, amarketing and innovations organization focused on serving the non-profit community.