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Seven-Word Lessons
THE CHALLENGE
With classrooms across the US closed due to Covid-19, how could we show support for teachers, and creatively engage the minds of K-8 students stuck at home?
THE SOLUTION
A nationwide digital billboard campaign featuring teacher-generated “seven-word lessons.” Teachers submitted lessons for the initiative at sevenwordlessons.com. The lessons were placed on digital billboards near high density housing and designed so families could view the messages from their homes, running as five-minute lesson blocks at noon EST for 30 days. Teachers were paid $25 for each lesson published, or had the option to directly donate their payment to DonorsChoose, an educational nonprofit that helps classrooms in need.
NOT SIX. NOT EIGHT. SEVEN-WORD LESSONS.
The lessons were seven words in length because short-term memory holds, on average, seven items. In advertising, it’s therefore a good rule of thumb to keep billboard headlines within this limit.
Agency: WorkInProgress - Boulder, CO
A website was launched to invite teachers to submit their seven-word lessons at SevenWordLessons.com
The project ran for 30 days in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. New five-minute lesson blocks appeared on billboards daily at 12pm EST.
See archive
BOSTON, MA
PHOENIX, AZ
LOS ANGELES, CA
NEW YORK, NY
KANSAS CITY, MO
CHICAGO, IL
THE RESULTS
1,290 lessons submitted from teachers in 41 states. Over 400 lessons published on billboards across eight major US cities, and on social channels reaching thousands worldwide. Over $15,000 contributed to furloughed educators and DonorsChoose. AdAge made the campaign an Editor’s Pick, calling it a “compelling (and quick) way to help engage grade-school children stuck at home.”