The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
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Category
Social Impact
Annual ID
OS_IH21_010B
About the Work
COVID-19 took a toll on small businesses everywhere, but the pandemic disproportionately affected Black-owned small businesses. In fact, over 40% of Black-owned businesses are expected to have closed forever due to COVID-19. At the same time, the pandemic also took a heavy toll on the creative industry, many of whom saw their livelihoods disappear overnight as marketers cut spending and budgets.
To help bridge the gap of inequality for both audiences, Instagram launched WE CREATE, a program that harnessed two of its superpowers: creative inspiration and economic empowerment.
We Create hired, then paired 15 Black creative professionals with 15 Black-owned small businesses, tasking each Creative to develop Instagram-first assets that addressed their small business partner’s specific needs. In addition to compensating each Creative for their work, the program also provided training, mentorship, and a platform to showcase their talents. Each small business received a custom suite of best-in-class Instagram creative—at no cost to them.
To identify our 15 creative professionals, we partnered with The Creative Collective NYC, a Black-owned agency dedicated to providing space and resources for creatives of color. We also worked with Facebook Elevate, a program that seeks to accelerate the growth of Black and Latinx & Hispanic businesses, to identify the participating 15 small businesses.
Since its launch, We Create has garnered 60 million impressions, including press coverage from publications like AdAge & Adweek. The program has also led to speaking opportunities and industry recognition for Creatives, and increased exposure and engagement for the businesses.
Not only did We Create bring Black creatives and Black-owned businesses together to inspire each other, but it directly addressed the economic impact of COVID-19 by creating more opportunity, visibility, and business for all participants—creating positive change in today’s world.
To help bridge the gap of inequality for both audiences, Instagram launched WE CREATE, a program that harnessed two of its superpowers: creative inspiration and economic empowerment.
We Create hired, then paired 15 Black creative professionals with 15 Black-owned small businesses, tasking each Creative to develop Instagram-first assets that addressed their small business partner’s specific needs. In addition to compensating each Creative for their work, the program also provided training, mentorship, and a platform to showcase their talents. Each small business received a custom suite of best-in-class Instagram creative—at no cost to them.
To identify our 15 creative professionals, we partnered with The Creative Collective NYC, a Black-owned agency dedicated to providing space and resources for creatives of color. We also worked with Facebook Elevate, a program that seeks to accelerate the growth of Black and Latinx & Hispanic businesses, to identify the participating 15 small businesses.
Since its launch, We Create has garnered 60 million impressions, including press coverage from publications like AdAge & Adweek. The program has also led to speaking opportunities and industry recognition for Creatives, and increased exposure and engagement for the businesses.
Not only did We Create bring Black creatives and Black-owned businesses together to inspire each other, but it directly addressed the economic impact of COVID-19 by creating more opportunity, visibility, and business for all participants—creating positive change in today’s world.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 9
Bronze Pencil
Credits
Agency
The Creative Collective NYC / New York
Internal / In-House Agency
Facebook company / New York
Production Company
Shoot To Kill NYC
Art Director
Ceci Bergier
Director
Kellen Dengler
Editor
Chris Myers
Executive Creative Director
Kate Daggett
Product Manager
Guia Golden
Writer
Josh Chua
CEO & Founder
Imani Ellis
Creator
Ailrick Young
Brittany Antoinette
Carla DuBose
Chelsea Alexander
Chi-Chi Ari
D'Ara Nazaryan
Dp Jolly
Jade Broomfield
Jerome Shaw
Joshua Renfroe
Justin Carter
Neo Khama
Noemie Marguerite
Shema Love
Skylar Kearney
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