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Pencils of Promise

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the rundown

AKQA partnered with Pencils of Promise to create and develop a new fundraising initiative for the 2011 holiday season. The campaign, Made with Pencils, aims to help raise awareness and support for global education. The concept behind Made with Pencils centers on the potential in a single pencil for learning and sharing thoughts, ideas and creations. Through the initiative, ordinary pencils are being used to build schools and transform futures.

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The Building Blocks

Technology’s ability to reach out and search the globe for individuals who genuinely care about your project, meant building classrooms and schools was no longer the job of a few willing volunteers, but thousands worldwide. There’s certainly nothing new about an auction, but when you take it online, and marry it with +1s, likes, tweets and other sharing options, your cause is quickly amplified to a much larger audience. We had to raise money for a remarkable organization and technology was instrumental in making that happen.

The Votes

The Details

Agency
Brand
Pencils of Promise
Targeted Regions
  • North America
Marketing Objective
Launch Date
Jan. 1, 2012

The Team

  • AKQA www.akqa.com
  • Rei Inamoto, Chief Creative Officer
  • Pierre Lipton, Group Creative Director
  • Stephen Clements, Creative Director
  • Paul Nowikowski, Senior Art Director
  • Justin Pedone, Senior Copywriter
  • Craig Kind, Senior Copywriter
  • Sean Matthews, Designer
  • Ben Sweitzer, Designer
  • Kayla Lott, Associate Copywriter
  • Rob Surrency, User Experience Designer
  • Max Miner, Associate User Experience Designer
  • Monica Stephen, Program Manager
  • Julia Jahn, Management Supervisor
  • Andrea Georgiana, Management Supervisor
  • Allison Zender, Assistant Account Executive
  • Dan Teng, Senior Strategist
  • Matt Law, Photographer
  • Pencils of Promise
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The Results

Inspired by the potential in every pencil – to write, create, imagine, and invent – we asked a number of notable individuals from a range of backgrounds to create something made with a pencil. We then built an online auction where every penny raised from those pieces went directly to building schools and educating children in developing countries. To date, the campaign has raised enough money to build an entire school and educate more than 400 children.

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