sam hoey nelson

I had the wonderful opportunity to work for an advertising agency that focused in the  non-profit sector. After years in the corporate world it brought such a positive focus and responsibility to my work. Outside of the agency's projects I wanted to look for alternate ways to raise awareness for our clients.

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The heart of the non-profit world is volunteerism. I conceived this app as a project of the heart, on my own time, as my way to give back to my community. I designed an app that brought light to the life of someone on Skid Row here in Los Angeles. The concept could easily be re-skinned and themed to any of the many organizations the agency represented.

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Ask: I asked myself to find additional ways in the interactive and social space to share experiences and tell stories that needed to be heard. I wanted to create an experience that would literally stop and alert people in their busy lives to think about those in need.

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Idea: Create an app that shared the unique first hand experiences of the people we were trying to help through their point of view. The experience would be downloaded to a mobile phone or tablet that would provide alerts through out the day. A small, purposeful interruption to remind us in our day, what what others were  experiencing in the same 24 hour period. Each alert would provide opportunities to help donate what that person would need at that point in time. (clothing, warm blankets, medical care, monetary donations, or a meal).

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Team: I called upon fellow co-workers to join me in this volunteer demo project. I worked with our agency IT director, video producer and writers to tell this story.

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Project execution: This demo and pitch included a story line, 4 alerts, video concepts, location research, production research and budget development. The project was pitched internally in the agency and to external clients. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints the final product was not launched.

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What stuck: The great feeling of acting on an idea and executing on a project for good from my own inclination. What also stuck was the feeling of educating these non-profits on new ways of telling their stories, and inspiring them to use online experiences and social media to raise awareness and revenue for their cause.