Case Study on the

Transmedia Social Initiative

Say It Proud is an online community designed to empower individuals to share the art that they create.

Say it Proud seeks to promote established artists and their work and simultaneously inspire newer artists to feel comfortable enough to share their own unique talents. Through multi-platform engagement on our designated social media spaces, Say It Proud encourages personal self expression and facilitates a safe and supportive community that allows for our members to "express their inner artist.”

From our Executive Director:

“Say it Proud showed me how many artists I

encounter in my daily life -- there is a lot of

talent out there just waiting for the inspiration

to share and to be discovered”

– Irina Kuzina

Mi s s i o n S t a t emen t

T he S t o r y o f Say i t P ro ud

Say it Proud had humble beginnings.

We agreed to help to promote a student film,

Tina for President.

Soon, the word spread that we were promoting student art and we gained an entire student art festival as our ‘client.’

Tina

T he S t o r y o f Say i t P ro ud

As we spent time with these student artists--members of the Artist

Network at USC--we realized that our project should have a

larger theme and mission.

There is a moment in every artist’s life where he or she takes the

courageous step to announce to friends and family:

“I’m a creator. That is my identity”

T he S t o r y o f Say i t P ro ud

With this realization,

The main goal of our project became:

How can we encourage people to share the

talent that they might otherwise keep

hidden?

A n E x a m p l e o f o u r

I n s p i r a t i o n a l C o n t e n t

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A S o c i a l I n i t i a t i v e a n d

P ro m o t i o n a l P ro j e c t

The project is defined by its social initiative to encourage new

artists and by its effort to build publicity for established

artists.

Personal stories make each of our established artists more

approachable; their content becomes more compelling for

new fans. So sharing is a promotional act.

On our community platforms, each artist also gains a new

audience with whom to share their material.

P ro d u c i n g S ay I t P ro u d STAGE 1: Launching Integrated Platforms We created digital homes for content and our soon-to-grow community

STAGE 2: Promoting the Artist Network Event

We produced a short trailer to advertise

their art and event.

We also began ghost-authoring these artists’

‘origin stories’; explaining what motivated

them to share their work for the first time.

STAGE 3: Live Launch at the Artist Network Event

Our entire team

attended the USC

Artist Network

Event. This was the

official launch of

our campaign

We asked artists at the event—who were of all stages in their careers, including those who rarely shared

their work—what motivated them to share, or what held them back, and what did art mean to them?

We set up an event

table with our logo

and with QR-code

cards to ensure that

our visitors could link

back to our online

platforms.

STAGE 4: The Content Flood

We posted the content we recorded at our live event table.

STAGE 5: The Content Avalanche

The project began to work on its own. Artists began to feel inspired and more and more of

them started to share. Facebook became the home of our project.

S u c c e s s M e t r i c s Facebook proved to be our most

popular platform and soon became the

true ‘home’ of our project.

We earned more than 150 ‘likes’ from

Facebook users in more than 22

countries around the world. Our weekly

total reach is over 2000 people and it is

continuing to grow.

We gained more than 30 unique

stories from fans. We had posts ranging

from people who ‘bake it proud,’ to

people who ‘program it proud,’ to

people who ‘joke it proud.’ We also had

a lot of posts about more traditional art:

dancers, poets, sculptors, and musicians.

Every participant posted some personal

art and the story of why they were

motivated to be a creator and to share

their work.

V i s i o n

Say it Proud hopes to be adapted for use in schools.

Our project teaches both self expression and digital

literacy. Say It Proud aims to offer children a safe online

community to help develop their passion for creativity,

even if their school does not have ample funding for arts.

F u t u r e G row t h

• New Technology

– Our team designed a mobile application to provide greater sharing

and community building functions. The App allow users to share work

and inspiration from wherever they are, and also provides a check-in

feature so it is possible to locate other artists with similar interests in

their area. This could encourage great community collaboration. It also

provides capabilities for sharing and interaction in a safer, more private

community sphere beyond Facebook, especially important if younger

students were to participate.

New Te c h no l ogy

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F u t u r e G row t h

• Merchandise

– Our Say it Proud T-shirts will aide in further community development

and continue artist promotion. The T-shirts display both our logo and a

personalized QR code, which links directly to the wearer’s own posted

content. Thus, one becomes a literal walking promotion for our

community, for artistic empowerment, and, crucially, for their own art.

C r e a t i ve Te a m I r i n a K u z i n a

After years of education and work experience

abroad, Irina’s journey in the communication industry has

shifted to a focus in entertainment media. With extensive

knowledge of International Marketing, a double masters

degree in Global Communication and her past

experience in Sony Pictures Television, Irina lead the Say

it Proud team to great results.

Executive Director

Beginning as a communicator in the publishing

industry, Jackie has a respect for authors and writing.

After spending time at InStyle and National Geographic

Books, she transitioned into the field of PR and worked

for Fleishman Hillard and Disney Interactive. Jackie is an

inseparable asset to the storytelling process.

C r e a t i ve Te a m J a c k i e A t t w o o d - D u p o n t

Communications

Director

Eric holds a master of communications degree, with

an emphasis in entertainment, from the USC Annenberg

School for Communication and Journalism. His past

working experience in Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox

enriched the team with extensive insight and effective

online engagement strategies.

Cr e a t i ve Te a m E r i c L a v i s

Marketing and Outreach

Director

As an undergraduate at Northwestern University

Charles co-founded an entertainment startup, Central City

Tower, where his self published and produced comic

books and cartoons have received national recognition.

For Say It Proud, Charles acted as liaison with the Artist

Network, film editor and graphic designer.

Cr e a t i ve Te a m C h a r l e s A g b a j e

Creative Director

Young started his career as an analyst in financial

institutions, with experience in media venture. Through the

various projects he participated, he discovered the

competitiveness of information technology in the

storytelling process and developed the skills to manage

website design using multiple languages and iOS

application development.

Cr e a t i ve Te a m H a i y a n g Z h a n g

Technology Director

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