StartWhereYouAre.com provided the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) new way to engage teens. We targeted the campaign to low-income rural kids. The campaign broke ground not only in the way we used online but in the way we approached and delivered the project.

At the core of the program was a Web site aimed at letting kids find out about themselves, encouraging them to do what they love to do, and giving support in helping them find a path forward. It includes items such as a personality collage, video snacks and blogs. In the past year, the site won an Adobe Site of the Day, a WebAward and a W3 Gold Award.

My role in the project was to lead the engagement planning as well as the online creative. In the engagement planning I led the media and PR groups to build a plan focused non-traditional outreach, such as the Web, an "opportunista" and a branded vehicle. The expectation going into the project was that we would deliver a TV campaign.

In the online creative, I led a team of art directors, flash programmers, and content producers to develop award-winning work.

The kids themselves have given VSAC the best feedback ranging from "awesome" to "rock-star status." More importantly, VSAC has incorporated the site and the spokesperson as part of their core outreach to students.

This work was done while I was at Kelliher Samets Volk, and I was lucky to work with a great planner, Julie Kravetz, and the super interactive creative, Corey Machanic.