Design the Next Plane
Milmark Award Winner
Installation: 412 FSS, Edwards AFB
Category: Age-Specific Marketing
Year: 2022
Campaign Summary
Design the Next Plane marked the introduction of the #412KidZone a web-based hub at edwardsfss.com and entertainment experience at the first air show held by Edwards Air Force Base in 13 years. The campaign was designed to inspire innovation and creativity through a parent-child art contest centered on creating a plane of the future to be showcased online at the inaugural 412 Kid Zone hub and at the air show.
Targeted towards guardians of children ages 12 and under and school-aged youth, the campaign consisted of a virtual design exhibit hosted on edwardsfss.com/412KidZone, an in-person creative class, and a social media contest with participation rewards. Participants were provided with a dual-sided platform to share their personal stories behind their design works and connect with the Edwards base community.
Design exhibition and contest participants were given the opportunity to showcase their work at the 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House & STEM Expo in October. Additionally, contest winners were announced at the Air Show through social media. Commercial sponsorship from a youth-focused partner provided $200 in giveaways for contest winners.
The presentation of the Design the Next Plane Virtual Exhibit & Contest would facilitate the execution of the Squadron’s first, online, youth-targeted event channel. The informational channel would provide a space where youth and guardians alike would be able to stay informed about youth activities and programs.
The 412th Force Support Squadron, through a series of events leading to the execution of the 412th FSS Kid Zone at the air show, would be able to launch the brand 412Kid Zone, a space just for kids.
Relevance to Category (Age-Specific Marketing)
Our campaign directly targeted parents of youth K-12 and younger. Having an understanding of our target demographic, we were able to utilize the channels that are most impactful for their consumption of media and subsequent engagement. Bringing parents and children together to develop an innovative aircraft ahead of the Aerospace Valley Open House Air Show & STEM Expo presented a perfect opportunity to highlight creative works and the 412th FSS Kid Zone, an Edwards First! Incentivizing the contest with sponsored giveaways encouraged participation and provided a tangible perk in exchange for user engagement.
Business Challenges & Campaign Objectives
In launching Design the Next Plane Virtual Exhibit & Art Contest, we wanted to drive attendance for the upcoming 412th FSS Kid Zone at the Aerospace Valley Open House Air Show & STEM Expo. In the spirit of innovation, we wanted to provide an opportunity for parents, guardians, and children to work together to create aviation-inspired works to showcase throughout the community with user engagement, a web-based exhibition, and at the FSS Kid Zone during the air show.
Furthermore, our goal was to consolidate kid-related FSS programming into a single landing page on our website under the #412KidZone brand. The page would deliver KidZone promotional content in tandem with youth activities across the Force Support Squadron.
Based on feedback from previous events, getting information about youth events presented a distinct challenge for the community. Parents felt disconnected from the content and ultimately believed they were missing out on great opportunities for their children. School-aged children also expressed interest in seeing more events on the base.
Our goal was to launch the kid-friendly 412 Kid Zone on the already existing edwardsfss.com website as a one-stop shop for youth content. The dedicated website content would offer a user-friendly solution for distributing niche-related information while also elevating the flow of information leading to the Aerospace Valley Open House Air Show & STEM Expo 412 Kid Zone entertainment area. As a Squadron, we wanted to encourage innovation among youth to drive our Wing’s STEM initiatives. Ultimately, we wanted to create a virtual kids’ space that would live on beyond the air show.
412 FSS Marketing Team
Tameka Alesia Lucio, Marketing Director
Emily Bostwick, Visual Information Specialist
Tanna Ayres-Choice, Visual Information Specialist
Emily Thomburg, Commercial Sponsorship Coordinator
Insights & Strategy
We gathered insights from event surveys, social media demand signals, and discussions with parents and guardians of youth. Based on social listening results, the target audience favored art programs. Parents in social groups also wanted more opportunities to boast about their children. Additionally, survey feedback suggested that we needed to offer more engaging youth activities, more memorable moments, and additional opportunities for youth to showcase their talents.
Utilizing the insights that we gathered over the course of 1 year, we were able to identify the target audience, understand their preferred engagement channels and develop a branded item that would meet their demand for a creative opportunity. We were also able to create a streamlined information space based on their interactions with our existing website.
The team monitored conversations surrounding the air show on social media to gather insights in the interest since it was the first in 13 years. The community was excited to attend the STEM Expo on Friday before the show opened to the public. As a salute to the STEM element, we decided that inviting parents and youth to design a plane of the future would be a fun nod to STEAM, with a focus on art.
Concept/Big Idea
Design the Next Plane Virtual Exhibit & Art Contest presented an interactive opportunity for the Edwards Air Force Base Community to engage with the 412th FSS Kid Zone at the Aerospace Valley Open House Air Show & STEM Expo. Participants would not only have the opportunity to include their designs in a virtual gallery hosted at edwardsfss.com/412kidzone, but they would also be able to enter an online contest to win prizes and have their works showcased at the 412th FSS Kid Zone during the Air Show.
Kid-focused content and programming would be tagged with #412KidZone across social media leading up to the actual air show Kid Zone so that our target audience could track youth activities happening across FSS and receive information drips on the air show kid zone. Finally, our target would feel connected with the relevant information at the right time.
The 412 KidZone as a virtual youth space would transcend the Air Show and deliver as a permanent FSS fixture, providing youth-centered content on an ongoing basis, thereby improving the flow of information to parents and youth in a centralized location.
Activation/Tactics
In July 2022, We kicked off Design the Next Plane Virtual Exhibit and Art Contest with a dedicated landing page at edwardsfss.com/412kidzone promoting youth-specific events, regardless of the activity.
We drove contest sign-ups at 2 base-wide events in July and August. At the August, ‘Back to School Bash’ event, we provided supply kits packaged with a small brown notebook and a positive message. We placed a QR code on the back of each notebook. The QR code linked to 412kidzone with the message: “Scan for Awesome Youth Events.”
During the event, we provided a photo opportunity for attendees with a backdrop, blending a “back to school” theme with airplanes. Back to School Bash attendees were drawn to the photo booth, which included a balloon arch designed by Arts & Crafts.
Our team then collaborated with our Arts & Crafts facility to execute a ‘Design a Plane Day’ event. Parents broght their children out to design planes with a selection of crafts. Marketing for the event included a QR code option to enter the “Design the Next Plane” contest.
We understood that incenvitizing the contest would help to drive participation. Valleywide Dental, a local orthodontist provided $200 in commercial sponsorship to purchase price giveaways.
Results
The first Design the Next Plane Virtual Exhibit & Art Contest drew an average of 100 people per month to the dedicated page at edwardsfss.com/412kidzone where the virtual gallery was exhibited. Arts & Crafts provided an in-person opportunity for 10 youth to work along with parents or guardians in designing a plane ahead of the contest.
Commercial Sponsorship partner Valleywide Dental provided $200 to support contest giveaways to incentivize participation in the contest and subsequent voting on social media. In exchange for support the sponsor received social media shoutouts and logo placement within the virtual design gallery at 412kidzone.
Leading up to the air show, the design participants were profiled on social media. 45 people voted on FB. Winners were announced via Facebook on the 2nd day of the air show.
While we would have loved to see an even larger turnout for the contest, launching the campaign enabled us to improve marketing channels for parents and guardians demanding concise information on youth activities and programs around the base. We were able to introduce the official 412 Kid Zone, where kids can continue to imagine, innovate, and influence peers in telling the Air Force Story right here at Edwards Air Force Base.
Brand Building
We constructed our brand 412kidzone by listening to parents, guardians, and youth across Edwards Air Force Base. We discovered that people wanted customized content and found a simple way to activate a response using a leisure activity they enjoy, rooted in a theme central to the community: aviation. We could have selected to host any contest, but building on the strength of the air show, the installation’s STEM focus, and the first FSS Kid Zone in 13 years, designing a plane of the future made perfect sense. Youth at Edwards AFB are indeed the future.
100 FSS Marketing Team
Tameka Alesia Lucio, Marketing Director
Emily Bostwick, Visual Information Specialist
Tanna Ayres-Choice, Visual Information Specialist
Emily Thomburg, Commercial Sponsorship Coordinator
All 2022 MilMark Award Winners
Categories without winners did not have entries meeting the minimum score requirement. See the 2022 MilMark Awards Program Guide for more information about scoring and judging criteria.
