When Good Measure Productions was asked to get Hot Docs’ Docs for School’s program on the radar of educators in every single province and territory in Canada – within a three-month campaign window – we knew we needed to be strategic.
Teachers are busy. Curriculum design and implementation is a complex process. Reaching educators across diverse regions and education systems in Canada wouldn’t work with a traditional promotion campaign.
We also needed to be able to prove real engagement and have the data to confirm teachers are using the Docs for Schools films in their classrooms across the country.
So what was the approach that GMP used to expand the Docs for Schools program outside of Ontario and make it a national resource?
Instead of running the campaign as a promotion for free films, we made it a pitch.
We found the people in leadership positions at every social studies council, english studies council and curriculum council across Canada asked them for meetings about the Docs for Schools program.
We then pitched the Docs for Schools program as a workshop or presentation for their leadership or entire association of teachers. The workshop, created by GMP, was a flexible presentation that broke down what exactly the program included, how to weave it into their lesson plans, and how to access resources like the curriculum guides directly.
Building relationships with people who were in charge of networks of teachers was crucial. Once established, the team then provided turn-key templates and toolkits for them to share with their network of educators via email update or in a newsletter. The goal was to make sharing the information as seamless as possible and it worked.
The campaign also included filmmaker screenings, youth group and parent council outreach, conference applications and appearances. Results demonstrated that direct educator engagement, particularly presentations and workshops, was the strongest driver of program awareness and curriculum download uptake.
More about Hot Docs’ Docs for Schools program and Citizen Minutes Series:
Hot Docs’ Docs for Schools Today provides free doc programming for Canadian students in grades 5–12 to help students and educators engage with current issues, raise critical questions, and interact with new perspectives.
This includes the Citizen Minutes series, a series of short documentaries highlighting ordinary Canadians doing extraordinary things to improve their communities. All films come with free educator guides.
