Cast your vote for the Best Consumer Campaign of 2013 here
Livity's managing director, Michelle Clothier, says: "Financial literacy" sounds boring doesn't it? It sounds even more boring to young people. But it doesn't have to be.
How would you spend £100,000? That's more interesting already isn't it?
The Stake gave young people across the UK the power to collectively decide how to spend £100,000 of real money to benefit their local community.
Commissioned by Channel 4 Education with the aim of increasing young people's financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, we found the perfect partner in Barclays. A brilliant campaign partner because they are already dedicated to pushing the boundaries through its financial capability programme, Barclays' Money Skills.
As young people decided how their dream idea might help them get their hands on the £100,000, they also learned practical financial skills. They created a budget, planned project timings and played money challenges to increase their voting power.
Supported by exclusive content from recognisable faces in the business world, such as Jamal Edwards (SB.TV) and Martha Lane Fox (co-founder of Lastminute.com). The competition was promoted via targeted TV airtime slots on Channel 4, PR and social media activity.
More than 1,000 young people submitted ideas to the competition website, which ranged from financing a basketball project to reduce crime through sport, to setting up an exotic animal sanctuary. As these "idea owners" promoted their ideas through social networks, they attracted more than 10,000 "stakeholders" whose votes produced a shortlist of the top 20 ideas from which a panel of expert judges decided who ultimately secured the prize money.
Six eventual winners were mentored through the process of turning their dream ideas into a reality. Their creativity has been harnessed to make a community skate park; revitalise a youth club; hold spoken-word workshops in underprivileged areas; and the campaign even helped create a mini-farm in Northern Ireland complete with llamas, goats and chickens.
Some of the standout results are:
• More than 100,000 page visits in the six-week competition period
• More than 1,000 ideas submitted
• More than 10,000 stakeholders voting on ideas
• More than 38,000 Barclays Money Skills challenges completed, helping improve their financial skills
• Six young people who've turned their ideas into reality, making a positive impact on their local community
To see who else is on the shortlist and to book for the dinner on 7 March, visit bestawards.co.uk
