MATH MOTIVATORS
Professional actuaries are experts at advanced mathematics, spending years in study and certification before practicing. This makes them a vast resource for math knowledge and experts on the math education that many young students experience. The Actuarial Foundation decided to tap this resource to provide volunteer tutors for underprivileged math students. They came to our team to publicize and help grow the program.
Our first task was to brand the program. We created an active figure from the Pi symbol, resembling an avatar with an arm raised in greeting or support. The Actuarial Foundation‘s brand standards guided our work on the colors and typography.
Next, we needed to explain to actuaries the nature and functional process of the Math Motivators program. The team visited Achievement First Hartford High School in Hartford, CT, an early adopter of the program. We interviewed program founder Barry Jacobson as well as students, teachers and actuaries who have all participated in the program. In five episodes, released weekly on social media, we outlined Math Motivators‘ origins, its process and its goals for the future.
We developed an ad campaign to run parallel to the videos, targeting media channels frequented by actuaries and their employers.
As the program grew, we developed another video series, instructing actuaries in the establishment of Math Motivator programs in their own communities. This time, we visited Portland High School in Portland, ME, interviewing staff and actuaries who had recently started their own program.
And the program just keeps growing. We tracked its progress on social media as new cities came on line, reporting its impressive results in tutor participation as well as academic improvement. As of 2020, Math Motivators programs were active in every geographic region of the country.