Making Student Advocacy An Experience

Like many southern states, Louisiana does not allow students a seat on district or state school boards, a contrast to the 25 states that do. As a leader in education advocacy, the Baton Rouge Alliance for Students was committed to finding a way to capture the authentic perspectives of Baton Rouge students. 

The challenge was to encourage active student participation and create an engaging platform that avoided the typical “test-taking” feel of traditional surveys or focus groups. Our task was to engage students in a fresh, exciting, and meaningful way while yielding data that could be used by policymakers to drive change in local education.

NURA took a creative approach that involved both experiential and digital strategies, centering around a branded pop-up activation: The Truth Booth, that would resonate with youth.

Brand Activation Strategy

Our strategy aimed to create an interactive, immersive experience for students that felt more like a fun, social activity than a test. The Truth Booth featured audiovisual capabilities and touchscreen devices where students could participate in video confessionals and digital surveys, sharing their thoughts on issues like mental health, educator quality, and preparedness. Some of the activation pop-ups included incentives for students like free merchandise or coupons to local restaurants to incentivize participation. ‍

Youth-Led Focus Groups

NURA facilitated several of the youth-led focus groups and worked with the Alliance team to develop many of the focus group questions, ensuring they were relevant, engaging, and reflective of the student’s interests and concerns. We provided strategic methods for facilitating these groups, ensuring that the discussions were productive and gathered valuable insights. 

Comprehensive Digital Campaign

NURA was responsible for creating all aspects of the digital campaign, from initial visual assets and branding for the Youth Voice Initiative to the content for social media platforms. Our team developed the final Youth Voice Initiative webpage, which served as a central hub for information and updates throughout the campaign. We produced the impact report that presented the findings from the student surveys and video confessionals. This report was a critical tool for communicating the outcomes of the initiative to stakeholders and policymakers. 

‍‍Strategic Location Activations

We activated the Truth Booth at 10 key, youth-centric locations like the Mall of Louisiana and The Electric Depot, engaging students where they already gathered and ensuring maximum participation.