Droga’s Big Idea: The Million
Posted on November 20, 2007 - Filed Under Cool Ideas
Heard of the Tap Project for UNICEF? Of course you have. It changed the way that people think of executing a simple idea. Check it out here.
The brains behind the operation? An Aussie named David Droga. Now Droga is tackling a problem facing the New York Department of Education is having motivating students to stay in school and study. And his solution is based on a simple insights: kids love cell phones.
Check out this except from AdAge’s report on the Idea Conference:
“The old way is to throw money at celebrities who tell you what to do,” Mr. Droga said as he explained the program during Advertising Age’s Idea Conference last Thursday in New York. Rejecting that approach, Mr. Droga — a self-professed “advertising man” — looked beyond his field. “We went back to [the Department of Education] with a technology idea wrapped around advertising.”
The result is The Million program. Referring to the amount of students in the New York City public school system, the program involves giving away free mobile phones packed with learning tools such as a thesaurus, spell checks and an extra-help tip line to each student. The more a student uses these learning applications, the more rewards — discounts for movies, sneakers, clothes and music downloads, as well as air-time minutes and text messages — are unlocked. Additional incentives for achievement and attendance, including congratulatory voice-mail messages from, say, Derek Jeter or a wake-up call from Jay-Z, are also planned.
“What’s cooler than the iPhone is something that has almost as many applications but is free,” Mr. Droga said. In addition, the phone’s exclusive nature — only public-school students will be able to reap the benefits of it — may drive up the “badge factor,” adding to its appeal.
Naturally, there’ll be room for brands to latch onto the cause. The hardware provider, based on the video Mr. Droga showed at the conference, appears to be Motorola, though he wouldn’t confirm it. He also declined to name the service provider that’s been chosen. There’ll also be some room for advertising on the phone. After all, the phones, while provided for free to the students, won’t be completely without cost. As such, marketers will be able to infiltrate the students’ world through “responsible” sponsorships.
- Christian
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4 Responses to “Droga’s Big Idea: The Million”
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Cool idea, but this sounds a bit ambitious. I’m all for encouraging students to get the most out of technology, but this would probably cause more disruptions in class, don’t you think? - students texting each other constantly in the guise of looking up a word on a thesaurus.
The internet was supposed to help motivate kids to study… but it turns out most of them are only interested in MSN and Facebook.
Weaseling out of homework is the most natural thing in the world… it’s what separates us from all the other animals. (Except the weasel).
:)
I think the phones actually lock during school hours, only allowing academic functions to be performed.
But I think it’s a step in the right direction in making a real reward for doing well in school or staying in school. I think it speaks to something that kids use/want. So, it links education to a REAL rewards, as opposed some numbers on a test which is supposed to make you feel good.
[…] As an incredible source of great ideas, his latest is another winner. The Million is named after the number of pupils in the New York state school system. It involves giving away free phones which are loaded with learning tools (thesaurus, spell check etc) and bundling in incentives (from airtime to tickets) for academic achievement and attendance. […]