The mission:
Raise awareness and demonstrate relevance of The Economist among students and academics in North America.
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The set up:
In an era of real-time news coverage, there’s no shortage of ways for college students to stay informed.
But can a few minutes on Reddit, Twitter, or Buzzfeed really provide in-depth analysis of the world today? Of course not. There’s only so much to be gleaned from a hodgepodge of headlines, sound bites, and hashtags.
If you’re looking for an intellectual edge, you’re not going to find it by visiting the same shallow news sites everyone else does. Standing out requires a better arsenal of information. To better arm for you for the classroom – and the future. Only then can you arrive at a genuine understanding of the issues at hand.
But are you ready to look beyond the surface of a story? Do you Dare 2 Go Deep with The Economist?
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The how:
Weapons of Mass Disruption.
Acclaimed writer/performer J.B. Smoove as the voice of The Economist — on a mission to drop some knowledge...
Pseudo-intellectual self-help author Charles Meltair, played by writer/performer Gavin McInnes, spreading faux news and disinformation among students…
And comedian Sara Schaefer, from MTV's "Nikki & Sara LIVE", who took our message to the streets, interviewing college students about the credibility of their news sources and introduced them to The Economist.
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Our "Weapons of Mass Disruption" posted Tweets and Vines to promote the campaign and link to exclusive content on Dare2GoDeep.com.
During our two-day campus takeover, we challenged college students to play “Truth or Dare... 2 Go Deep” for the chance to win memorable branded swag.
J.B. would present a news story and students had to guess whether it was true or not. The right answer got them swag, the wrong one forced them to perform one of our dares.
Classroom smart boards, chalkboards, sidewalks & walls across campus had teaser messaging on them.
We also Vined and tweeted videos using the provocative hashtag #iGoDeep to help spread the word.