Representation Matters

Client: 3M
Company: DoSomething.org
Project Role: Senior creative strategist

3M — STEM Superheroes

Diversity in STEM fields is a significant concern for 3M as a company and the world in general—with only 16% of US scientists and engineers identifying as women, people of color, or people with disabilities. STEM has the power to improve the world, which was our entry point to Gen Z since 75% of them actively believe their generation will do just that.

The STEM Superheroes campaign challenged students to create unique STEM-powered superheroes using an easily downloadable template. Student artists then entered their superheroes into a contest. The winning entry became a gorgeous poster (left) distributed to 5,000 schools around the country, highlighting what the world of STEM superpowers can do.

Original editorial content on DoSomething's channels featured young, diverse people in STEM and served to emphasize the many paths and possibilities available in STEM fields. To support November 8th's National #STEMDAY, DoSomething's social platforms did an all-day takeover. They received further social media support from Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, the Bezos Scholars Program, and the We Are Family Foundation.

More than 50,000 students participated in the campaign, 80% of whom identified as female and 23% from communities with primarily Black and Latin populations. The winning poster entry came from a 19-year-old DoSomething member from Miami who said: "As a disabled Latina, the homogeny in the STEM field can be kind of daunting. I want to show other budding scientists that there's no challenge dedication and patience can't overcome."

Across all channels, the campaign earned more than 66 million total media impressions.

STEM Superheroes was named a finalist at The Shorty Awards in the STEM category.