
Hustle For Hope
Engagement Campaign: Positions St. Jude as a charity of choice for Gen Z and multicultural audiences through side hustles.
Client
My Role
St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital
Brand Strategy Development + Research
Team
Year
2021
Kristen Branch
Debbie W Huang
Davis Luceriaga
Rachel Pan
Sophia Sena
Emelil Walter
Detail
Since the 2020 Presidential election and in response to US consumers being dissatisfied with the state of unity in the country, St. Jude has worked to position itself as a unifying brand that inspires people to support the hospital’s mission: Finding cures. Saving children.
The hospital is a renowned cancer research institution that treats kids from all 50 states and around the world, from infants to young adults. The average age of donors is growing to middle ages, to continue to sustain the financial the hospital must attract and retain a new generation of donors.
Problem:
Brand is out of touch with Gen Z
Audience:

Stuck-at-Home Teen Athletes

Serial Teen Volunteers

Empathetic Techies Chasing Clout
Insecure Future
“74% say that the future of work after education is uncertain and this causes anxiety.”
It can’t be overstated that this generation is coming at an age of a particularly insecure moment--economic downturn, rising anxiety levels, racial issues, and a global pandemic. All of these have made Gen Z feel insecure about their futures.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
“72% say they want to start a business.”
They are obsessed with turning passion projects into legit business ventures. And as digital natives, they are natural marketers who can easily share their projects with their community.
Side Hustle
37% of Gen Z have a side hustle
5.5 Billion views of #sidehustle on TikTok
Their side jobs are called a side hustle. And we define that as anything you do to earn money outside of a traditional job.
Research
3 weeks
Desktop Research - News and Industry Reports
10
Interviews Completed
(audience groups)
7
Scientific Journals & Reports
2 weeks
Social Listening
(Instagram,TikTok, Tiltify)
2
Survey
20
Podcasts
Target audience: High - Achieving Gen Zers
Motivated, Future-oriented, desire to get involved & take actions!
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Insight
High-achieving Gen Zers harness their entrepreneurial spirit through side hustles but can feel limited on how to use that spirit to benefit social causes.
Opportunity
Provide a greater purpose for Gen Z’s passions.
Introduce:
Hustle for Hope
Uniting Gen Z’s hustle with St. Jude’s hope.
This is fundraising on Gen Z’s terms--fundraisers that are as unique as they are but united under a common mission to make the world a more hopeful place.


Hustle for You
Hustle for Hope
Through our strategy, we aim to empower Gen Z to use their side hustles to rally their community and followers through fundraising.
We know Gen Z is on Tiktok, so that’s where the future of fundraising is. Let’s empower Gen Z to use their hustles to raise money for St. Jude.
Let’s empower the side hustle!
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Hustle for Hope campaign activates on 3 levels:
1. beginning with an Influencer strategy,
2. followed by mainstream engagement
3. complimented by a volunteer experience program.
Through our strategy, we aim to empower Gen Z to use their side hustles to rally their community and followers through fundraising.
We know Gen Z is on Tiktok, so that’s where the future of fundraising is. Let’s empower Gen Z to use their hustles to raise money for St. Jude.
Let’s empower the side hustle!
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For this campaign, the KPIs we’ll be looking at are focused on engagement (seeing how many hashtags are being used), views, likes, and comments – as well as the number of Hustle for Hope fundraisers and the total amount raised.
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We put together an influencer list of who are master side-hustlers. We believe this roster of influencers, and those like them, are a perfect fit for St. Jude--it’s important for these influencers to have a diverse mix of side hustles that appeal to various subcultures.
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Kick off this campaign with a week-long lineup of influencers hustling LIVE to fundraise for St. Jude.
This would take place on each influencer’s individual TikTok to capture their specific audience. Your St. Jude’s TikTok will promote the schedule of live streams and spotlight one hustler each day.
St. Hustle Mascot
A mascot and alter ego, St. Hustle is a campaign icon designed to be relatable and postable for Gen Z.
St. Hustle is a cheeky take on the idea of “sainthood” and hustle culture. The mascot can be used as brand equity for the campaign, like a sticker, emoji, and more.
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#SideHustleStJude
#HustleforHope
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Social Media
Hustle for Hope landing Page

Instagram & Tiltify

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Volunteer Experience
Match patients and hustlers through engaging volunteer experiences.
we propose matching patients and hustler volunteers with common passions.
For a patient who is obsessed with crafting and DIY, the hustler who makes her own rugs would be a perfect fit, or for a patient who loves video games the hustler who designs his own software would make a wonderful partner.
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