Student Self-Esteem Initiative

Morgan McAlpin

Agenda

1. Overview

2. Situation

3. Issue

4. Lifetouch Opportunity

5. Social Media Campaign

6. Why?

Teen Trends

22 million teens in the United States

Spending $127 billion

$72 per week

Number one is

clothing

61% get money

from their parents

Tru Research

33% will spend more

78% will spend same or more!

84% shop online

Teens are making their presence known in the marketplace.

Teen Suicide

Suicide is the third of the leading causes of death for teens and young adults ages 15 through 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), following accidents and homicide.  American Indians and Alaska Natives were at the highest risk for teen suicide at a rate of 19.7 per 10,000 (2007)This is 1.8 times higher than the national averageNon-Hispanic Whites followed closely at 13.5 per 10,000 (2007)

Teen Suicide

Males take their own lives four times as often as females and represent 79% of all suicides (CDC). However, women attempt suicide two to three times more often than menAmong young adults 15-24 years old, there are 100-200 attempts for every completed suicideIn 2007, 14.5% of US high school students admitted to seriously considered attempting suicide (CDC)

Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying has become a greater issue since social networking sites have taken off in the last decadeCyber bullying can be very damaging to teens, leading to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.Reasons why cyber bullies engaged in cyber bullying:

They deserved it (58%)To get back at someone (58%)For fun or entertainment (28%)

Cyber Bullying

Over half of all teens have been bullied online, about the same number have engaged in bullying themselvesMore than 1 in 3 teens have experienced cyber threats onlineOnly 1 in 10 young people tell a parent if they’ve been a victim of cyber bullyingGirls are slightly more likely to be involved in cyber bullying than boysCyber bullying victims are more likely to have low self esteem and to consider suicide(Bullyingstatistics.org)

The Dove Movement for Self Esteem is building a world where women everywhere have the tools to inspire each other and the girls in their lives. Their vision is “a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety.”Their website is complete with a self esteem toolkit, The Movement Story, and an opportunity to join the movement and share who inspired you Dove’s partners include Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Club of America, and Girls, Inc.

Lady Gaga

“Don’t hide yourself in regretJust love yourself and you’re set” Lady Gaga suffered with self-esteem issues until just recently in her lifeHer song “Born this Way” promotes a healthy self-imageGlee used her song in an episode where the teens confront their self-esteem woes and own them during the performance

Seniors and Info from Austin

“Celebrate all you’ve achieved”

Grad parties are an ego boost to have everyone there for you and to celebrate your accomplishments

Information from Austin

Yearbooks

Encourage schools to have students in the yearbook more than just their individual photo

Receiving a yearbook makes kids feel good and part of the school

Yearbook donation

program

With X1 program, kids are

featured at ¾ length

Retail Stores

Stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister are popular amongst today’s teensThese stores seek potential employees who possess a certain “look”I was approached in an Abercrombie and asked to work there. A friend of mine was playing sand volleyball at our college and was recruited by HollisterStores place the Extra Small sizes in the front because clothing looks better in smaller sizes

Situation Analysis

Problem 1

Teens see school

pictures as boring, blah, a hassle… not a true

reflection of me!

•Portraiture is supposed to capture personality, character, and status

•Teens do not believe that school photography is consistently delivering on their promise to capture teens “their way.”

•What do we know about teens that will help us define our challenge?

Situation AnalysisProblem 2

Teens stress about picture day.

They worry about what to wear, how to do their make up, and ultimately

how the photos will turn out.

The above comments were made about senior portraiture. This dramatizes how teens really feel about school

picture day. It helps us understand why teen participation is low.

Many teens don’t like how they look and pictures draw

attention to that.

“What am I going to wear?”

“If it’s a bad hair day everyone is going to look at the picture and pick on you.”

“You don’t know what everyone is going to think of what you wear and if it looks

retarded.”

“You don’t want to be the kid with the terrible yearbook picture.”

“I worry about how my hair looks right before the picture. They take

one picture and if it’s bad, it’s bad.”

Searching for a unique identity, to be an individualThat’s why being able to express myself is importantTeens express themselves by getting tattoos and body piercings as well as through fashion trends and hairstylesTeens are conflicted: want to be original but also want to feel affiliated with their peersCreative expression specific to me. Enjoy activities that extend sense of unique self.Choice. Options are power. Everyone wants to customize.Want to portray/express a unique image and style. Photography gives them the opportunity to do this.

Teen Consumer Insights about being unique, self-expression

Teen Consumer Insights about confidence, self-image

Image is everything!62% of girls feel insecure or unsure of themselves (Dove)Teens look up to athletes, musicians, andmodels as role modelsI want to look perfect like my favorite pop idol or athleteIdeals of beauty/masculinity are often manipulated− Photoshop, airbrushing, plastic surgeryStrive to attain unattainable standardsMore and more teens are obsessing withtheir appearanceUSA Weekend Student found that just 3 in 10 teens are satisfied with their looks50% of girls want to lose weight while half of boys want to ton upOnly 46% of high school aged boys are happy the “way they are”A growing epidemic where form over content in no longer limited to girls

Today’s teens feel imperfect

Issue: Low self esteem in children produces destructive behaviors

Low self esteem at a young age is connected to destructive behaviors at an older age

Eleven year-old boys who displayed evidence of low self-esteem were more likely to be dependent upon drugs at age 20 than boys who didn't have low self-esteem, according to a study conducted at Florida State University

75% of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities such as disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking, or drinking when feeling badly about themselves (Dove)

Treehouse Youth is a faith based, non-profit organization offering hope and guidance to hurting teens, alumni, and parents during difficult times.

TreeHouse is a safe place to be real about the pain in their lives that is causing them to think and act out in destructive ways.

TreeHouse is a place to have fun, meet friends, discover faith, overcome pain, serve others, and be empowered to succeed. TreeHouse saves teens lives

Statistics

Up to 1,650 young adults age 18-21 experience homelessness nightly in MinnesotaEach day in America 4,520 children are arrestedYouth who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse than those who start drinking at or after age 21Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds in Minnesota11% of 13-16 year old girls have posted seminude or nude pictures of themselves online1 in 4 students in Minnesota high schools drop out and do not graduate. This increases to nearly 60% for African American and Hispanic students

What can low self esteem lead to?

Teen obesityTeen suicideDestructive behaviorsEating disordersBad grades Lower graduation ratesHigher sexual activity

Drug and alcohol abuseAggression Violence and criminal activityTeen runawaysDepression AnxietyTeen pregnancy

Opportunity: Engage teens with relevant communications as an outlet for self expressions as a

means of improving self-image

Kids and teens must havea voice, something to stand for, be interestingWe need to capture the attention of today’s teenIts tone needs to be exciting, expressive, and confidentDon’t invade their space, create a space for them to interact, relate, and communicateProvide them with a community where other teens have the same feelings, worries, insecuritiesGo beyond print, communicate via social media, a teen relevant medium

Challenge: Change Perceptions

“Pictures create a sense of belonging because of the emotional memories attached to them.” –David WalshTeens are taking notice of their appearance at a younger age. Today’s 12 year old is just as self-conscious about his/her image as an 18 year old. “Ideal standards of beauty/masculinity seen on pop media are often unattainable and as a result lowers self esteem.Being reassured of “attractiveness” will raise self-esteem and help relieve stress, anxiety, and lower the “I will take a bad picture” syndrome.Communications would use real teens not picture perfect teens.The tone will be real. It will challenge them to seek out their own version of beauty/masculinity, rather than seeking out media driven stereotypical perfection.

“Do I look fat in these jeans?I need to start working out.”

Self-Esteem Facebook Page

Target: Teens

Geography: US and Canada

Timing: SeptemberLaunch a Facebook page that will provide:

A forum for teens to dialogue about self-esteem

A source for information on the subject (links to expert advice, guides)

Contest/Scholarship for photography and self-esteem story

Opportunity for Conversation

The Facebook page will allow students to interact with each other through the wall. This provides the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas, insecurities

The next LNSS Marketing intern will continue to run the Facebook page throughout the 2011-12 academic year according to the month-by-month plan

The forum will offer a sense of community to teens in the US and Canada who are struggling with self-esteem issues

They will know they’re not alone

Source of Information

The Facebook page will be a place for students to find links to expert advice, various articles, and to participate in polls all related to self-esteemThe hope is that this page will be a source of information on self-esteem and raise awareness aboutthe issue affecting today’s teens

Self-Esteem Photography and Story Contest/Scholarship

Target: TeensGeography: US and CanadaTiming: Launch in December, close January 31

Teens will be invited to submit a photo with an attached story about how they overcame self-esteem issuesWinners will be selected by February 13Winner’s and runner up’s stories will be published in a book sold to the general public and distributed to schools and partnering foundations

Communicate and leverage with schools to help promote self-esteem

Target: Lifetouch Schools (Teachers and Administrators)Geography: US and Canada

Timing: December-JuneLeverage self-esteem awareness through Tools for Schools website, Lifetouch corporate website, sell sheet in the fieldDistribute a self-esteem awareness pin to teachers and staffAsk teachers to nominate students who are doing an exceptional job at building self-esteem among the student bodyBooks will be distributed to schools at the close of the academic year with the hopes of continuing the awareness into the following year