Company: The Allstate Foundation, Northbrook, IL
Company Description: Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation takes bold actions to inspire people to act with us. Because we believe in better for all.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Service
 Nomination Title: The Allstate Foundation and Roadtrip Nation present: The New Volunteers YouTube docuseries
- Optional: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 121 words used.
- The New Volunteers docuseries on YouTube: Each episode takes host Anatola to a new location in the U.S., where she connects with local youth service leaders and learns about the community culture.
- Social ads: Used across The Allstate Foundation and Roadtrip Nation social channels and optimized by Allstate’s paid media experts to target youth, parents and educators
- DoSomething landing page: Hub with resources and activities for young people to take action after watching the docuseries episodes.
- Research: Leveraging the Potential of Youth Service: Original research published by The Allstate Foundation and the Center for Expanding Leadership and Opportunity, outlining a new, modern definition of service that resonates with today’s young people and reflects the many varied ways they serve communities.
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
May 21, 2024
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 204 words used.
The Allstate Foundation and Roadtrip Nation are proud to present "The New Volunteers," a groundbreaking YouTube docuseries showcasing inspiring stories of youth from across the country making a significant impact in their communities. This docuseries is not only a testament to the power of youth service but a pivotal component of The Allstate Foundation's broader strategy to empower youth to serve and improve communities, transforming how the nation views and supports youth-led service.
The Allstate Foundation's youth empowerment strategy is built on the belief that young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow but also the changemakers of today. By investing in programs and initiatives that support youth service, we aim to create a ripple effect that will benefit communities nationwide.
Roadtrip Nation’s traditional format is one-hour documentaries aired on PBS affiliates. The Allstate Foundation funded one of these documentaries in 2023, “Changemakers,” which focused on youth exploring career paths that enabled them to create an impact while making a living. A learning from that experience was that while distribution on PBS is fantastic and gets us into homes, to effectively reach young people and inspire them to serve, we should meet them where they’re at with shorter, more approachable content.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
In looking to meet young people where they’re at, we turned to YouTube, one of the most trusted digital brands by Gen Z. The Allstate Foundation and Roadtrip Nation co-produced “The New Volunteers,” – Roadtrip Nation’s first-ever YouTube docuseries – creating five short episodes that reached youth directly via YouTube.
From across the country, we chose to spotlight youth service leaders reimagining service for a new generation, from painting community murals in New York to cleaning up the Louisiana coastline. This approach aligns with The Allstate Foundation’s research with the Center for Expanding Leadership and Opportunity, which created a new, modern definition of service that resonates with today’s young people and reflects the many varied ways they serve communities. The series host, Anatola Araba, is a young changemaker, artist, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree with an inspiring ability to connect with young people and tell their stories.
The Allstate Foundation took an additional step to inspire young people to action by partnering with DoSomething, a digital hub for youth-centered leadership and service, to create a campaign page. After watching the series, viewers could visit the hub to access service ideas and resources inspired by the content of each episode, as well as a “choose your own adventure” resource to design their own service projects.
With the expertise of Allstate’s paid media team, we were able to lean on their resources to align on goals and then optimize ad targeting and placements to drive traffic to the docuseries.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2023. Even if your initiative started before 2023, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2023 only (up to 250 words):
Total 238 words used.
Our primary objective was to get youth to watch the series, then be inspired to serve in their own communities. Our goals were to achieve 35,000 views with 1,000 hours of total watch time across the entire series.
Campaign assets:
- 5 original YouTube docuseries episodes, each highlighting a 2-3 youth service leaders
- 2 social ads optimized for YouTube, Meta and LinkedIn
- Promotion across The Allstate Foundation, Roadtrip Nation and DoSomething channels (social, newsletters, emails, etc.)
Results: Using the combined audience expertise of Roadtrip Nation and The Allstate Foundation Youth Empowerment team – coupled with Allstate’s paid media experts – was a recipe for success. Not only did we exceed our goals, but our partnership with DoSomething.org resulted in 1,505 volunteer sign-ups and 1,215 recorded volunteer hours – a testament that the series was successful in inspiring young people to serve and improve communities.
We heard stories from young people like Arman, a 16-year-old from California. Inspired by The New Volunteers, he completed a project on the DoSomething page to clean up cigarettes in his community, then went even further by organizing local clean up events and volunteering at his local food bank.
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Goal
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Goal metric
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Achieved
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% to goal
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Total episode views (engagement)
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35,000
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1,158,400
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3,310%
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Watch time in hours (engagement)
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1,000
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14,103
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1,410%
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YouTube ad video views (amplification)
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2,500,000
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5,547,039
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222%
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