A brief analysis of the "It Gets Better Project" started by Dan Savage and benefiting The Trevor Project and GLSEN.

3.  9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced
harassment at school
 LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 times as much as
straight teens
 More than 1/3 of LGBT kids have attempted suicide
 LGBT kids are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide
then our straight peers
 LGBT youth with “highly rejecting” families are 8
times more likely to attempt suicide than those
whose families accept them
It Gets Better Project

5. “The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of
happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their
teen years.The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community
that they are not alone — and itWILL get better” Dan Savage

8. 5000 user videos
15 million + views

9. Time
Technology
Endorsements
Technology
Loss of control
Timing around
Controversial
Issues
Mainstream
Loss of focus
Strengths
Opportunities
Weaknesses
Threats

10.  Selected for them
 Not much formal
segmentation or formative
research on key publics
 Potential loss of focus
 Going mainstream
 Group AND media audience

11.  Agenda-Setting
 An issue is illuminated;
its importance
acknowledged by the
general public, and
subsequently action is
taken on the issues”
(Wallack, Dorfman, et Al., 1993, p. 61

12.  Framing
 The selection
process, what is left
behind and what is
left out of the
reporting, shaping,
and presentations
of news and
information.

13.  Framing elements of
newsworthy stories:
 Celebrity
 Controversy
 Injustice
 Personal angle
 Breakthrough

14.  Participatory Model of
Communication
 “The individuals in the
community are active in
all the programs and
processes, they
contribute ideas, take
initiatives, articulate their
needs and problems, and
assert their autonomy”
(Zoller and Dutta, 2008, p. 135 )

15.  Two-way communication
 Social Learning
 Diffusion and influence
through social networks
 Elaboration likelihood
model

16.  Identify target audience Y / N
 Specify the target behavior Y
 Elaborate intermediate responses Y
 Ascertain channel use Y

17.  Programmatic effectiveness
 October 20, 2010: 10 million video views on
YouTube
 October 21, 2010: President Obama posts video.
Project reaches 100,000 supporter mark
 Since launch, calls to theTrevor Project suicide
hotline have increased 50%
 It Gets Better Project first t-shirt drive raised
$56,400 in 10 days

18.  Implementation of
planned campaign
components
 Impacts or effects on
larger aggregations

19. “There seems to be some hope that this
campaign will have a positive impact on the
lives of bullied teens, that hope sprouts out
of the messages and comments that are
sent to Dan Savage on his blog.”
(Bamieh, 2010)