How Diversity and Creativity Helped Build a Better Bunny
by Emily Lang
Our team recently met for a quarterly staff meeting, where we spent time fueling the creative spirits that make up our business. I am always amazed by the diversity of our team members, and how that shows up in creative projects.
On this day, we divided ourselves into three groups with each being given a prompt to rebrand a classic childhood character. Each group was asked to build a plan, including measurable outcomes, tactics, a timeline and budget in a basic format.
The project resulted in virtual makeovers for the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, each one envisioned with new applications to reach modern kids.
Team Santa – the most tech savvy members of our team – thought of partnering with video game creators to make Santa’s updated suit downloadable as a video game “skin.” The modern Santa would incorporate AI to “roast” naughty behavior on social media. Santa’s mode of transportation got a makeover too, incorporating renewable energy to fuel a sleek sleigh.
Team Easter Bunny – a truly crafty crew – incorporated a hologram and a more inclusive version of the traditional rabbit. With a shortened name of “EB” our bunny made an Easter celebration enticing for kids who may not fit the definition of a “typical” child.
And finally, Team Tooth Fairy envisioned an entirely new-to-me mythical creature. Spotlighting a Tooth Mouse already famous in Spanish culture, our team thought of partnerships with dental associations, an app to earn points for uploading photos of well-cared-for teeth, and multilingual applications designed to reach kids all over the world and encourage good dental hygiene.
We ended the exercise high-fiving team members and recognizing the lived experiences of each individual participant and how those experiences showed up in the task we’d just completed.
It was a reminder that each and every day – we are made better by the diversity of our cultures, experiences and even thought processes. Too often, differences are shouted down instead of woven in, and as a result, we all miss out on the opportunity to build a better bunny, mouse or even world.
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