CLIENT
SHOWTIME
PROJECT
CUSP
SERVICES
Project Design
Project Management
Partnership Development Event Production
Materials Development
THE CHALLENGE
CUSP, acquired by SHOWTIME, is an sensitive and complicated documentary film about challenging issues related to teen dating violence and the experience of adolescent girls related to sex, parents, and other developmental issues. The CUSP filmmakers and SHOWTIME wanted to ensure that the film was presented with the necessary context to be educational and informative rather than sensational and risqué. There was also concern for the personal impact on the girls who were featured in the film as the details of their lives became public. IMP was tasked with creating a discourse around the film to engage audiences and communities in productive reflection and dialogue.
THE PROCESS
IMP conducted several deep-dive planning sessions with the client along with a number of consultations with likely partners and other stakeholders.
These sessions informed the crafting of an innovative project plan with a focus on organizations dedicated serving women and girls, and young people more broadly, aimed at providing resources and content for parents and other youth to support them in navigating the challenges of adolescence.
In partnership with SHOWTIME and the filmmakers, along with communication with the girls featured in the film, IMP created a plan for engagement that was both sensitive to the delicate nature of the content as well as direct and honest
THE RESULTS
IMP built a coalition of 35 organizations to participate in and support the campaign, including Girls Scouts of America, the Centers for Disease Control, The Ms. Foundation for Women, Girl Rising, the YWCA, The Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media and many others with a collective reach of over 5.5 million people.
Through mini-grants to support key activities, information sharing and providing campaign resources to their stakeholders, these parters amplified the campaign and enabled a broad national reach imbued with the credibility of trusted organizations.
IMP crafted an in-depth engagement guide for the film that covered many delicate issues and providing resources and information for parents, youth and communities.
We produced a series of online conversations with our campaign partners directed at parents and educators that provided expert information and engaged discussion on the issues and we produced a high-level in-person screening event in New York to launch the film.
Finally and of great importance, IMP collaborated with key parters to create a care plan for the girls featured in the film as they managed significant real life challenges and coped with those challenges being revealed to a national audience.
