I enjoyed learning from my classmates this past weekend. The scenarios were challenging and highly relevant to our current time. The first presentation was on Minis and how to engage the community of Mini drivers. They took advantage of micro Mini communities that already exists across the country and planned extravagant weekend getaways just for Mini drivers.They thought of almost everything you would need to consider when planning trips of this extent. One element that I think took away from the great ideas presented in the presentation was the financial side. I felt for the team as they tried to justify the expenses and low revenue to a class who was hung up on the details. Perhaps giving a general idea of financials rather than an in depth analysis of them would have proven more effective. I truly thought the idea was a great way to build a culture around a car while tying in other sponsors and potential offers to the drivers. Something they could have added to the presentation was more examples of how Mini drivers are posting on social media today. I think it is highly likely that this community would post on a variety of social networks, however, to convince the class, more examples may have helped. 

The second presentation was on Pollination Pathway, a non-profit in the Seattle area that works on a one-mile stretch of neighborhood road to plant gardens that are ideal for our local pollinators. They were charged with creating an engagement plan for this nonprofit. I was a little confused why there were concerned about fitting their new engagement team in with the other departments within Pollinator Pathway as it seems like there is very little engagement going on right now. Also, I didn’t understand why they decided to go with creating an App for the project when it seemed to me it really only affected the one mile strip of neighborhood. What may have been more effective was a general leveraging of social media channels. These are not even listed on the Pollinator Pathway website, a great first step for increasing engagement. The other element they could have elaborated on was how someone not living on that one mile could be involved. Outside of donating money or time, there should be a way to engage. For example, I would love to plant my garden this way and I don’t mind paying for it myself. PP provides suggested layouts which I could follow easily, however they would never know that I had done this with the current set up of their website. 

The next presentation was on recycling. I really liked the concept of this one although I think that the issue has less to do with Millennials and more to do with systems within these multi-family buildings. For me, the first step would be to connect with these building owners and determine what can be done. If nothing comes from that, it would be a general awareness campaign in the areas the residents frequent. Maybe bus stops or transits stations, maybe Starbucks. I think this could easily tie into an online campaign as well. I did like the idea of the contest, as long as the group was able to get the word out about it to local multi-family home communities. 

The final presentation was about Root, the urban farming magazine. I thought their plan to convert to a multi-platform strategy as well as expand the scope of the magazine beyond just urban farming was a good move. It was pretty bold to suggest holding off on a tablet strategy, although they made a good case for it. This plan overall felt pretty solid to me. Very interesting and engaging for being the last presentation of the day. 

Thank you for all the teaching us and expanding our minds on each of your concepts. Looking forward to next class!