Recognition as brand reach
Turning educator recognition into a platform for storytelling, advocacy, and earned media.
One winner couldn't tell the whole story.
Nearpod's Educator of the Year program celebrated exceptional teachers, but recognizing a single winner limited the range of stories we could share.
Our community was full of educators making an impact in different ways — creating more inclusive classrooms, supporting their peers, experimenting with new teaching approaches, and bringing people together.
I saw an opportunity to recognize more of those contributions while building a stronger annual storytelling moment for the brand.
More ways to recognize educators. More stories worth sharing.
- 01
Expanded the awards — Evolved the program from one winner into five categories recognizing different contributions, from classroom innovation to community building and educational equity.
- 02
Invited the community to participate — Built the campaign around educator nominations and community voting, giving teachers and colleagues a role in celebrating the people making a difference.
- 03
Made the stories the centerpiece — Developed campaign messaging and content strategy around the educators themselves, highlighting their experiences, accomplishments, and impact beyond their use of Nearpod or Flocabulary.
- 04
Connected recognition to earned media — Partnered with PR to identify compelling winner stories, coordinate outreach, and secure opportunities for educators to share their work with broader audiences.
- 05
Created a recurring storytelling opportunity — Turned the awards into an annual opportunity to celebrate educators through campaign content, winner profiles, social storytelling, and press outreach.
- →Expanded the program from one award recipient to five winners across distinct categories.
- →Generated more than 2,500 educator nominations for the expanded awards program.
- →Supported education-industry coverage and individual educator stories, creating opportunities to spotlight inspiring classroom practices and community impact.
- →Established a broader recognition model that continued into subsequent award cycles.
A look at the Educator of the Year awards.
Recognition works best when it gives people a platform.
Expanding the awards gave us more than additional winners. It gave us more ways to celebrate the people behind the product, invite the community into the experience, and share stories that others could learn from.