Re-brand scholastic achievement for New York City’s 1.1 million public school students by re-enforcing the connection between academic performance and future success.

Instead of crafting a traditional advertising campaign, we chose to recognize and reward students’ personal achievements with something they actually wanted.By partnering with Verizon and Samsung, we developed the world’s first communication device fueled by academic performance. The Million is a free cell phone with free talk time and text messaging rewards for excellent attendance, behavior, classroom participation, homework and grades. The more students excel in school, the more they get out of their phone.

Learning is earning.

Though the program was initially met with resistance, just two weeks after the Million launched, teachers and administrators recognized improvements in attendance, behavior, homework, participation and grades.

Additionally, principals realized a valuable byproduct in the bi-weekly recording of student improvements – schools no longer have to wait until end of each quarter for student data, and can address individual and school-wide issues immediately.

The instant success of the Million program has sparked calls from schools all over the globe. Our hope is to continue to expand the program to other school systems worldwide struggling to close the critical achievement gap.