Social Impact
Case Study — 06
Talking to Kids
About Race
"Extending trusted resources into real conversations between parents and children."
"Extending trusted resources into real conversations between parents and children."
[ The Challenge ]
Between a global pandemic and an ongoing national reckoning with racial violence, many families were trying to navigate conversations that felt urgent, necessary, and genuinely hard to start.
Sesame Street has always shown up for those moments. For generations, it has been the place where complex, sometimes scary topics get translated into something children can understand and parents can build on. Staying silent in a moment like this would have been completely out of character for the brand. Our role was to help extend that trusted resource beyond the screen and into the homes where those conversations actually needed to happen — in a way that felt practical, supportive, and real.
Parents trust Sesame Street. That trust didn't happen overnight. It was built across generations, passed from parents who grew up with the show to the children they were now raising. And it carries real weight, especially when the topic feels sensitive or the stakes feel high.
But what we also recognized was that brand trust alone doesn't always translate into action. Parents weren't just looking to Sesame Street for guidance. They were looking to each other. They wanted to see someone who looked like them, raising kids like theirs, having a version of this conversation in a way that felt doable. The message mattered deeply. But the messenger was equally important.
We built the campaign around that combination: the credibility of a beloved institution and the relatability of real voices from within the community. Instead of focusing purely on distributing resources, I led the development of a strategy centered on how those resources could come to life through people who genuinely reflected the parents we were trying to reach.
That meant identifying creators who were already having thoughtful, nuanced conversations with their audiences and whose communities trusted them on topics that mattered. The goal was to meet parents where they already were and show them — through people they recognized and respected — that these conversations were possible and worth having.
We partnered with creators to bring Sesame Street's resources into real family conversations — not as a script but as a guide. Each creator shared how they were personally approaching these discussions in their own homes, making the content feel grounded in lived experience rather than a polished how-to.
We intentionally created space for a range of perspectives and family dynamics, because there isn't one way to have this conversation and the work needed to reflect that. In total, we amplified more than 90 stories — each one contributing to a broader sense of community and shared purpose around a topic that can feel isolating to navigate alone.
Parents weren't just watching or double-tapping. They were reflecting, responding, and in many cases taking what they saw and starting conversations in their own homes that they hadn't known how to begin.
That's what this work was for. Not the numbers, but the moment a parent sits down with their child and finds the words. When trusted resources meet the right voices, people feel seen enough to take that next step.
[ Campaign Content — Instagram ]
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