The Challenge
Blake Davis was nearly three years old when he tragically lost his battle with pulmonary hypertension. During his fight, people asked the Davis family how they could help. In lieu of tangible gifts or a GoFundMe page for medical expenses, Blake’s parents focused on increasing the positivity around their little boy by asking friends and family to do a good deed in Blake’s honor and share their story. Every evening the family would read the stories to encourage Blake’s fight for recovery in the ICU. A family friend created a Facebook page and almost overnight a movement was born that transcended region, race, nationality, and even firsthand connections to Blake or his struggle.
With participation exceeding the Davis family’s wildest dreams, it soon became apparent the movement needed a more secure and permanent home. The team at Civilian volunteered to build the foundation for the future of the #ForBlake movement by creating a brand identity, landing page, and a plan to amplify the reach of Blake’s inspiring story.
Our Approach
Civilian started by developing a brand that was reflective of Blake and his family. The components were crafted thoughtfully with meaning and symbolism, closely tying it to the Davis family’s journey. Civilian also created a short, shareable video chronicling Blake’s life, death, and the extraordinary movement born from the struggle of this little boy and his family.
Next Civilian worked to build upon the equity of the campaign hashtag, #ForBlake, and creatively showcase good deeds stories from around the world with the development of a new website. To preserve and memorialize the content of the original Facebook group, all stories and information were incorporated into the newly secured URL ForBlake.org.
The website features a global good deeds tracker highlighting the people and places that have been touched by the toddler’s legacy of positivity, as well as a library containing hundreds of uplifting good deeds stories. Also featured on the website are downloadable “kindness cards.” Designed to be handed out to good deed recipients, the cards give people a way to share Blake’s story and encourage recipients to pay it forward. The website also includes a From Mom & Dad section where Blake’s parents share their perspective on the ups and downs of Blake’s journey and life after his passing.
The new brand, website, and video were launched on January 2nd, the one year anniversary of Blake’s passing. In addition to sharing with the original Facebook group, the Civilian team pitched local, regional and national media to extend the reach of Blake’s story and the potential for more good deeds.
The Results
While the effort is ongoing, in the month since the website’s launch the #ForBlake movement has secured media attention from multiple local news outlets including: the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Carmel Valley News, KOGO AM600, ABC10, NBC7, KUSI, KPBS Midday Edition. Most recently, #ForBlake was the cover story of the Lansing State Journal, the hometown newspaper of Blake’s dad. Combined, these stories covering ForBlake.org and the #ForBlake movement have reached a potential audience of more than 2.5 million people.
In addition, the #ForBlake campaign video has been shared more than 400 times, the website has registered more than 2,000 users from 22 different countries, 7,600 pageviews, and more than 40 new good deeds touching the lives of hundreds.
While his life was unfairly cut short, with ForBlake.org, Blake’s legacy lives on through the good deeds performed by others every day.
