Domtar
B2B
As schools began adding more and more electronics into their daily lesson plans, they were erasing handwriting on paper from the classroom—a critical skill for learning and brain development. Mower began seeing studies on the benefits of handwriting, and it sparked a strategic idea for our client Domtar (one of the largest paper manufacturers in the world) to get involved.
To raise awareness of the fact that nothing helps children learn faster and more effectively than their own handwriting, we knew we needed more than an advertising or PR campaign—we needed to put something interactive in the hands of students. So our team thought beyond the typical marketing solution and created an iPad app that ties the technical world to the terrestrial world…we know, talk about the best of both. Using digital pens, students compose their writing assignments on regular paper, and the teacher tracks them all simultaneously within the app.
The app didn’t just reestablish pen-to-paper handwriting in the classroom, it reinvented it. Just like wearable fitness trackers encourage people to exercise their hearts, this app encourages students to exercise their brains. Teachers can rewind what students write down on paper, track time spent writing, calculate the distance of the combined strokes and set class writing goals of distances as long as a soccer field, the Golden Gate Bridge and even climbing Mt. Everest.
The launch of this revolutionary app got great grades. Right off the bat, it increased traffic to Domtar’s paper advocacy site by 26%. The app didn’t just win over teachers, parents and students. It won over the judges at advertising’s biggest creative competitions, scoring a Silver Lion at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, a Bronze CLIO award and a One Show Merit award. Talk about an A+ app—and a project that deserves to go up on the fridge.
By advocating for handwriting and education in a high-tech way, Domtar connects students with solutions they need for brain development. And that gives the brand a more meaningful story than simply selling paper.
Key Brand as Friend® drivers:
Hey! Our name is pronounced Mōw-rrr, like this thing I’m pushing.