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Media Smart
Media Smart is the industry’s flagship education programme with a mission to ensure that every child in the UK, aged 7-16, can confidently navigate the media they consume including being able to identify, interpret and critically evaluate all forms of advertising.
The programme provides free teaching resources and parent and guardian guides on subjects including social media, digital advertising, body image and influencer marketing. These are delivered in the classroom, assembly, youth club or at home. Ultimately, Media Smart builds media and digital literacy in young people, resulting in greater emotional resilience and wellbeing.
The programme is a demonstration of how the advertising industry can work collectively to tackle important issues – with over 25 supporters across media, brands, agencies, trade bodies and Government organisations. Running since 2002, it has adapted and innovated over the last 18 years, ensuring resources continue to reflect changes to media and how young people consume it in their everyday lives.
In 2018, the programme conducted research with its teacher-user base which reinforced Media Smart’s value and highlighted how the educational resources are positively impacting young people’s media and digital literacy skill:
Reach
In 2014, the programme was overhauled and relaunched, extending its remit to include secondary schools, as well as primary schools. On a challengingly small budget, new educational resources have been created and then downloaded across the UK over 60,000 times, reaching 500,000+ young people directly over the last five years.
Since 2017, marketing efforts have had a huge impact on the impressive downloads, with Facebook followers rising to 50,000 (from 500), and website referrals increasing by 180%.Director of Media Smart, Rachel Barber-Mack, has established many strategic in-kind partnerships with organisations across the industry in order to increase awareness of the programme.
Innovation
In 2017, Media Smart produced a boys’ body image film – the Boys’ Biggest Conversation – which was based on the Picture of Health report published by Credos. The campaign was backed by the NSPCC and encouraged boys to talk about issues of body image and their mental wellbeing – www.boysbiggestconversation.com.
In 2019, Media Smart launched its most innovative educational campaign to date on Influencer Marketing. The film-based resource was created following research by Credos, which highlighted that 74% of parents think industry has a role to play in educating young people about this form of marketing.
The resource is aimed at helping young people understand the commercial link between social influencers and the brands they may be promoting. It is the first of its kind to tackle this area of marketing and features popular youth influencers likes Hannah Witton who volunteered their time to create short videos talking directly to 11-14 year olds, explaining what influencer marketing is, why brands use it and its regulations.
Future plans
In 2020, Mediasmart will be taking the ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ campaign, launched by ITV and now also supported by Sky and Channel 4, into secondary schools with a creative careers resource. And through in-kind advertising from Pearl & Dean, the Boys’ Biggest Conversation film has been adapted into an advertisement and will be shown in cinemas around the country, for the first time, later this year.
Media Smart’s current supporters
adam&eveDDB
Advertising Association
ASA
BTHA
Channel 4
DMA
Facebook + Instagram
Ferrero
First News
Generation Media
Government Equalities Office
IAB
Immediate Media
ISBA
IPA
IPO
ITV
Lego
L’Oréal
McCann Worldgroup
MPA
Pearl & Dean
Pepper Studio
Sky
SuperAwesome
The Big Shot
The Industry Trust
Viacom
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