Celebrate ALL kinds of teens on the verge of greatness!
Those who shine in the spotlight:
Festival of Teen Talent, Passions & Potential
Dozens of Virtual Stages & Galleries showcase all forms of talent!
Youth-Led Creative Force for Good
Cause-specific challenges empower creativeand inventive teens to "Be the change"
Benefit Variety Shows!
Teens are the “stars” in virtual benefit variety shows that raise awareness of and $millions for causes teens care most about
and the behind-the-scenes stars!
These are the ones building The Verge Awards into a massive, uplifting movement!
Invest cash to support their effort; offer budget relieving technology, supplies, merch, media, expertise; engage employees as mentors; engage influencers and celebrity ambassadors to star in their campaigns; produce educational content; offer internships and real-world opportunities to put their skills to work.
Visual & media artists
will create Verge Awards stages, trophies, animations, web content and more to be used in promotions
Musicians, composers, music producers
will produce Verge Awards theme songs, jingles, music for variety show segments, social posts.
Video editors, producers, filmmakers
will produce segments for the weekly shows, video promotions and more
On-camera personalities
will be the face of The Verge Awards! How can you support actors, emcees, journalists, social media influencers and creators, and more?
Student leaders, pep squads, cheer teams
will build and lead cheering sections to rally support and help attract $millions from sponsors!
WHY Partner with Us?
Engage with our AUDIENCE (aka your audience!)
- Teenage entrants, friends and schoolmates - 29 million teens in US, nearly 17 million attend high school
Parents, grandparents
Community members - 48 million attend HS plays, 500 million tickets sold for HS football games
Educators - 8.2 million K-12 employees; 2.5 million high school teachers, TA's, tutors; 222k counselors, social workers; 91k college arts educators, etc.
Fans of celebrity partners from entertainment, media, sports, art, science and tech
Fans of televised talent shows (e.g. The Voice, American Idol, Masked Singer, America’s Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, etc.)
Establish COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTATION
Can you think of ANYTHING else like this?
Earn BRAND LOVE
Establish trust, authenticity and relevance; earn affection; lift brand perception and preference as you
- Lead a nationwide, galvanizing, uplifting movement to celebrate all kinds of teen passions and cultures
- Invest in young changemakers and their ideas to change the world; create a sense of community centered around youth potential
- Fund causes that are important to teens, families and employees. E.g. 160 million households watched sustainability stories on Netflix last year; and 83% of Gen Zers are concerned about the planet’s health (NextGen Climate Survey)!
- Align your brand with wholesome, family-oriented entertainment
- PROVIDE A POWERFUL SHARED EXPERIENCEtthat drives positive positive change
Increase EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT and pride
- Demonstrate your support of your employees' children and grandchildren and of your current and future teenage employees
- Showcase your brand’s commitment to issues that matter most to your employees
- Engage your employees in skill-based volunteer opportunities that achieve tremendous impact to demonstrate your respect for their passions and sense of purpose
Achieve enduring IMPACT
Amplify your leadership on the issues that matter most to teens, parents, your employees and your company. Now you can combine your marketing, JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion), CSR, ESG, HR resources dollars to support the broader, enduring purpose of youth empowerment and/or specific causes such as:
- Racial Equality
- Coronavirus Relief
- Food insecurity, hunger relief
- LGBTQ+ Youth
- Education Opportunity Gap
- Mental Health
- Arts education, tech education, dropout prevention
- Climate Change
- School Safety
Engage for Good compiled these statistics to demonstrate the positive impact purpose and supporting specific causes important to consumers can have on your brand. For example, (86%) say they’re likely to purchase from purpose-driven companies. (2019 Porter Novelli/Cone Purpose Biometrics Study)
Access relevant, user-generated CONTENT
Created BY teens
"When you’re serious about a cause that means a lot to your community, make members of that community the heroes of your campaign." AdAge
Incorporate our relatable, emotional, inspirational user-generated videos and custom content into your own digital marketing, content creation and advocacy programs.
PROPERTIES that combine entertainment, music, art and technology and achieve purpose:
THE FESTIVAL celebrates all passion points
Thousands of entries will be screened, organized and presented in talent-specific online stages and galleries starting March '22; millions of fans will view entries and vote for favorites to appear in weekly variety shows.
Major Partnership Opportunities:
Founding partners are recognized sitewide in perpetuity for their leadership.
Presenting partners are recognized sitewide through March and may choose to extend the partnership through spring 2022 or for multiple years
“Empowered by” partners enable teens to create or capture their entries by providing no-cost tech solutions, equipment, supplies or educational resources, or by funding access to those resources.
Venue sponsors "present" high-level categories with branding of the main entrance visible to all who enter and in benefit show intros
- Performing Arts Pavillion
- Visual & Media Arts Gallery
- Innovation Nation
- Sports Stadium
- Writers' Wroom
- Changemakers Convention
Talent category sponsors enjoy branding of the main stage (e.g. Singing) and any side stages (e.g. country singing). Side stages have additional sponsorship opportunities.
- Singing
- Music
- Dance
- Theatre
- Comedy, Novelty Acts
- Visual Arts
- Media Arts
- Fashion Design (Apparel, Footwear, Jewelry & Accessories)
- Writing, Spoken Word
- New Media/Content Creation (social influencers)
- Sports fields/gymnasiums/tracks
- Technology Showcases
- Science Labs
- Etc.
The CREATIVE FORCE FOR GOOD empowers young changemakers to address causes THEY care most about
Align your brand's values to cause-specific initiatives both in the online Creative Force for Good (CFG) and in weekly benefit variety shows! Each weekly episode will feature select student artwork and performances to increase awareness of the issues and raise funds and volunteers for youth-led solutions and partner organizations.
- Sponsor the high-level CFG - all causes, all skills
- Sponsor cause-specific challenges encompassing all skills (e.g. Hunger)
- Sponsor skill-specific efforts across all causes (e.g. Visual artists)
- Invest seed funding for development of youth-led technology solutions
- Donate media for awareness campaigns
- Engage employees, commit in-kind resources to help teens develop plans and solutions
- Create your own advocacy-based social media, public relations and other communications campaigns using CFG content
Each new season will highlight the status of innovations from prior seasons and provide regular updates on our website, ensuring a lasting recognition of your brand's support of teenage changemakers.
“Teens on The Verge" Weekly BENEFIT VARIETY SHOWS blend an uplifting celebration with purpose
"Audiences, producers, studios, actors, and streamers are clamoring for Family-Friendly [content and] films" (Stage 32); essentially "...anything that provides an escape from the fear, anxiety and continuous mourning of the last 18 months." (The Wrap)
This is the Next Big Thing in Family-Friendly Content, Virtual Festivals, Talent Shows, Celebrity Benefit Shows and Youth-Led Movements... all in one!
Levels of Sponsorship:
- Presenting partners – “Teens on The Verge, Presented by [name]”
- Official industry category - "Official [college, apparel, entertainment, mobile carrier, technology, beverage]" partner
- Specific talent category - “Film makers, Empowered by [name]”
- Specific weekly episode - “Teens on The Verge, Presented by [name], Episode 3 Sponsored by [name]”
- Specific cause segment within a weekly episode; Changemaker Awards
- Geography based (Starting Fall '22) – currently nationwide
Brand-safe additional CONTENT
Help produce or sponsor fun, engaging, valuable, uplifting, memorable content, and share it widely!
Entertaining - segments with celebrities, games (e.g. "Guess the celebrity" or "Talent Scout"), standings and announcements, achievements
Valuable to teens, educators, parents/guardians (talent-specific):
- Educational videos, interviews, webinars, etc. - help level the playing field for underserved teens, help all discover and pursue their passions
- Career awareness and readiness - show teens ways to make a living doing what they love, provide direction and resources to get there
- Cause-based use of skills - show how valuable their passions are to furthering causes they care about, how to "speak up" with their craft.
Heartwarming, inspirational - stories of teens and their parents/guardians, mentors, influences, educators, youth org's, communities
Cause-specific - issues/what's at stake, stories of youth making an impact, interviews with experts and celebrity ambassadors, resources to learn more, ways to engage
Eligible INVESTMENTS:
This is a MARKETING opportunity! Invest sponsorship, entertainment, and cause-related funds, and combine with your JEDI, CSR, ESG, in-kind and employee resources to reach higher level benefits!
"Leverage all your assets to really make a difference – your advertising weight, your communication channels, your team’s expertise, supply chain partners, etc. Be creative about how you can make an impact." (Engage for Good)
CASH- combine sponsorship, cause marketing, and media and entertainment marketing budgets
100% of profit from shows will be donated to causes
Your investment will support operations, high quality production and promotion; 100% of remaining profit is donated to the Verge Awards' Youth Impact Charitable Fund to support causes teens help select.
BUDGET-RELIEVING assets, technology
Higher quality programming at lower costs means more funds for charity!
Support our programming, operations, production, marketing and promotion and distribution
OUTREACH - Celebrity Partners, Media Donations, Marketing and Promotion
Help us cheer for these incredibly talented kids! Plus, the bigger the audience, the more recognition for all partners.
- rally your customers or subscribers
- donate media for outreach and/or CFG campaigns
- engage your celebrity partners in an impactful program they can personally relate to
- follow our social media channels, offer takeovers
PRIZES- Products, services, scholarships and life-changing experiences
Recipients will be selected by adjudicators, celebrities and fans; or randomly selected in fundraising sweepstakes:
- in each talent category, such as musical instruments, art supplies, dance apparel, computers/laptops, graphic design or video editing software, film making or photography equipment, subscriptions, audio recording equipment and editing software and more.
- for all teens, such as apparel, footwear, music, entertainment, gaming, food and beverages, media, electronics, personal care, software subscriptions and so on.
- for parents, (in addition to many of those for teens) such as banking and financial services, mobile service providers, travel and hospitality, CPG, tax preparation services, etc.
- for teachers and administrators
BRANDED CHALLENGES, SCHOLARSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS, AUDITIONS
You (or your employees!) select your own individual recipients!
Perfect for corporations, college recruiters, talent agents, casting directors, studios, record labels and media companies that wish to discover, select, support and/or recruit individual teens.
- Gain access to our Teen Talent Registry filled with Festival and CFG participants
- Post your own custom challenges, auditions or applications
- Engage your employees to help select recipients!
Your awards or prizes are separate and in addition to any offered by The Verge Awards’ broader programming and must be distributed and administered by you - the offering individual, company or organization.
EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERS
Skill-based volunteer opportunites that support and celebrate diversity and youth potential will help you attract and retain your best talent
Encourage and empower your creative and innovative employees to use their expertise to
- serve as virtual mentors to underserved teens
- provide educational programming (how-to, career advice, etc.)
- engage your employee resource groups to help our Creative Force for Good conceive and build out the best STEM solutions and campaigns for personally relevant causes
- produce and promote Festival and variety benefit show content
- help build this uplifting movement, and more!
- Now is the time.
"Gen Z prides itself in its creativity from our roots in content creation and consumption. We value originality amid a world fascinated with the ‘next big thing.’... Above all, we are using our creativity to channel our energy into creation during a time of stagnation by taking the time to invest in our passions, cultivate our individual interests, and find what inspires us." 63% of Gen Z reported an increase in creative tendencies during quarantine as opposed to 11% reporting a decrease and 23% who say it has stayed the same. Juv Consulting
"The third and fourth quarters of the year are likely to deliver continued focus on racial justice, a potential resurgence of Covid-19, one of the toughest hurricane seasons in years and an incredibly polarized political election season. But amidst this chaos comes great opportunity for brands to take a leadership position and accelerate consumer trust by focusing on purpose and meaningful, authentic social impact." Engage for Good
"In a world beset by a pandemic and all that accompanies it, including an economic recession and political uncertainty, consumers are crying out for brands that can be a beacon of optimism and resilience. This is true across every demographic we study — parents, millennials, Generation Z, and especially kids. In fact, there was a 23% increase in the “Staying Positive” Passion Point among 9-year-olds compared with 2019, and a 12% increase among Gen Z. Now would be a good time for brand stewards to make these emotions central to their brand’s purpose. " MIT Sloan Management Review 8-27-20
"Consumers and employees alike are discerning and will notice the brands that have a strong purpose and act on it. In fact, according to a new report by Accenture, 43% of consumers will walk away when disappointed by a brands’ words or actions on a social issue." Forbes
"COVID-19 elevates the social impact of every business and throws a spotlight on the nature of our companies, our character and our brand(s)." "...Why does your company exist? How does it contribute to societal, economic and environmental progress?" "A brand’s purpose will only be relevant if it sits within people’s own purpose, and not the other way around." Accenture
"Instead of keeping marketing initiatives status quo, or pulling them entirely, brands should consider how they can offer unique content or experiences that consumers will appreciate. It’s also important to offer consumers a way to stay connected while safe at home." MediaPost
“The more that brands can help people stay connected to communities, to passions, to learning, to like-minded people, to the thoughts and ideas, the more that they’re going to win. [I]t’s a humanity moment and it’s the right thing to do.” Tom Herbst, former CMO of the North Face
"Brands and rights holders need to embrace a modern and flexible digital strategy that enables them to compete for a fan’s attention on multiple channels." KORE“Younger people are very cynical about brands, especially large firms. They are seeking authenticity." Rohit Deshpande, professor of marketing, Harvard Business School. Vanity Fair continues, "Ultimately it would be inauthentic not to respond in some way to the COVID-19 crisis, the elephant in the world’s room.""The brand has to be visible. We cannot go dark. (But) this is a time to enable and not be opportunistic." Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar
"Brands that use their position and resources to be helpful and relevant during (crises) will leave a positive impression on consumers." Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential
