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Challenge

TeenStreet International, part of Operation Mobilization, wants to bring their teen event to many other places around the world.

But how do you do it? What should healthy multiplication look like, maintain the core strengths of the organization and yet be applicable in different cultures around the world?

And how do you keep this movement going at a time when the world was greatly affected by a pandemic? This was the challenge for CreativeSolvers to take on.

Approach

To come up with a solution that suited the organization, three current events in Germany, Montenegro and Malaysia were visited. The primary goal was to get to the core of TeenStreet through the different cultural elements. Another goal of the visits, in conversation with the organizing teams, was to end the challenges they face in setting up a TeenStreet.

Teenstreet Country Visits
Teenstreet in different countries

In a cross-cultural meeting with people from all over the world, both known and new to TeenStreet, the findings were presented and a first version of the product was tested. Following this, the Startup Kit was further developed and distributed for use by various teams in Africa, the Americas and Asia as a pilot for starting new TeenStreets.

As the second part of the challenge, we held online creative sessions with TeenStreet leaders and teens around the world. The goal of these sessions was to think about what TeenStreet could look like, and how we could grow TeenStreet into a global platform. We used a platform design canvas to consider all the key elements TeenStreet would need to think about when launching a new platform.

We also researched dozens of online platforms that TeenStreet could use to bring their events and community online and transform their organization into this digital age.

Solution

As a solution to this challenge, we came up with two solutions. The Startup Kit and a new platform on TeenStreet.life.

The Startup Kit consists of a handbook that provides insight into what TeenStreet is about and why the outlines are the way they are. This is the starting point for a team to organize an event like this while leaving room for filling in the details. Because organizing teams have struggled in the past, a process has been designed for them to follow. This is based on Drexler / Sibbet’s team performance model, where they get to know each other, gain trust and perform well together, and concludes with a phase of evaluation and continuation. Four canvases have been designed that will take them on a journey together, accompanied by a manual and a game that will help them keep the team aligned.

An overview of the Teenstreet startup kit
An overview of the Teenstreet startup kit

Teams will be guided by ambassadors who will help them through the process, giving TeenStreet Global the opportunity to oversee all events. The Startup Kit also functions as a conversation tool within the organization, providing a common language for a cross-cultural organization.

As the second part of the solution, we created a new online platform for TeenStreet and combined it with a new internal social network. TeenStreet.life is the name of the new online platform, which introduced the new TeenStreet brand design and helps all countries involved in TeenStreet to communicate with their followers and launch (digital) events. We also created a brand strategy and made organizational recommendations on how TeenStreet could continue to grow as a movement.

In addition, we developed an online store and designed merchandise for the Internet platform. Moreover, it helped TeenStreet.life platform to successfully host one of their biggest events online and provide a central point for communication.

What the customer says:

“It’s not easy to lead an organization into a new phase of innovation and growth when they have been doing it for 27 years. We needed an outsider who could understand and hold our DNA, but also have the courage to present new things and transfer that to the international team.

Teenstreet Brainstorm Meeting
A brainstorming meeting with the client

CreativeSolvers was the right team for the job! They captured our DNA like a sniper and developed a creative product in a relevant way that will allow us to move into a new future where we can multiply our product exponentially in other countries. In our first year of working with CreativeSolvers, their product is already being used in the US, Portugal, South Sudan, Russia, China, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Canada and Israel!

It was inspiring to work with a young professional team that has guts and an eye for the heart of the organization. “