Convincing people to adopt teens is a tough sell, because of the assumption that they have a lot of emotional baggage that will make them challenging. For instance, in 2017, only 5% of adoptions were of kids between 15-18, despite 43% of youth available for adoption being in that age range. As a result, older teens spend 50% more time in the system. Potential adoptive parents worry that their parental skills won’t be up that challenge. This documentary--and the overall campaign--were designed to shatter these myths, making teen adoption feel more feasible and emotionally rewarding.

Adoptive parents, especially of teens, will have likely missed their child’s first steps, first words and first day of school – and missing these moments is often a big barrier to teen adoption. Our “Firsts” campaign was designed to reassure prospective adopters that they haven't missed them altogether and deliver on AdoptUSKids’ strategic platform “You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be a Perfect Parent.” As a campaign, “Firsts” began with TV spots and was extended into an online documentary, social content, and digital display. We told relatable stories of everything from first dates and heartbreaks, to road trips and fishing trips, mixing the humorous with the heartwarming. The takeaway is that even when you adopt a 15 to 18-year old, there is still the opportunity to shape them and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Our target audience is prospective parents, ages 40-60, who are considering adopting from foster care but who have not yet started the process. There was a particular focus on current parents, those with affiliations to religious communities, and those who work “helping professions” such as teacher nurses and the like. Our strategic north star was the line “You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be a Perfect Parent,” which emerged after learning from the audience that a major barrier to teen adoption is concern that parenting skills aren’t up to the challenge of raising a teen with a potentially challenging history.

The campaign appeared in donated media. The documentary was used at Creative development began in Q1 2018, with work launching in Q3 after a rigorous approval process set by Adcouncil and AdoptUSKids. The Distribution Method of our PSA’s, documentary and digital content was via our client’s owned social channels, donated Facebook media of $100K, and via donated broadcast television.

There is a clear correlation between consideration of adoption and exposure to the “Firsts” campaign. People who recall seeing or hearing a campaign message are more likely to say they have seriously considered adoption. For instance, 26% of those who say they have very seriously considered teen adoption were exposed to the campaign; only 5% with the same level of consideration weren’t exposed. The campaign is another chapter in a long story that’s helped more than 28,000 teens get adopted since 2004.

Client satisfaction was high, given the afforementioned result, PR around the campaign, and its winning performance in the Adcouncil “March Adness” competition, which pits different campaigns against each other in a tournament.