IGNITE is a non-partisan, non-profit organization harnessing political ambition, community building and leadership skills among young women, trans and non-binary individuals. In 2022, ahead of a particularly fraught midterms season, IGNITE saw a need to drive Gen Z’s civic and political engagement, leveraging their passion for issues.

IGNITE sought to bring their younger audience both inspirational and practical content from their peers to showcase how to take action in their communities. With limited budget, they needed to reach a larger group with this content and thus joined forces with young organizers with existing social media influence to reach a broader audience with the message that young people can become changemakers.

So how did we usher in the new class of political changemakers? By letting those who already made a difference teach us how it's done. We introduced a new, educational and entertaining social series called No Masters Class by IGNITE, a digital class taught by the future of politics. We identified Gen Z organizers who had worked to create change within their communities and had them share their stories via a combination of short & long form content. The series functioned as a class, helping viewers understand how they could mobilize and take concrete steps towards political action in the areas that were most important to them. Young changemakers Will Larkin, Sis the Doll, Emily Flores, and Mari Copeny shared their stories, tips, and tricks to address the injustices that mattered to them the most.

The political class has never been more disconnected from society, and for this young generation, that gap is even more profound. According to IGNITE research, roughly 70% of Gen Z women-identifying and non-binary people reported they would be more likely to vote if there were more women candidates, racial minority candidates, younger candidates and candidates that speak to the issues of young people on the ballot.

But away from the spotlight of CNN and Fox News, there are some incredible acts of political activism coming from surprising places. There is a new class of community organizers and activists taking matters into their own hands, using social media, code and brains to outsmart and beat top politicians at their own game. We looked to speak the language of Gen Z and connect where we knew they were - social media - with free, easily digestible tools from these peers.

To launch our content series, we did a take over on the lead up to the biggest U.S. political day of the year – Midterm Elections.

We used political campaign materials and flipped them with a mysterious magenta square. In the center, a QR code linked directly to the series. We hacked political banners, lawn signs, wild postings, and even “I voted stickers” with IGNITE’s magenta square.

We launched the social series with activist Will Larkin, who challenged Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill to incredible results and continued featuring Emily Flores, who started a media group for disabled voices & Sis, who mobilized for trans rights on Broadway in NYC. Our final installment featured Mari Copeney, who drove massive attention to and change within her community, Flint Michigan, during their clean water crisis. Episodes included short & long form content across YouTube, TikTok, X, and Instagram.

The No Masters Class by IGNITE series resulted in a 66% increase of IGNITE’s video views on YouTube and a 33% increase in overall watch time. The No Masters Class influencers helped IGNITE reach new audiences, bringing the campaign to the organizers’ 480,000+ followers, becoming one of the most influential influencer campaigns for IGNITE ever. Additionally, IGNITE fellows and university chapters engaged with the campaign and shared with their social networks, reaching students across 68 university campuses.