Magic Johnson Foundation
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Presentation visuals help explain the Magic Johnson Foundation’s multi-million dollar education reform strategy.
Long-term relationships are something we strive to create with every client. So when Symphonic Strategies approached us to help them with a strategic initiative that involved creating some visuals for a presentation given by the Magic Johnson Foundation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our ears perked up. One, because we love working with long-time client Symphonic. The projects they’re involved with are always incredibly interesting and focused on making a positive change in communities and organizations. And two, based on the entities involved, we knew the impact of this project had the potential to be huge.
The problem
Point Forward, the Magic Johnson Foundation’s (MJF) education reform initiative, had been in development for more than a year. With the implementation strategy finally in place, MJF was looking to partner with other charitable foundations and trusts to provide funding and help launch the project. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had agreed to discuss the initiative, and MJF needed to present the concept during a presentation.
But how do you explain over a year’s worth of strategy development for an education reform project with a considerable number of moving parts?
The solution
In talking with Symphonic about the project, it became clear that we were dealing with a complicated system of components. Reforming the education system is no small feat after all. So after brainstorming some ideas and sketching some solutions for the presentation, we decided to use a visual metaphor that centered around basketball to help explain the complexities of the project. Basketball was the perfect visual cue because it’s a subject MJF’s founder, Magic Johnson, knew a little something about and one that was universally understood even to people with the scantest of knowledge about the sport.
The final images were used as a hook to draw the audience into the presentation so the details could be explained by the presenters.
Client testimonial
“We recently approached Buzzmachine Studios for help with a major project involving the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Magic Johnson Foundation. There were lots of moving pieces and plenty of details that we needed help sorting out and Buzzmachine Studios helped us do exactly that. They listened actively, brainstormed with us, and helped us develop a visual representation of the strategy.
“The client loved it and used it to educate a variety of people about the strategy and its intricacies, including the board, staff, and partners. It made what was a fairly complicated strategy easy to understand and easy to discuss.
“We have turned to Buzzmachine Studios numerous times and they have delivered an exceptional product every time. From education reform to health equity, they always amaze us with their ability to quickly digest large amounts of information and make complex concepts easy to grasp. Their visual design process is fast and their work has enhanced our value in the eyes of our clients.”