Dare To STEM
View the case- Brand
- She Can STEM
- Year
- 2020
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- In-Game
- Agency
- Heat
- With
- UNIT9
- With
- Ad Council
Objective
Ad Council's She Can STEM campaign was fighting a stark gap: women hold just 25% of US STEM jobs despite being half the college-educated workforce. To make STEM feel approachable rather than intimidating to girls aged 12–18, the brand needed to move the message from a PSA they'd watch to something they'd actually do — and meet them on ground they already occupied, like Minecraft and Twitch.
Solution
Players log into an open Minecraft Java Edition server and land on their own private plot in a build-challenge world, safe from anyone else's construction. Over the following week they pick one of five STEM prompts — build an aquarium, a fireworks display, a light show, a musical instrument, or a monument to a woman who inspires them — or invent their own. Finishing the build unlocks a ticket into a second, concert world landscaped with stages and viewing areas built partly from the players' own creations. On September 19, everyone who earned entry watched Ruth B.'s avatar perform a 43-minute, costume-changing, pyrotechnic-lit set inside the game itself, with in-game audio and no outside player needed; anyone without access could watch the same show streamed live on YouTube. Women streamers ran beginner tutorials beforehand in Discord to help newcomers get building.
Results
100% player retention, with logins from 19 countries and an average playtime of 3 hours 30 minutes per player.
- 1
The player enters through a PSA ad or a streamer's tutorial and follows a campaign webpage to instructions for joining a dedicated Minecraft Java Edition server.
- 2
On the server, the player is assigned a personal plot of land to build and edit freely, without affecting or being affected by other players' builds.
- 3
Before building, the player explores the surrounding world, finding hidden passages and messages written in binary code as a warm-up.
- 4
The player then chooses one of five STEM building prompts — an aquarium, a firework display, a light show, a musical object, or a monument honoring a woman who matters to the player — or invents an original one.
- 5
The player spends up to a week constructing the chosen build on their own plot, using in-game systems such as redstone circuitry; newcomers can follow tutorials from streamers building the same categories and discuss progress in a companion Discord server.
- 6
Finishing the build earns the player a free ticket into a separate concert world, an explorable landscape with three stages and multiple viewing areas to choose from.
- 7
Walking through the concert world, the player recognizes builds from the challenge world — monuments and other player-made objects — worked into the venue's scenery.
- 8
The concert is a choreographed performance by singer Ruth B.'s in-game avatar, spanning roughly ten songs with costume changes and audio playing directly in the game. Music-synced lighting, pyrotechnics, and a timed fireworks display accompany the songs, and the show ends as the performer flies over the crowd.
- 9
Players without access to Minecraft can instead watch the same concert as a live stream on the campaign's YouTube channel, where it remains available afterward as a recording.
