All Dressed Up (YPs)
They’re out of college and living on their own as full-grown adults for the very first time. No longer bound by their parents’ rules and expectations, it wasn’t always clear how Judaism was going to fit into their lives, if at all? Access, an initiative of The Mayerson Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio wanted to provide a way for these Jewish young professionals (YPs) to come in and out of Jewish life in whatever way was most comfortable for them, giving them the opportunity to explore fun and meaningful ways to engage with one another and the Jewish community at large.
After many focus groups and discussions with this demographic we learned that most didn’t want to pay for High Holiday tickets, or even go to the trouble of calling around for a free place to go. As a result, the majority would either lay low at home during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or just go on with their regular routine. What would get them energized to attend a religious service? That was the million-dollar question!
Armed with the focus group data and our own creative instincts, we developed the “All Dressed Up and No Place to Go” campaign. The tongue-in-cheek design and slightly irreverent copy helped take a problem so many silently struggled with, and offered an easily solvable solution in a fun, relatable way.
By creating a “one stop shop” whereby participants could RSVP directly to Access, a trusted organization that provided ongoing social events throughout the year, YPs could choose from any number of participating congregations at no cost and be matched up with a group of other YPs who would be attending services at the same congregation. The result? Over the years, literally thousands of YPs attended High Holiday services who wouldn’t have otherwise, and many even ended up joining one of the congregations they attended as part of this program.
