Learning Launch: The Helpers Club  by Guadalupe Khan    Challenge  I am a journalist, working for a big publishing house. Because of the changing reading habits  through digitalization my company seeks for different ways of interaction with readers.  Therefore, it offered an innovation-competition. Together with four colleagues from  different fields (marketing, research, technical support) my team and I applied.    Selection  By using different techniques such as mind mapping and brainstorming (we also tried to  visualize readers) we asked ourselves the design-thinking questions: what is? and what if?  Then we came up with an idea: What if people could not only read stories (passive) but  could become active? We wanted to create a club for readers. But every club needs a  purpose for its members. Someone had the idea to set up a club for readers willing to  engage in social projects. Immediately we came up with a great name for our idea – the  “helpers club”. We were all enthusiastic but did not know if readers would like to become  members of this new kind of club. Therefore, we started a learning launch to test it.    Application  At first, we did research and selected data to come up with a hypothesis. According to  analysis from our department for reader research a lot of our readers are willing to spend  money if they read stories about hardship, bad fate, or catastrophes in our magazines. Other  social studies show that in general even more people are willing to help personally than to  give money. We thereby confirmed our hypothesis that our readers might be willing to help  others.  We then decided to start an ethnographic approach, we wanted to look for potential club  members, and ask them about their pains and needs. Therefore we started a call on the  homepage of one of our magazines. We asked readers if they would be willing to talk with us  about social engagement.  We did about 25 interviews with people from various age groups. We asked them what  social engagement means to them. If they have been engaged in social work before. What  they had expected. How their experience was, what was good and what was not so good.  And if they had stopped to be a social volunteer, why.   Searching for candidates, talking to them, and then clustering the answers took our team  about a week. Then we made up three personas.    Insight  By listening to our readers and potential members of the “helpers club”, we realized their  pains – and what gains we might offer. First of all a huge majority said, that they would really  like to help others. One man said:” This is better than just giving money for a social project.”  Another woman hoped that she might get something back like thankfulness. And a third  person said that it would be great if the magazine could identify social organizations and  write stories about them.   But we also realized that most of the people did not want to spend too much time (2-3 hours  per week at last), that the offerings had to be near their neighborhood and many of them  did not want a commitment on a regular basis. Most of the people only want to help when  they can afford to spent time, e.g. on weekends.

We clustered the outcome of the interviews by drawing 3 personas – potential members of  our new club: a young woman (around 25 years old), a mid-aged man (50 to 55 years old,  kids have moved out) and an elderly woman (65+ years old, retired, yet still very fit and  interested). We learned: Men and women in their thirties and forties cannot afford spending  much extra time, they are busy with family and job.    Approach  By doing ethnographic research we got a very good idea for the interests and needs of our  readers and potential club-members. While clustering and curating the outcomes, our team  appreciated the different approach of every team member.   And we also realized that we are just at the beginning of having an idea. We want to start a  second learning launch and identify organizations which might look for social volunteers. We  want to speak to experts (leaders of NGO´s) and then to professional helpers to learn about  their needs. We must look for competitors: Is there a market for social engagement? What  do social organizations offer already? What else could the “helpers club” offer to make it  attractive for readers?   The tools of design-thinking did not only help us to develop our idea so far – we also learned  a lot about ourselves by discussing what we think about helping others and social  entrepreneurship.


Learning Launch : The Helpers Club by Guadalupe Khan Challenge I am a journalist , working for a big publishing house . Because of the changing reading habits through digitalization my company seeks for different ways of interaction with readers . Therefore , it offered an innovation - competition . Together with four colleagues from different fields ( marketing , research , technical support ) my team and I applied . Selection By using different techniques such as mind mapping and brainstorming ( we also tried to visualize readers ) we asked ourselves the design - thinking questions : what is ? and what if ? Then we came up with an idea : What if people could not only read stories ( passive ) but could become active ? We wanted to create a club for readers . But every club needs a purpose for its members . Someone had the idea to set up a club for readers willing to engage in social projects . Immediately we came up with a great name for our idea – the “ helpers club ” . We were all enthusiastic but did not know if readers would like to become members of this new kind of club . Therefore , we started a learning launch to test it . Application At first , we did research and selected data to come up with a hypothesis . According to analysis from our department for reader research a lot of our readers are willing to spend money if they read stories about hardship , bad fate , or catastrophes in our magazines . Other social studies show that in general even more people are willing to help personally than to give money . We thereby confirmed our hypothesis that our readers might be willing to help others . We then decided to start an ethnographic approach , we wanted to look for potential club members , and ask them about their pains and needs . Therefore we started a call on the homepage of one of our magazines . We asked readers if they would be willing to talk with us about social engagement . We did about 25 interviews with people from various age groups . We asked them what social engagement means to them . If they have been engaged in social work before . What they had expected . How their experience was , what was good and what was not so good . And if they had stopped to be a social volunteer , why . Searching for candidates , talking to them , and then clustering the answers took our team about a week . Then we made up three personas . Insight By listening to our readers and potential members of the “ helpers club ” , we realized their pains – and what gains we might offer . First of all a huge majority said , that they would really like to help others . One man said : ” This is better than just giving money for a social project . ” Another woman hoped that she might get something back like thankfulness . And a third person said that it would be great if the magazine could identify social organizations and write stories about them . But we also realized that most of the people did not want to spend too much time ( 2 - 3 hours per week at last ) , that the offerings had to be near their neighborhood and many of them did not want a commitment on a regular basis . Most of the people only want to help when they can afford to spent time , e.g. on weekends . We clustered the outcome of the interviews by drawing 3 personas – potential members of our new club : a young woman ( around 25 years old ) , a mid - aged man ( 50 to 55 years old , kids have moved out ) and an elderly woman ( 65 + years old , retired , yet still very fit and interested ) . We learned : Men and women in their thirties and forties can not afford spending much extra time , they are busy with family and job . Approach By doing ethnographic research we got a very good idea for the interests and needs of our readers and potential club - members . While clustering and curating the outcomes , our team appreciated the different approach of every team member . And we also realized that we are just at the beginning of having an idea . We want to start a second learning launch and identify organizations which might look for social volunteers . We want to speak to experts ( leaders of NGO´s ) and then to professional helpers to learn about their needs . We must look for competitors : Is there a market for social engagement ? What do social organizations offer already ? What else could the “ helpers club ” offer to make it attractive for readers ? The tools of design - thinking did not only help us to develop our idea so far – we also learned a lot about ourselves by discussing what we think about helping others and social entrepreneurship .