The Challenge
Bringing Safety, Uniformity, and Communication to Activists
Following the George Floyd protests of 2020, the importance and gravity of activism and demonstration were brought to the awareness of people globally. Tensions rose throughout the protests, calling into question the safety of demonstration, even when the goal is peace. These issues resonated deeply with my classmates and me as we were assigned to create a new product in our New Product Development class in 2022.
In this process, Rally was born. An app for protesters and activists that can be used to organize, quickly share information, and maintain peace amid cultural tension and high emotions.
Following the Stage-Gate product development model, we were able to identify a need, research user attitudes, and create a solid concept to address the problems that we discovered.
“I am passionate about social causes and wish to feel emboldened by change that fulfills my values, but it is hard to find a community I stand with during times of social and political unrest.”
The Work
Building a Community Platform for Activism
Through user surveys in our target audience, we were able to discover the needs of these communities. With our goals as a framework, we set out to build a platform to aid protesters in feeling safe and prepared, help passionate community members to feel as though they are making a difference, and provide information and education.
The Results
A Platform Integrated With Instagram to Connect Activists
Using research and insights gathered over 4 months, we determined that Rally would be an integrated extension of Instagram. As many of our target users utilize Instagram for sharing infographics related to their opinions and social views, and posting donation links to causes they are passionate about, Instagram was the perfect platform to integrate with Rally.
The ultimate decision at the end of the Stage-Gate process was to hold the project for further research, test consumer attitudes, and address challenges related to misinformation and “trolling”. The project proved to be a successful exploration of the new product development process and what it takes to create a fully fleshed-out community platform.
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