THE BENZHOR EFFECT

Benzhor Group revamped a national science and math education program developed by NASA and Honeywell International in just 8 months, turning a one-time performance into a comprehensive teaching tool with measurable results for corporate sponsors.

SITUATION

FMA Live! was an 8 year old live touring multimedia show created by Honeywell and NASA. Corporate sponsors supported the science and math focused educational program but did not understand the value that the program was bringing. Educators thought the show was phenomenal, although it was not leaving any sort of real impact. Honeywell and NASA found themselves at a crossroads to either continue or suspend the program but could not support a decision either way.  They needed help evaluating this niche educational space to determine effectiveness of the program.

SOLUTION

Benzhor Group began by performing a full analysis of the corporate investment in STEM education, including in-depth research and interviews with industry thought leaders. Through teacher interviews, we learned that while the show was highly impactful, there were limited in-class enrichment tools to reinforce the scientific concepts delivered in the show. Finally, the client didn’t have clear success metrics in place outside of broad PR exposure.

With a directive of expanding reach while reducing cost, we worked with the show’s production company to re-invent the experience.  Together, we extracted the best parts of the existing show, and based on the primary and secondary market research, developed new content to focus on the importance of STEM education leading to interesting careers. And to guarantee a lasting effect, Benzhor Group determined that additional content must be made available as in-class tools for teachers whether or not they’ve experienced the live show. Leveraging the client’s web developers, we created a new online experience. To ensure that the project met the client’s needs, we then developed metrics reporting to include existing analytics tools and incorporating data from all parts of the operation.

RESULTS

• Transformed a live “edutainment” show into a comprehensive live + web-based learning experience
• Leveraged existing client vendors to expedite program redevelopment
• Developed metrics and reporting to identify successes and areas for additional program expansion