The Sprint

Jason Shanks, OSV Institute President, and Joe Wikert, COO of OSV, flew down to Dallas for two days of conversations, brainstorming, and delicious tacos. Together, we told stories of when we’d seen the Catholic Church at its best and worst, uncovering our clients’ deepest ideals for a Church that uses innovation to help the world encounter the love of God.

Our discoveries garnered a brand Manifesto to guide our creation process. We outlined a totally new approach to the grant program, choosing a high-touch multi-round model where applicants would be competing for a cash prize — and receiving mentorship, collaboration, and support along the way. We also created three user “archetypes” that would ground us in real people’s needs and hesitations, and help us spot our ideal applicants in the process.

Brand Voice and Marketing

Overcoming resistance with the voice of a coach.

To meet our goal of receiving 300 applications, we knew we needed to overcome people’s skepticisms — especially the fears of failure and stifling bureaucracy — while highlighting the truly exceptional legacy of Catholic innovation that applicants would be joining. 

We worked to create a brand identity that upended people’s preconceived notions of what a Catholic grant program could look like. Inspired by Archetypal Hero brands like Nike, our brand utilized a heroic gold color, bold brushstrokes, and black-and-white layered photography that always conveyed a sense of motion. The brand voice became known simply as “Coach” — a wise, no-BS leader who would stop at nothing to ensure our applicants reached their greatest potential.

Our Strategy

Our Goal: Reach 300 Strong Applications

• A flagship video that highlighted the creative struggle, driven by Coach’s narrative voice

• Value-driven social media posts targeted to various audience segments

• A scripted podcast mini-series that told the stories of 5 Catholic innovations

• Press releases for the OSV Institute network

• Website mapping, wireframing, copywriting, and design

• Regional “Design Sprint” Events

Contest Design and Management

Finding exceptional people, not just projects.

One of the most important values from our Manifesto was “You are the Product”: while this contest would grant funds to three new businesses, ministry models, and media/tech creations, it was at its heart a search for this generation’s inspired pioneers, whose faith compelled them to create for a world in need. We had to design a contest that didn’t just evaluate the feasibility of people’s ideas, but also the strength of their character and the heart behind their pursuits.

Our four application rounds included unique questions that allowed us to see the person behind the idea: Tell us the story of a time you failed, and what you learned from it; Who in the world does your heart break for, and how does your project address their needs? These questions were an almost instantaneous metric for finding the type of people who we were trying to attract.

Our work on the contest also included:

• Designing 4 application rounds, including application questions, submission instructions, and scoring templates

• Creating Business Model Canvas instructions and templates for applicants

• Managing the backend of judges’ scoring and commentary

• Communicating with applicants about the status of their application and any technical difficulties they encountered

Experience Creation

Promoting collaboration over competition.

Just as we were looking for innovative ideas, we wanted to pioneer an innovative contest that offered value to applicants for their investment. Additionally, our clients had stated during our Sprint that some of their worst experiences were encounters with greed, competitiveness, and isolation. Making a non-competitive competition for 3 prizes is no small task, but we were determined to create an experience of enlivening collaboration rather than vicious competition.

To create a contest that offered value and promoted cross-pollination of ideas, we:

• Shared resources, prompts, and collaboration opportunities in an exclusive Slack channel for those that made it to Round 2 (below)

• Featured Semifinalists in a press release to help them gain attention for their ideas

• Designed an in-depth guide to business development for Semifinalists (see cover below)

• Connected Semifinalists with standout mentors for pitch feedback

• Paired Semifinalists for constructive feedback opportunities

• Sent custom merchandise to Finalists and Semifinalists

• Offered real-time support for applicants in all rounds

The Results

An unprecedented impact.

The inaugural OSV Innovation Challenge concluded with a virtual Demo Day wherein the 12 finalists presented their ideas to judges, investors, and an audience of friends, family, and anyone interested in learning about the possibilities for Catholic innovation.

From 350 initial applications, three final winners were chosen. They represented often-underserved groups in the church: a podcast network for Latino Catholics, a ministry for LGBTQ+ Catholics, and a family formation ministry.

We’re especially proud of the momentum this year created. In a competition for just three prizes, over 250 applicants engaged in a Slack group, choosing to help each other, pray for each other, and cheer each other on. In a year of shifting regulations, our Semifinalists and Finalists improved rapidly and with great determination. And in a Church with its fair share of challenges, hundreds of people came together to dream of new solutions, inspiring hundreds more investors and viewers to find hope anew.

Year 2 Results

An unstoppable movement

The OSV Institute had everything they needed to manage the intricacies of the contest for its second year, so we took on a storytelling role. We shot video interviews with Finalists and Winners to inspire new applicants — even highlighting the Finalists’ losses as a way to speak to people’s fears. We also scripted and shot another flagship video with Coach that told the story of unrelenting determination.

Already, the second contest year is breaking boundaries: their applications nearly doubled to 600, and momentum is strong for attracting new supporters to broaden the contest’s reach.