CLIENT:

Molotovs for Ukraine

PROJECT:

WEB SITE

CHALLENGE:

When Russia invaded Ukraine, I felt compelled to do something to help the people of Ukraine–including my relatives living in Kyiv. By the third day of the war, I had developed an idea with the potential to raise desperately needed funds to help Ukrainian civilians.

SOLUTION:

Imagine people around the world coming together to help the people of Ukraine by doing what they’re already doing: enjoying alcoholic beverages with friends and family at their favorite establishments.

The idea is to inspire and unify the hospitality and alcohol beverage industry around raising humanitarian aid for Ukraine through proceeds from their own version of a Molotov cocktail. Despite a $0 budget, I evolved the idea, developed the web site architecture, wrote the copy, sourced the images, and found a web designer to build the site.

Molotovs for Ukraine isn’t a charity or an organization. It's a platform and an initiative designed to engage bars, restaurants, hotels, resorts, cruise ships, sports arenas, retail grocers, and liquor stores. All donations are made directly to established, trusted humanitarian aid organizations.

RESULTS:

With this idea in hand, I reached out to advertising creatives living in Ukraine because they’d asked the world’s advertising creative community to help in any way possible. And they loved this idea. The Ukrainian creatives immediately shared it with the New York Times, who mentioned it in an article about everyday people pitching in to help the people of Ukraine. After, I presented the idea to several of the world’s largest alcoholic beverage conglomerates, one of the world’s largest hotel and resort chains, and the largest association of restaurants, bars, and hotels in the United States. They all loved the idea. So, what happened? Why didn’t they commit? They decided to stick with a check to the Red Cross and call it a day. While it’s upsetting to see a great idea that could have helped so many people fall by the wayside, this is another example of how I identify opportunities and address them with unconventional ideas that combine my strategic and conceptual abilities.