Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest

The Situation

Remember how nice it feels to get a handwritten thank you note?

Remember how odd if feels to get a note you can’t decipher because the handwriting is so bad?

Zaner-Bloser has a passion project: to ensure the art of handwriting lives on for generations. They hosted the 33rd annual Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest, in which thousands of K-6 graders put their best foot, pen, and pencil forward to showcase the lost (and found) art of great handwriting.

Our task was to make something that happens every year relevant, different, and fun. We wanted to reward students for accepting a challenge and highlight the literal and figurative power of the pen.

What We Did

There’s a national story around handwriting in 2024. There are also local stories of local kids who did something uncommon in today’s world…write their way to success by hand.

We took a divide and conquer approach. We pitched more than 25 markets in 19 total states for their handwriting contest. Our pitching was customized to include local, regional, and national winners. We then connected Zaner-Bloser representatives with the local reporters to ensure their voice was part of the coverage. We finally looked at trade and national publications to see if the nostalgia of penmanship still had a role in the modern world of 2024.