Concept Campaign
Open Mind
“The future is learned here.”
A full-funnel campaign positioning free Gemini AI Labs inside all 73 Los Angeles Public Library branches as an everyday learning tool for Gen Z and Gen Alpha — reframing both AI and the public library itself as accessible, modern, and built for them.
Created for my USC Annenberg MA in Public Relations & Advertising comprehensive exam — a full PESO (Paid / Earned / Shared / Owned) strategy built around a concept partnership between Google Gemini and the Los Angeles Public Library system. Every deliverable below, from the creative brief through the SWOT, was researched, written, and designed solo.
The Brief
The Problem
AI is rapidly shaping education and the workforce, yet access to it remains uneven. Students in public school systems are frequent users of technology but rarely get structured exposure to how AI actually works. At the same time, public libraries — one of the few free, universally accessible community resources — are often seen as outdated. The students who'd benefit most from AI access are often the least likely to have it.
The Goal
Increase awareness and usage of free Gemini AI Labs inside LA Public Libraries — repositioning AI as an accessible, everyday tool and libraries as modern, innovative spaces for creativity and skill-building, so students move from passive consumers of technology to active creators.
Primary Audience
Gen Alpha and young Gen Z (ages 10–18) within the Los Angeles Unified School District — digital natives who are highly familiar with technology but lack structured access to emerging tools like AI, and who are curious and socially influenced but often intimidated by anything that feels advanced or exclusive.
Secondary Audience
Parents, educators, and community leaders, who shape access to educational resources and encourage participation in extracurricular learning — and who respond to tools with tangible academic and career benefits, especially inside safe, trusted environments like public libraries.
Paid Media
Creative Brief & Placement Strategy
Tagline: "The future is learned here." — "Future" taps into aspirations around education and upward mobility that resonate with both students and the parents/educators who influence them. "Learned" deliberately reframes Gemini from a passive tool into an active skill students build, not just use. "Here" grounds the whole promise in something immediate and local: this isn't a distant opportunity, it's down the street at the library.
Out-of-Home
- Bus shelters & metro stations near LAUSD schools and libraries — 7th St/Metro Center, Union Station, North Hollywood Station, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, El Monte
- LADOT DASH routes serving dense, transit-reliant student corridors — Downtown (A, B, D, E, F), Koreatown, Hollywood, USC/Expo, Vermont/Main
- Timed to LA Metro's free GoPass program, which already moves 500,000+ students through the system
Digital
- YouTube & Snapchat pre-roll and short-form video showing real Gemini use cases
- Instagram — paid boosts behind the Shared-media post series below
Print & Newsletters
- LA Times education/technology section & back-to-school issues
- LAUSD Monthly Parent Newsletter, Arts Education's "Palette and Pulse," and the Instructional Technology Initiative Newsletter
- City of LA Youth Development Dept. newsletter & Boyle Heights Beat
Earned Media
Thought Leadership Op-Ed
AI Is the New Literacy. Treat It Like One.
Alphabet launches Gemini Labs across Los Angeles Public Libraries to expand equitable access to AI education.
For generations, we have understood a simple truth: access to knowledge shapes opportunity.
Public education, libraries, and the internet itself were all built on the belief that information should not be reserved for the few; it should be available to everyone. And yet, as we enter the age of artificial intelligence, we are at risk of abandoning that principle at the very moment it matters most.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It is rapidly becoming the foundation of how we learn, work, and create. Yet while AI advances at extraordinary speed, access to it — and the ability to use it effectively — remains imbalanced. AI literacy is emerging as a prerequisite for opportunity, but that literacy is not equally distributed. We have seen this pattern before, with computers and then the internet: the gap between those who could participate and those who could not widened before it narrowed. We cannot afford to repeat that cycle with AI.
AI literacy should not be treated as a luxury or a specialized skill. It should be treated as a public good — ensuring a student in any neighborhood has the same opportunity to explore, experiment, and learn with these tools as anyone else.
But access alone is not enough. We must also ensure AI is developed responsibly and sustainably — not only in how it is used, but in how it is built and maintained. At Alphabet, we are investing in more energy-efficient infrastructure and working to reduce the environmental footprint of large-scale computing, because an AI system that excludes large segments of the population is not only unsustainable, it is fragile.
By bringing tools like Gemini into public spaces, we are opening new pathways for creativity, learning, and economic mobility — enabling people to move from passive users of technology to active participants in shaping it. There is no better place to begin than at the heart of public knowledge: our libraries, which have always been equalizers.
Los Angeles is a particularly important place to start. LAUSD is one of the largest and most diverse public systems in the country, and for many students, summer is a period where access to structured learning narrows. By launching Gemini AI Labs in all 73 LA Public Library branches at the start of summer, we're meeting students at the exact moment accessible, self-directed learning matters most.
If AI is the next chapter in how we understand and interact with the world, it belongs in the same spaces that have long supported learning and discovery. The question is not whether AI will define the future — it already is. The question is whether everyone will get the chance to learn it.
Why This Works
Written in a visionary, authoritative tone and bylined by Alphabet's own CEO, this piece positions the company as a leader in both AI innovation and responsible stewardship. Framing AI literacy as a public good ties the campaign to a real ESG/digital-equity narrative without ever reading as a sales pitch, and grounding it in libraries — an already-trusted institution — makes the Gemini Labs rollout feel like a natural extension of Alphabet's mission rather than a marketing push.
Shared Media
Blog Post
5 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With AI — For Free, Right Here in LA
From murals in the Arts District to film sets in Hollywood and Burbank, living in Los Angeles means you're surrounded by creativity. But what if you had a tool that could help you not just experience creativity, but actually create it?
Tools like Gemini are now free at every LA Public Library, giving students across the city access to technology that can help them learn, build, and explore their future. Whether you're exploring the city or just looking for something productive between beach days and hangouts, here are five things you can do with Gemini AI for free, right here in LA.
1. Turn LA Inspiration Into Your Own Digital Art — From street art downtown to the views at Griffith Observatory, LA is full of inspiration. With Gemini, turn what you see into your own digital designs, posters, or brand concepts at any of the 73 library Gemini Lab spaces. In partnership with LA Metro, the Open Mind Map helps you find a library, discover local spots, and navigate the city on the free GoPass program.
2. Build Your Resume Before You Even Need One — Whether you're applying for your first job, internship, or summer program, Gemini can help you draft resumes, write cover letters, and practice interview questions. Stop by a library after The Grove or Santa Monica Pier and turn your experiences into something you can actually show up with.
3. Get Homework Help That Actually Makes Sense — Summer school, AP prep, or just trying to stay ahead: Gemini breaks down complex topics step by step, so you actually understand them instead of just memorizing. At locations like the Central Library, quiet study space sits right alongside the AI tools.
4. Create Content Like a Creator — Thinking about a YouTube channel or a personal brand? Gemini Labs can help you brainstorm ideas, write scripts, and plan a content strategy. This summer, join the Open Mind Challenge — a citywide contest asking what growing up in LA means to you — with some branches hosting youth workshops and digital media programs to test ideas alongside other student creators.
5. Explore Your Future Before It Starts — Not sure what you want to do yet? Gemini can help you explore careers, learn new skills like coding or design, and map out paths based on your interests, alongside library-hosted student programs and career roundtables all summer long.
When tools like Gemini are available in all 73 LA Public Libraries, the playing field starts to level — it doesn't matter where you come from, you have access to the same tools, the same knowledge, the same shot at building your future. Your local library isn't just a place to study anymore. It's a place to create, experiment, and learn skills that matter long after summer ends. The future isn't something you wait for — it's something you start building, right here with Gemini.
Shared Media
Instagram Series
"School's out – but your future isn't on pause." Launch post announcing free Gemini Labs access at all 73 LA Public Library branches. #OpenMindSummer #LearnWithAI
Shared Media
Newsletter Placement
Owned Media
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- Dominant ecosystem across Search, AI, and digital platformsGoogle Search, YouTube, Android, and Gemini form an integrated ecosystem that gives Alphabet a structural distribution advantage no single-product competitor can match.
- Decade-plus leadership in AI research and infrastructureA first-mover position in large-scale AI systems makes this core to the business, not a side bet.
- Financial resources for sustained, long-horizon investmentAlphabet can fund experimentation — like a public-library rollout — that most competitors can't afford to sustain.
Weaknesses
- Public scrutiny around data privacy and AI ethicsTrust is the precondition for adoption, so reputational risk here threatens usage directly.
- Heavy dependence on advertising revenueTies performance to macroeconomic and regulatory swings, making initiatives like this one useful for diversification of narrative, not just product.
- Environmental footprint of AI infrastructureA real operational and reputational exposure if sustainability isn't addressed head-on.
Opportunities
- Growing demand for AI literacy and educationPublic appetite for AI skills makes Gemini Labs a natural extension of both business and social-impact goals, not a stretch.
- Public–private partnerships at scaleInstitutions like public libraries let Alphabet scale access and reshape brand perception simultaneously.
- Gen Z / Gen Alpha's existing digital fluencyAn engaged, tech-native audience is primed to build early loyalty and AI fluency if the tools are made genuinely accessible.
Threats
- Regulatory and antitrust pressureGlobal scrutiny could bring fines or structural change that directly affects operations.
- Intensifying AI competitionMicrosoft and OpenAI moving quickly puts continuous pressure on Alphabet's leadership position.
- AI still perceived as complex and inaccessibleThe core adoption gap this campaign exists to close — capability doesn't matter if the audience feels shut out.
Owned Media
Strategic Recommendations & Key Metrics
1. Democratize AI through community-based access points
Embedding AI inside a trusted institution like the public library turns Gemini from an intimidating tool into a community resource, addressing the accessibility weakness directly while leaning into Alphabet's actual R&D strength.
- Weekly active users of Gemini Labs in libraries
- New library card registrations post-launch
- Average session time per user
2. Position Alphabet as a leader in sustainable AI
A public commitment to energy-efficient models and transparent sustainability reporting differentiates Alphabet on ESG grounds while directly answering the environmental-impact threat.
- Reduction in energy consumption per AI query
- % of data centers powered by renewable energy
- Sentiment in sustainability-related coverage
3. Reframe AI as a foundational life skill
Positioning AI literacy alongside digital and financial literacy — rather than as an advanced or specialized skill — drives adoption among Gen Z/Gen Alpha and reinforces the campaign's own empowerment message.
- Growth in Gemini usage among non-technical users
- Pre/post-campaign survey shift on AI accessibility
- Student participation in AI-related library programs