• by Aaron Baar , February 11, 2009

Microsoft Corp. and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. are taking on cyber-bullying (and other online safety issues) with a new public awareness campaign created by and aimed at 13-to-17-year-old girls. 

"This is really two iconic brands coming together around a common cause," Jamie Joyce, director of interactive marketing communications for the Girl Scouts, tells Marketing Daily. "Its main goal is to bridge the digital divide. We live in a time where kids have grown up with new media. It's a part of their lives. And parents are new to this. They just don't feel they have the right language available to them."

The centerpiece of the effort--dubbed LMK, text-talk for "let me know"--is two Web sites, one aimed at teen girls and one aimed at their parents. Content for the sites will be determined by an editorial board culled from Girl Scout troops around the country. They will research and report on Internet safety issues that are important to girls, contributing articles and blog posts for the site. That content will then be distributed through an email newsletter, and repurposed on the parent-targeted site.

"They're two separate sites with two separate missions," Joyce says. "They share a common goal, but ultimately, the goal of the girl site is communicating this issue among peers and the parent site is about communication."

The Girl Scouts are planning to market the site through online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, and they have created a first-of-its-kind "virtual patch" that Girl Scouts receive by registering for the site. The patch can then be shown off to friends via online social networks. Joyce notes, however, that the teen site--http://lmk.girlscouts.org--is not itself a social network and will be moderated to "the highest standards" possible.

Microsoft--which has made a mission of safe surfing for kids-- underwrote the site and will have a branded presence on the parent site, Joyce says. The company will also supply downloadable resources and tools to help parents understand the dangers of file-sharing abuse and exposure to dangerous content.

"This collaboration between Girl Scouts and Microsoft not only bridges the digital generation gap between girls and parents, but it also empowers girls to become leaders and advocates for the safe and responsible use of technology," said Girl Scouts of America Chief Marketing Officer Laurel Richie in a statement.