Any metrosexual female worth her salt knows about the Elizabeth Arden Red Door.  But until last week, this one didn’t know about the Blue Door.

That’s because I don’t live in Detroit.  In Detroit, everyone knows that the Blue Door stands for the Detroit Public Schools “I’m In” campaign, selected June 8th for the prestigious Grand Effie 2010 award.

With a $305 million deficit, a decade-plus of substantially declining enrollment and the backlash of having closed 29 schools, the schools stood to lose yet more students and even more funding. They needed city families to stay enrolled.  And for that to happen, parents and students needed to believe that great things could happen inside their school.

So how did the social marketing campaign make it happen — and so impressively?  Clearly, a metrosexual female has her opinions!

1) It was so wonderfully affirming. For starters, consider the tagline, “Opening eyes. Opening doors.”  And the rallying cry, “I’m in.”

The campaign executions were brutally realistic in their depiction of what was undeniably true: the depressed and distressed state of so many Detroit neighborhoods.  But then it gave the residents their self-respect and pride back.  It allowed people to feel good about themselves and about their children attending Detroit Public Schools .

As parents, wanting the very best for our children is a “universal value.”  If any of us were told that the very schools we send our children to are bad, we would likely experience some rather unpleasant cognitive dissonance.  We want to believe we’re good parents.  But how can good parents send their kids to bad schools?   The campaign helped alleviate the dissonance by pointing out what was good about their schools.

But the campaign was affirming at another important yet subtle level:  It helped parents affirm that their kids could succeed in those schools.  And research shows that if parents believe their kids will do well, chances are they will, even if that belief flies in the face of some actual performance or testing scores.  Faith, belief and pride are powerful commodities.

2) It was more than just PSAs. The campaign brief said they needed to create a “movement.”  After all, any good social marketing effort needs ying and yang, push and pull, advertising and community engagement and outreach.  The campaign achieved it in spades.

Yes, they had smart branding.  Yes, it showed an understanding of the prevailing target audience mindset.  And, of course, the creative was beautifully produced.

But they also had a way to involve the community: parents with the community, kids with the community and everyone with the schools.  It got everyone infectiously engaged.  There were T-shirts, window signs, lapel pins, yard signs, buttons and, of course, the doors. They painted 172 doors!  They exhibited them around the city.  They held rallies around those doors.  They took the doors back to the schools. And in the process they took ownership of more than the doors but the schools behind them.

3) They got results beyond their wildest hopes. Yes, the Detroit Public Schools achieved their enrollment targets.  And, yes, they met their funding needs.  But, possibly, an even bigger achievement was parents, who were informed about their children’s schools, committed to them and involved.  What wouldn’t most school systems do to achieve that?

One Door.  Two Doors . . . 172 Doors.  Now that’s a winning story!