Every Action Counts is by far my proudest career accomplishment thus far. This was a project that came to me as an icon request from United’s Community Affairs team. After hearing the team’s goal for the icon use, I realized there was a missed opportunity to not only create a program but also build more trust in the United brand by revealing the partnerships and programs they actively had in communities all over the world.
I wanted to develop a product and character that took both child and parent into consideration. While United’s masterbrand is “friendly” we didn’t exactly have assets that would appeal to kids. However, what United did have was a charity program called Adventure Bears that raised money for children’s health organizations. Ben Flyin was the newest member of family, a fuzzy brown teddy bear adorned with a blue lined United cargo vest. He was the picture perfect junior mascot for United, their kids snack box, and really all things kid-related.
We kicked off the project listing attributes that we wanted Ben’s personality to include. He needed to be global, relatable, trustworthy, and of course fun and safe. We had the foundation of his stuffed animal, now we had to bring him to life.
