Rock Content
Rock Content creates innovative marketing solutions and services designed to build content experiences at scale. We help brands drive revenues and build awareness by: Unleashing collaboration, Connecting marketers with a global network, Delivering premium brand and content experiences
The Rock 'n' Grow program was implemented in February 2021, starting from the launch on our official channels and opening of the application form.
The Rock 'n' Grow program emerged as a result of a specific action carried out by Rock Content in the initial period of the pandemic — when we released some Premium courses from Rock University, our education platform, free of charge for people who wanted to train themselves in matters related to marketing digital in the face of uncertainty in the labor market. However, this was an isolated action, not a project in itself.
Based on the results we had with the initiative, we decided to launch in 2021 an education program for people from socially underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups.
With the specific action during the beginning of the pandemic, we reached more than 30,000 students interested in our content. In addition, at certain times, we found several selection processes requesting Rock Content courses in the curriculum.
Faced with this scenario, and understanding the reality of most Brazilians (where it is not possible to prioritize vocational education while other basic needs are not met), the Social Impact, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team understood that it was time to go beyond assistance and to create a structured initiative with a scalable and long-term impact that would actually transform the democratized access to quality content for underrepresented people throughout Brazil.
Together with the Rock University and Business Enablement teams, we developed: creation of the registration form, integration for automatic release of access within our platforms and communication strategies and monitoring of donated courses.
From these processes, Rock ’n’ Grow became our main education program for the external community, which offers online training with 100% scholarships in paid and/or exclusive courses at Rock University. The project is aimed at people from socially underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups who have a monthly family income of up to 4,000 BRL.
To increase opportunities for decent work and economic growth, we join efforts to promote quality education in a more democratic way through our courses and professionals.
The initiative is aimed at developing relevant and valued skills in the market, focusing on four main areas: digital marketing, social media, sales and customer success. In addition to developing techniques to be used in professional life, the courses offer certificates to be used in the curriculum, LinkedIn and in other strategic ways by the student.
The program (as well as all of Rock Content's Social Impact initiatives) is linked to four UN Sustainable Development Goals: quality education, reducing inequalities, gender equality, decent work and economic growth.
The Rock 'n' Grow program was innovative in transforming a one-off action initiated during the pandemic into a scalable, long-term impact program. In addition, we understand that we can be much more efficient in the impact we generate, by connecting our impact objective with the business objective. So we decided to pair one of our products (Rock University) with an opportunity to improve the state of the world.
Rock is one of the only Brazilian companies that is formally part of the network of global companies that are part of the Pledge 1% movement, which encourages companies to donate 1% of product, time, equity or profit for social impact. 1% volunteer work hours, 1% equity and product with Rock University.
Another point of innovation is in the content of the courses, which address skills that are increasingly needed by the job market. For example, social media and digital marketing.
As Rock Content is a leading company in this segment, we offer high-value, credible and up-to-date content on the topics. Thus, we support people who, for social and financial reasons, do not have access to this type of professional training.
As we see as the program progresses, the courses are useful for people in any professional field and career; whether for the formal market, acting as a freelancer, small entrepreneurs, among others.
The Rock 'n' Grow program continues in 2022. Now, with new exclusive courses focused on Social Media and SEO being released to people from socially underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups, who have a monthly family income of up to 4 thousand reais.
In 2021, our results were:
- 77,288 paid courses donated
- 19,322 students with scholarships at Rock University
- 13,462 certificates issued to these students
- 73% of respondents to our survey indicated that there has been a change in their living conditions.
The initiative generates a large-scale and long-term impact, since knowledge is a resource that is not lost and can be used on several fronts: from volunteer work to professional life and managing their own businesses.
In addition, we understand that the impact generated by the initiative can transform the lives of the beneficiaries.
In 2021, two people from socially underrepresented groups were hired at Rock Content after they participated in the Rock 'n' Grow program. There are also several other testimonials from program participants who won internships, promotions or even increased the number of sales of the enterprise itself.
Leadership support in this initiative is mainly given through example and commitment to donate 1% of our product, equity and working time to Impacto Social; as well as monitoring, analyzing and revising the strategies and results of this and other actions on a regular basis, always encouraging the search for an even greater and more lasting social impact.
The Rock 'n' Grow practice was developed to positively impact socially underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups with a family income of up to 4,000 reais a month. In this sense, the social and financial aspects are our first point of intersectionality.
In addition, we carried out special actions and partnerships that helped us to bring this education program to more people from intersectional groups.
On commemorative and struggle dates — for example, Women's Day, LGBTQIAP+ Pride Month, Black Consciousness Month, and others, we release courses for any people participating in the underrepresented group related to the date, without the income requirement . In our data, we were able to perceive that such actions and partnerships provided adhesion of people who are part of two or more socially underrepresented groups.
The practice was developed by the leader of the Social Impact, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team, Gabriela Crego (cis woman); Luana Dias (as a cis woman, with a disability and part of the LGBTQIAP+ community); and had the support of other collaborators, mostly women, and the vice president of the People area (a black cis woman).
In addition, during implementation, we spoke with partners from underrepresented groups, such as the LGBTQIAP+ community, people with disabilities and others, to hear their perception and feedback regarding creating value and promoting inclusion for people from these groups through our education program.
The practice was developed by the Social Impact, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team, together with collaborators from the Rock University, Marketing and Business Enablement teams. In addition, Rock Content's Social Impact Multipliers group, formed at the time by employees from Customer Success and Product & Engineering, also participated in the development and implementation of the initiative.
Read more in their Social Impact Report.
