With the Help of a Miniature LEGO Replica, Colin Wylie Helps Spread the Word About a New Giving Machine
Giving Machines, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of the Light the World campaign, have become an iconic part of the holiday season for many communities. BYU public relations alum Colin Wylie had the opportunity to help shepherd the arrival of the Giving Machine to Columbus, Ohio for the very first time.
Wylie graduated from BYU several years ago with a degree in public relations and has since utilized his PR skills in various initiatives: working in communications and marketing at The Ohio State University, helping run the Columbus Ohio Temple Facebook page and, not to mention, his side project — Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts and channels under the handle “@wyliebricks” dedicated to all things LEGO. With this wealth of experience, when the opportunity came along to help with the communications and marketing for the Giving Machine, Wylie was more than up for the task.
Wylie worked with a team that managed volunteer coordination, special event planning, logistics and operations. Wylie’s specific focus was communications marketing/consulting, running the social media pages, working with influencers locally to spread the word and supporting charities partnered with the Giving Machine.
Because this was the first year Columbus had a Giving Machine, the local community, mall and charity partners weren’t familiar with the campaign. “We had to pitch this idea that might have seemed kind of strange to them to try and help them understand the vision,” Wylie said. “Once they saw it, it was a miraculous experience and now people want to do it again next year — there is a lot of excitement about it.”
Not only was Wylie able to use his PR expertise to get the wheels moving on the Giving Machine, but he was also able to use his personal interests to spread the word. “I'm a LEGO fan, collector and builder and I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into the Giving Machine project,” he said. Typically for custom builds, Wylie completes them at home and then brings them out for display but for the Giving Machine build, he wanted to try something new. After designing the build and ordering the parts, Wylie built a LEGO replica of the Giving Machine — in front of the real thing.
“I took a roll of the dice — I’d never done this before! I built it there in the mall on a livestream in front of the Giving Machine as a live event,” he said. “We left it on display for a couple of weeks and received a lot of really positive feedback.”
Wylie went a step further and created digital instructions for a miniature version of the Giving Machine that fellow LEGO enthusiasts could download for free. “Several of my worlds all came together,” said Wylie.
Wylie’s experiences as a student at BYU and as a working professional came full circle with the Giving Machine project. As an undergraduate student, he made connections with many public relations professionals through involvement with PRSSA, many of whom he has stayed in touch with over the years. Wylie continues to support PRSA in Ohio and with The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. One mentor who Wylie had stayed in touch with had previously developed a campaign to support the Giving Machine in Denver, Colorado, so Wylie was able to ask her for advice when it came to developing the Columbus, Ohio Giving Machine campaign.
“Something that I learned is that when you’re working in a function like this within the Church it is important to not work in a silo,” Wylie said. “In addition to working with the Lord, try to include as many other people in the process as possible.” Next year, Wylie hopes to get students and other local industry experts involved in the Giving Machine project.
Wylie encourages students and young alumni to actively look for ways to get involved in their communities, whether it be through church, local nonprofits, advocacy groups or other avenues. While at BYU, he built friendships with several local nonprofits — something that he has tried to continue throughout the years.
“As a young professional it is so easy to get caught up in your career, be grinding away at your job, making money and dealing with familial obligations but I think there is no greater cause than continually looking for opportunities to use your skills to bless the lives of others,” said Wylie. “I think that's what the Lord wants us to do with our BYU education: go out and serve.”