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AWARD WINNING IDEASN A T I O N A L C L U B A C H I E V E M E N T C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N I N G E N T R I E S

PUBLIC SERVICE

AAF Roanoke 2014-2015 Public Service Club Achievement Submission OVERVIEW: AAF Roanoke hosted CreateAthon as its 2014 public service initiative. CreateAthon is a 24-hour, work-around the clock creative blitz during which advertising professionals create marketing services for local nonprofits. Volunteers worked through the day, night, and into the next morning to provide the nonprofit organizations with collateral assets including websites, advertisements, brochures, photography, videos, social media, and print campaigns. This was the fifth year AAF Roanoke has participated in CreateAthon. The past two years of the event failed to attract some of the top tier advertising talent in the local region; thus, the event had seen a decline in participation and overall reputation. We realized we needed to recruit senior level advertising talents in the area in order to attract additional local volunteers who want to work with these individuals. GOALS: AAF Roanoke’s CreateAthon event needed revitalization. In order to reestablish CreateAthon as a “must-participate” event for all local advertising, marketing and creative professionals, three goals needed to be accomplished. First, the group needs to repair and cultivate the relationships with senior level creatives that no longer participate. The event needs their participation for recruitment purposes and to help solidify the event’s long-term success. Secondly, increased engagement with the volunteer base was necessary. Lastly, gain local media attention for CreateAthon to create additional excitement and spread the word about the event. To set measurable objectives for the AAF Roanoke Campaign, two main objectives were defined. First, secure the participation of four out of five of the identified key senior agency principals and creative directors. Secondly, achieve a minimum of 50 additional volunteers. Lastly, secure at least 3 media placements. TARGET AUDIENCE: CreateAthon is a unique event because its typical competitors would be advertising agencies or creative professionals who would provide services to the nonprofits – the very people who volunteer to work together in teams for 24 continuous hours to provide these services free of charge to the selected applicants. In many ways, CreateAthon introduces agencies to the nonprofit world and vice versa. The creative participants learn about the issues and needs of nonprofit marketing, and the nonprofits learn about the talents of the individuals from particular agencies, potentially benefitting both parties in the long term. The target market for CreateAthon volunteers is an active, engaged group of marketing, advertising, public relations, and design professionals in the Roanoke and New River Valleys of Virginia. The key members of this group are senior agency principals and creative directors who are typically 40+ and are the “lead” creative talent at their respective agencies. Some members of the target audience are active in AAF Roanoke and have a favorable opinion of the group, some are former members of the AAF club, yet still look on it favorably, and some are indifferent or inexperienced with the club. CreateAthon competes with a number of ongoing community service opportunities for this service minded individual. What sets CreateAthon apart is its unique opportunity for

skills-based volunteering for the advertising professional. Not only is the skillset of this group ideally aligned with the purpose and mission of CreateAthon, but also, participation allows them to help multiple agencies at once – with only a 24-hour commitment. Because of the extremely condensed time commitment, participation in the event ultimately should not compete with other ongoing initiatives, and this is how CreateAthon is distinguished from other volunteer opportunities. RESEARCH: Recruitment and research began very early for this event. We wanted to know more about why some of our key individuals were no longer participating and the overall motivation to volunteer for the remaining advertising community. Research was conducted via one-on-one personal interviews with four key individuals who had prior CreateAthon experience, and took place between April 24 and May 7, 2014. These individuals also provided valuable insight into motivational factors for the creative target audience. For this research, interviewees were asked open-ended questions that allowed them to speak freely about their thoughts and opinions. Secondary research was conducted via an online survey sent out to AAF Roanoke’s e-newsletter database of 1,060 recipients on April 30, 2014 and remained open for 10 days. (Figure 1) The research data provided solid findings that allowed us to create motivational messaging for targeting the group of creative professionals. It also told us how this group prefers to receive updates and information. Though effectively presented as a research meeting, the one-on-one interviews also allowed gauging initial interest in participation among the missing players from previous years. If AAF Roanoke can convince these key members to rejoin the volunteer pool, the event will see renewed success because of their participation and talent. The survey results assisted in determining quantitative results in market awareness, and qualitative results that allowed confidence in determining key messaging toward the larger target audience. Primary research revealed that, among advertising, marketing, and related professionals, there is significant amount of awareness of the event. (Figure 2) The responses regarding the method of discovering information about CreateAthon and the reasons for not participating in past events were anticipated, as were the motivations for participating. Somewhat surprising, however, was discovering that “working with other advertising professionals” was equally as important to participants as “helping the nonprofits” and this feedback shaped messaging to recruit volunteers. In addition, the four in-person interviews were conducted with past CreateAthon participants confirmed our beliefs regarding motivations to volunteer, and essential requirements to ensure event longevity. A few outlying statements that warranted further consideration regarded “nonprofit burnout” in the area. Overwhelmingly, these interviews revealed the need for the work created during CreateAthon to be produced, seen, and recognized to validate the participants’ hard work. This finding confirms the plan to stringently vet all applicants to ensure they have the resources to produce the created work. Finally, these interviews also revealed that a CreateAthon event must be as beneficial for the volunteer as it is for the nonprofit. Volunteers need to be “happy and having fun” and “getting plenty of ‘bang for the buck.’”

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS: The research showed that the AAF website is the first source of CreateAthon information. Secondly, the audience looks for information and updates from the AAF Roanoke and AAF Roanoke CreateAthon Facebook pages. Also, personal selling is on of the best way to get a volunteer to commit to the event and allows individuals to answer the real-world questions from perspective participants, including the hardest and the most rewarding parts of the event. A mix of various media were used to promote the CreateAthon event to reach the primary goal of recruiting top tier advertising talent. Because our overall target region is a small community, the messaging also reached the nonprofit applicants – the beneficiaries of CreateAthon services. CreateAthon is well received in the community, and media outlets are generally willing to help promote the cause. A media list was created (Figure 3) to promote the event with press releases (Figure 4) on a local level. Not only does this public relations effort give credibility to the event, but also in the small community, a little news coverage goes a long way to get the audience’s attention and engagement. Social media is the primary focus for promoting volunteer recruitment.

CREATING EXCITEMENT: Mentions of CreateAthon began in early March with teaser posts on the AAF Roanoke and AAF Roanoke CreateAthon Facebook pages. A flyer was distributed at our Membership Kickoff on July 17th, 2014 (Figure 5). A sharable link was developed for both Facebook and Twitter that prepopulated a status update when a volunteer signed on for the event (Figure 6). One of the key opportunities this year was a new connection with the national Executive Director of CreateAthon. Peyton Rowe spoke to the AAF Roanoke membership at an educational luncheon in May (Figure 7). Her presentation was inspiring and invigorated a renewed sense of commitment to many attendees. Her enthusiasm caused a printing company in the audience to offer to provide printing services for all selected CreateAthon applicants’ newly designed materials. To build on excitement and encourage volunteers to sign up, Facebook posts were used to gain attention and engagement (Figure 8). During the busiest times of our recruitment campaign beginning May 1, 2014 until January 1, 2015, we increased our AAF Roanoke CreateAthon Facebook page likes by 44% (Figure 9). Blog posts were created and shared (Figure 10 & 11) as well as news coverage that was secured prior to the event (Figure 12). All of this messaging allowed us to secure a solid volunteer base very early on, in addition to having some of the key senior creative sign up as Creative Directors for the event. ADDRESSING CONCERNS: We wanted to address the concern that was repeated to us throughout the research about ensuring the use of the work. In addition to advising the event Account Executives to stress the importance to their pro-bono clients, we also reiterated the terms of the CreateAthon application (Figure 13). We needed the nonprofits to understand how important it was to our volunteers that the work was used. In addition, careful nonprofit selection with via a committee of experienced CreateAthon past volunteers helped address any concerns and eliminate nonprofits that did not have appropriate means to see their requests through to fruition (Figure 14).

BUDGET: Because CreateAthon is a pro bono event, sponsored by AAF Roanoke that is itself a nonprofit group, the budget is small. AAF Roanoke relies heavily on non-paid PR placements, Internet media, and personal selling to promote the event. Luckily, the creative components are provided at no charge. Social media and web posts are also provided free of charge through committee members. We secured donations for all the food and drink necessary to feed the volunteers for 24 hours through local vendors. The budget for the 2014 AAF Roanoke CreateAthon is below.

CreateAthon 2014 Budget Promoted Facebook Posts 5 posts @$25.00 budget each $ 125.00 Promotional Flyers 100 flyers @ .15 each $ 15.00 Event t-shirts 60 t-shirts @8.00 each $480.00 Total $572.00 THE EVENT: On October 18th at 9:45 am, volunteers descended upon Virginia Western Community College for 24 hours of creativity. Months of research, planning, groveling, tears and sweat culminated in a total of 60 volunteers from a variety of ad agencies, local marketing departments and college students volunteering their time & talents for 13 nonprofit agencies. The work created throughout the night ranged from brochures and social media strategy, to a complete rebranding, including name change, new website and new logo (Figures 15 and 16). We listened to the results of our research, and in addition to the hard work, brought in a yoga/dance instructor, for a mid-evening “Brain Dance” break (Figure 17). At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 19th, our nonprofit representatives, vendors and volunteers all gathered for a presentation of the creative. The nonprofit representatives were overwhelmed with gratitude for the work provided to them. At 10:00 a.m., it was time to pack up and go home to get some sleep. THE FOLLOW UP: The write up of this event heavily discusses all the preparation work that goes into the planning, recruiting and work that goes into CreateAthon months ahead of time. So much so, that it seems the event itself gets little attention in this narrative. Make no mistake, CreateAthon itself is an amazing event to be a part of, but what truly makes AAF Roanoke’s CreateAthon event worthy of note, is the significant work that goes on before and after to ensure this wonderful public service opportunity is successful and lives on as AAF Roanoke’s signature public service event. In addition to media coverage after the event (Figure 18), the club kept CreateAthon top of mind with our membership by featuring the work or other mentions at a variety of other club events. On December 11th, AAF Roanoke and AD2 Roanoke hosted a Holiday Mingler, featuring the work created by the volunteers during CreateAthon (Figure 19). The Mingler allowed attendees to view the work, which included printed pieces, video and websites and talk to participants about their experience.

As an additional follow up, a video was showing during the Club’s American Advertising Awards gala on February 28, 2015 featuring video footage shot during CreateAthon. We provide these follow up events to keep CreateAthon fresh in the minds of our membership, in anticipation of the opportunity to do it all once again in the coming year.  

Goals: 1) Securing participation from key senior advertising professionals in the area. How to address: Even though the nonprofits are essentially the customer of CreateAthon, the target audience that will solidify the foundation of its continuation and success is the creative talent. Significant research has been done on our target audience, motivations to volunteer, and competing events. Using this knowledge, messaging will be developed to the target audience covering these elements. The target market for CreateAthon volunteers is an active, engaged group of marketing, advertising, public relations, and design professionals within the Roanoke and New River Valleys of Virginia. The key members of this group are senior agency principals and creative directors. They are typically 40+ and are the “lead” creative talent at their respective agencies. Participation of the top-tier senior creative members is essential in the recruitment of additional participants. Some members of the target audience are active in AAF Roanoke and have a favorable opinion of the group, some are former members of the AAF club, yet still look on it favorably, and some are indifferent or inexperienced with the club. Once we move past the “key” target members (the creative directors or lead creatives), the age range becomes wider for this audience because of the high amount of university students who traditionally participate. The typical volunteer base, and current target audience, is between 20 and 46 years old. To keep it within a suggested ten-year span, we would narrow that range down to ages between 30 and 40. The age range is wide, but the industry affiliation and other factors are narrow. They live in the greater Roanoke valley region and work for an advertising agency or an in-house corporate marketing department, making an annual average salary of $50,000. They are heavy users of social media and early adopters of new platforms. They participate in CreateAthon for reasons of belonging, self-enhancement, self-development, and career development. Working alongside the senior members of the industry is a key motivator for participation by younger, less experienced volunteers. They have unprecedented access to and the opportunity to interact with people they aspire to become. CreateAthon is a unique event because its typical “competitors” would be advertising agencies or creative professionals who would provide services to the nonprofits – the very people who volunteer to work together in teams for 24 hours straight to provide these services free of charge to the selected applicants. In many ways, CreateAthon introduces agencies to the nonprofit world and vice versa. The creative participants learn about the issues and needs of nonprofit marketing, and the nonprofits learn about the talents of the individuals from particular agencies, potentially benefitting both parties in the long term. CreateAthon competes with a number of ongoing community service opportunities for this service minded individual. What sets CreateAthon apart, is its unique opportunity for the advertising professional to use their greatest talents in their chosen field of employment. Not only is their skillset ideally aligned with the purpose and mission of CreateAthon, but their participation allows them to help multiple agencies at once – and be finished just 24 hours. Because of the extremely condensed time commitment, participation in the event ultimately should not compete with other ongoing initiatives, and this is how we will set CreateAthon apart from other volunteer opportunities. 2) Finding well-vetted applicants that will see their marketing materials through to fruition. How to address: Among the nonprofits that receive services from CreateAthon, the organization is highly revered. Volunteers love the experience and the good feelings generated from helping the nonprofits, but some express concern about the usage of the work once CreateAthon is over. To alleviate that concern, our applicant vetting process has evolved and will continue to evolve to ensure that chosen applicants have the financial means to produce the work that is created for them. The application for services was changed in 2014 to include questions regarding their annual marketing budget, and questions such as “Please describe the resources your organization might have to execute and/or manage the type of work requested, post CreateAthon. For example, do you have a

marketing/communications director or someone else on staff who can coordinate printing? Web development? E-mail marketing? Public relations and/or socialmedia tactics?” These were added to aid in the vetting process and set the stage for conversations with the nonprofits on their ability to complete the work. In addition, AAF Roanoke’s addition of vendor sponsorships will to see the work to fruition. 3) Securing non-paid media placement with local television, radio & print outlets, and national media placement with industry bloggers and/or industry outlets. How to address: We will work to achieve Goal 3 by providing a press release with digital components - still photography and video content to a general local media release audience. We will follow up with a short, concise, customized pitch to 2 local newspapers, 2 community publications, one business publication, and 3 local network television stations. Amazingly, we have achieved success in the past with little knowledge of how to properly pitch the event. We will also attempt to secure time on one network midday talk show, and one local cable access show. Fortunately, this event is known in our area and has received coverage in the past. We will also send out pitches to national bloggers or industry publications that cover the advertising and nonprofit beats. A media list has been developed with local and regional media contacts, national media and bloggers with nonprofit interests, and advertising industry contacts in both traditional and online media. (See attached).

Sleep is verated.

Join us on for an all-nighter October 18th & 19th for CreateAthon; the craziest do-good event you’ll ever experience. Wanna know more? See any of the AAF Board and they’ll tell you all about it, or flip this over for more details. Ready to sign up? Visit www.aafroanoke.org/signup.

The details:What is this again? CreateAthon is a 24-hour, work-around the clock creative blitz where we generate marketing services for local nonprofits. We’ll work through the day, night and into the next morning to provide the nonprofit organizations with collateral ranging from websites, photography, videos, social media, and print campaigns. CreateAthon is the public service initiative for AAF Roanoke.

Is it really for a whole 24 hours? Yep, it sure is. And yes, we can create amazing work in 24 hours - even websites!

What do I bring? Just you. Really, that’s all you need. We’ll have food. LOTS of food. Coffee and other drinks. If you have a favorite notebook or a magic pen, bring it. But we’ll have some basic supplies. There are tons of workstations, but if you prefer your own laptop, feel free to bring it.

Where & when is it held? October 18-19, 2014 at Virginia Western Community College in the Humanities building. See map below.

Ready to signup? The online volunteer signup form can be found at www.aafroanoke.org/signup.

HEADQUARTERS 1101 VERMONT AVENUE NW, 5TH FLOOR, WASHINGTON DC 20005

P: (202) 898-0089 F: (202) 898-0159 WWW.AAF.ORG