Theme Design, Naming, Campaign Brand Identity, Marketing Toolkit, Social Media
Smith Memorial Playground
Creating a Branded Event with Just the Right Amount of Uniqueness
Events & Campaign Marketing
Overview
Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse, located in East Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, has been a treasured childhood destination for over 100 years.
Smith had just finished an $8.5M renovation and wanted to bring awareness with an online giving campaign during their reopening. The organization approached us to brand and design the campaign. The project included developing the theme, a branded look and logo, social media graphics, a website banner, and ambassador and board toolkits that they could share with stakeholders.
Finding the Balance
The common challenge all online campaigns face is standing out and being unique while still reinforcing the organization’s existing brand. In addition, we wanted to be sure we created the right balance between the branded content we designed, planned client-generated content and community-driven content.
Incorporating Smith’s History
To meld Smith’s play-focused brand, its historical stature, and the goal of the campaign, we landed on the theme “Play It Forward.” For the logo and visuals, we started with Smith’s brand colors and added a yellow that created a sense of warmth, giving the campaign its own look that still blended nicely with its primary logo. Graphics made use of historical and current photos to reinforce the idea of enhancing play for future generations. Finally, we made sure everything had a playful style, in keeping with Smith’s mission.
Creating Shareable Content
The ambassador and board toolkits included post copy and branded graphics, as well as instructions about what to post or email and when. In addition to posting curated content, ambassadors and board members were encouraged to comment on and reshare Smith’s posts, to generate their own videos in response to prompts that were provided, and to post their own thoughts, photos and memories.
Surpassing Expectations
Smith’s donors not only unlocked the trustees’ full $28,000 matching gift, the campaign exceeded its fundraising goal by 35%, raising more than $51,320 total. The campaign brand has proved to be sustainable. With the assets we created Smith has continued to run this event successfully.