Larry Asher, Worker Bees, Inc.

The good news

You get free work from the best design and ad firms

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

American Red Cross

Everett Symphony

United Way of King County

Greenpeace

(Recycle paper. Save trees.)

San Francisco Zoo

United Way of Vancouver

The good news

You get free work from the best design and ad firms

The bad news

The work can be off strategy

The work can be too late to help

The parties can end up mad at each other

What they’ll want

Creative opportunities

Your name on their client list

Chance to meet some big dogs

Out-of-pocket dollars

Streamlined process (no committees)

What you’ll want

Great, compelling, effective work

Adherence to budgets and schedules

Some passion for your cause

Finding volunteer firms

Track down work you admire

Consult PSBJ Book of Lists

Prepare a convincing presentation

Short list questions

Can we see your work?

Can we get some references?

Can we meet the team?

Phinney Bischoff Design House

Ready to begin?

Mandatory: Start with a creative brief

C R E A T I V E B R I E F

DATE: October 7, 2006 CLIENT: The Salvation Army

JOB TITLE: Great Falls Post Card JOB NUMBER: 4600-008

ASSIGNMENT What, succinctly, are you asking us to do?

Create a post card to generate traffic to the Bargains and Treasures store in Great Falls, Montana. The store has been refurbished and the traffic generated by the promotion is intended to raise awareness of the store’s new appearance. The card will use existing “poster” art and will have two coupons instead of one. Room for the second coupon will be made by eliminating the events calendar. Second side is still one-color. This will be only one drop, so need a recommendation as to which of the three pieces of art to use. Mail face will carry two coupons, in lieu of a single coupon and the calendar. Quantity will be 10,000 or 15,000. AUDIENCE Who is this effort aimed at? What are they like?

Target audience is consumers in the Great Falls area, with household income of $50,000 or less. They are likely to have children and/or be on a fixed income. Prospects are cost-conscious thrift shoppers. They may not be aware of the store, despite its close proximity to WalMart. Even if prospects have shopped there before, they may not be aware that the store has been updated inside.

OBJECTIVE What specific results are we after, when must they be achieved? What do we want the audience to do?

Coupon redemptions and gross sales will be used to measure the impact of the mailing. The card should help drive the audience to visit the store and use the Free coupon, and either use the Discount coupon on a return visit, or give the second coupon to a friend. SITUATION What’s the current environment--especially with respect to competitors?

With WalMart next door, and other low price competitors in the area (like Target), prospects need an incentive to shop the ‘even lower’ prices at The Salvation Army. Despite a good location, the store has low visibility. And shoppers who have visited in the past may have been discouraged by the condition of the store. November and December are typically slow months for thrift sales as people shift their expendable income to gift buying.

ATTITUDES What does the audience think now? What do we want them to think? Now: The Salvation Army store? It is/must be a bunch of disorganized, dusty junk.

What a brief covers

What are you asking us to do?

Who’s the audience?

How will we know we succeeded?

What’s the situation?

What’s the right tonality?

What’s the strategy or takeaway?

Strategy how-to

You should _______________________ _________________________ because ________________________________.

Strategy how-to

You should visit the Salvation Army Thrift Store because you’ll get a free gift just for coming in.

While they’re working

Give as much time as you can

Help line-up production resources

Be willing to sacrifice service for creative quality

The moment of truth

Presentation protocol

Have everyone who can say “no” present

Be clear and specific with concerns

You don’t have to love it

Consensus isn’t necessary

If you get stuck, bring in a mediator

If it’s a no-go, give a chance to start over

The happy ending

Be generous in giving credit

Assist your volunteer firm with their self-promotion

Repeat as necessary

Want to know more?

www.svcseattle.com/probono