Marketing marathons
Epic brainstorm sessions help Louisiana nonprofits build their brands

Every year, the creative and marketing types at Gallinghouse and Associates go on a unique retreat at their ad agency offices in downtown Covington. They pack jammies and toothbrushes, brew up a few gallons of coffee, and brainstorm 24 hours straight for a lucky group of pro bono nonprofit clients.

The marathon sessions produce more than ideas. By dawn’s early light, a big bundle of valuable marketing/communications tools are presented to surprise and delight their clients.

Now in its fifth year, the agency’s “CreateAthon” volunteers have completed more than 134 projects for 39 nonprofits, with an estimated value of $500,000. Gallinghouse is the only Louisiana ad shop participating in CreateAthon, a nationwide community service effort developed by the RIGGS Advertising agency in Columbia, S.C.

Gallinghouse also works to secure additional support from printers, paper suppliers, and broadcast production companies to complete the marketing materials. Media are asked to deliver the messages at free or discounted rates.

In 2007, Gallinghouse took on 22 projects for nine nonprofits including the Children’s Museum of Southeast Louisiana, the St. Tammany Art Association, Keep Mandeville Beautiful, and the Food Bank of Covington, among others.

“It is such an emotional process to choose who will be a part of CreateAthon,” said agency president and founder Joanne Gallinghouse. “We want to help everyone who needs it.”

Gallinghouse said the entire agency votes on the CreateAthon clients based on the mission of the organization, the type of work requested, the resources needed and the staff’s areas of expertise. Projects include logo development, letterhead packages, brochures, posters, invitations, print ads, outdoor boards, radio scripts, television spots, simple websites, public service announcements, press releases and media plans.

The Louisiana Technology Council (LTC) requested and received a new logo, brochure and membership cards. The organization was also treated to creative concepts and execution for three television ads and a redesign of itsWeb site. While these “extras” came as a surprise to the LTC, it’s business as usual for the agency, says Laura Tobin, vice president. “It never fails that we add one or two projects during the 24 hours,” Tobin said.

“We all get so wrapped up in developing new and exciting strategies for our clients that we want to do as much as we can for them in the time allotted.”

According to Adele Bienvenu-Tiblier, director of operations for LTC, CreateAthon provided an opportunity for the organization to begin rebranding its visual image to one that more closely reflects its mission and services.

“Many of our marketing materials had been created to meet a certain need at a certain time. We did not have the capability, time, or perspective to look at our marketing efforts with long range vision or planning,” she said.

LTC is already using printed materials designed during CreateAthon. The television spots, which Bienvenu-Tiblier describes as “eye catching and impactful” will be produced with the assistance of LTC partners over the next two years.

Bienvenu-Tiblier said her positive experience with CreateAthon goes far beyond the materials she received. Because clients are asked to help answer phones and do other office tasks during CreateAthon, she was able to see the creative energy and spirit that the Gallinghouse team brought to all of the projects, not just her own.

“I remember a photographer coming in with new photos for the food bank. You could just tell how much the people there touched him. His excitement about their good works was contagious.”

Gallinghouse said it is this same excitement that calls her, her staff and agency partners to donate 24 hours of their time for CreateAthon year after year. “As an agency based in southeast Louisiana, we know first hand what philanthropy can do to transform not only a region, but also its people. We are delighted to continue the spirit of giving through CreateAthon.”

Smaller nonprofits need professional marketing/communications services but often can’t afford them, Gallinghouse said. Materials are often produced in-house by staffers with little or no communications backgrounds and photocopied for mass distribution.

Hurricane Katrina made things worse on the marketing front.

“The storm hit nonprofits hard on many levels. Some lost all of their marketing materials, their donor bases and even state funding, while demand for their services increased,” said Gallinghouse.

Louisiana nonprofit organizations can apply for CreateAthon online here...