Mission Driven
Brand Communications
Community Progress Council (CPC) faced a difficult issue; poverty affected a substantial portion of the population but was not properly understood by all citizens, especially the policy decision makers. CPC needed to shift public awareness efforts in order to affect policy change, funding sources and community support. The social detriments of poverty, what it takes to break the cycle of poverty, and the efforts needed to achieve self-sufficiency were relatively unknown to a large portion of the community due to stigmatization.
CPC enlisted Gavin to advance understanding of the organization’s mission and purpose, destigmatize issues relating to poverty and improve the brand’s overall ability to engage influential audiences that could affect needed change.
As the agency of record, Gavin crafted a strategy utilizing guerilla marketing tactics combined with public relations and sophisticated creative solutions across digital and traditional media to generate interest and action.
Leveraging a professionally facilitated one-day poverty simulation, Gavin coordinated an event for more than 200 community leaders to partake in a hands-on exercise to role play the lives of those living in poverty – something that had never been done before in the market. The results were truly a breakthrough with a majority of regional media attending – producing several days of coverage, followed by meetings with influencers and stakeholders.
What We Did
- Branding
- Public Relations
- Crisis Communications
- Internal Communications
- Media Buying
- Social Media
- Video
- Creative Services
- Digital Services
Continuing on the momentum, Gavin facilitated a complete internal communications effort to mobilize employees into ambassadors. As efforts continued, Gavin presented a groundbreaking, conversation-starting campaign under the title: I AM PROGRESS, to deliver a bold regional campaign that brought forth unexpected faces in the community who had lived in poverty at some point in their life. A major achievement for the campaign was that it resulted in unsolicited conversations on funding and partnership that CPC hadn’t had before and increased agreement on strategic support.
Outcomes
Poverty Simulation Event
9,000,000
Media Impressions
#IAMPROGRESS Campaign
- 41,236 organic social media impressions in the first two months
- 71% increase in web traffic YOY
- $322,937 in media equivalency
Inaugural Year of Communications
58,300,000
Media Impressions
Inaugural Year of Campaign
40% Increase
in Campaign Donations
#IAMPROGRESS Campaign
- 41,236 organic social media impressions in the first two months
- 71% increase in web traffic YOY
- $322,937 in media equivalency
“Gavin has played an essential in helping the Community Progress Council to clearly and consistently communicate in bold ways the impact we have throughout the market. Through social media and other communication platforms, we are able to educate audiences and highlight the importance of our mission of empowering people to self-sufficiency. Gavin’s partnership has been an important one in the life of our brand.”
Robin Rohrbaugh – Community Progress Council, President and CEO