Creating emotional connections on a shoestring budget:
How can a simple brand story lift spirits and drum up donations even in a down economy?
GESU School, North Philadelphia's non-profit grade school for underprivileged children,
was in a tough spot: The school, which raises its entire annual operating budget
from donations alone, was posed to launch an aggressive campaign for annual scholarships
in one of history's worst economic climates.
Just to raise the degree of difficulty, the school had completed several recent
capital improvements which may have signaled that the school no longer needed support.
This, of course, was not true. So rather than focusing solely on the children's
urgent need, we turned around the focus and celebrated the giver as an integral
role in GESU's mission and the continued success of its students.
The unifying brand theme for the campaign became "GESU isn't Gesu without YOU."
The execution expressed the key idea through the perspectives of parents, students,
teachers and givers, and created a thread that tied all three audiences together,
with the giver at the center of the story. The GESU team was so energized by the
early response of the approach, they've decided to make it the cornerstone of the
school's marketing initiatives.
"Working with Backe has been wonderful. During these
challenging times for raising donations, they really came through with a unique and compelling way to spread our
message in a positive, uplifting way. The work they do
has so much heart."
–Christine S. Beck, President & CEO
