Designing our communication materials

I am not a graphic designer or a web designer; I don't really know the first thing about how to theme a website or use graphic design tools. I'm usually pretty okay at nailing the messages, purpose, and desired outcomes of marketing, solicitation, or cultivation pieces, but I rarely have the vision that dictates what web and print marketing should look like visually. Though folks like Diane and Carla are the talents behind the web and print design, I still have to provide some direction as far as content and look. Especially working at a small non-profit organization, I often have to "have my hands in a lot of pots" and do a lot of it myself. Even at Macalester where they have an entire college relations department to do this stuff for us, I had to basically sit down with a pencil and scratch paper and sketch out what I wanted. With a Cedar end-of-the-year campaign kicking off, I had to not only commit to our key messages but come up with some direction for how to communicate with our potential donor base through web and print marketing. So I did some cutting, pasting, and pencil scratching and went to Kinko's to have them scan in my pile of scratch papers with stick figures and scribbles.

PIECE ONE: POSTCARD
Here's what I've sketched for the postcard that will be sent first class to all households in our database (minus donors 2004 to 2007.) The reason for this mailer is twofold: First, we want to market our campaign to and solicit as many people as possible. Second, we need to clean up our database; we have a lot of old, dated records. Aside from wiping the whole thing clean and starting over, sending a first-class mailer (which means we'll receive bad address returns) might be the only way to do it. This also means that we have to design a postcard of the smallest size. Sending one of these first class is significantly less expensive than sending a larger postcard first class (especially when we're talking over 13,000 pieces). Here's the sketch:

Postcard, front:
















Postcard, front. Text, from the top:
"We are made of CEDAR" ("Cedar" in Cedar logo font.) Next to this, potentially a "campaign logo," which should be inserted as many times as is reasonable in all campaign materials and communications to stimulate visual recognition.
"Show us what you're made of. Donate today."
"THE CEDAR'S end-of-the-year fundraising drive starts November 1." (THE CEDAR in Cedar logo font.)
"Meet Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, and intern."
"Sage says, 'The Cedar allows me to hear some of the best music from all over the world with amazing people from all walks of life.'" I'd still like to work with the quote a little bit. It's the right idea, but I'm not sure we've nailed it yet.
I'd like the photo to be cropped around Sage (as opposed to being in a "box") because I want the images to "flow" with the rest of the text, banners, or whatever. For example, I like how the images in our marketing brochure interact with the other colors and graphics:


















Though I don't want the mailer to be as dark in color as our marketing piece.

Also, the photo should be labeled something like "Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, intern."

The following can be re-evaluated once we see what the text and images look like and how crowded everything is on this size postcard. Ideally, I'd like to also insert "Help us recruit 416 new donors to give $50" and "The first 100 donors at $50 get a Cedar CD, 2 tickets, or a tote bag."

Finally, at the bottom of the page, "For more information, visit www.thecedar.org/donate"

Postcard, back:















Postcard, back. Text, from the top:

"3 easy ways to donate."
"1. Online at www.thecedar.org/donate"
"2. Mail your donation form and payment to: 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454"
"3. Call us at 612-338-2674 ext. 103"
"For questions or more information, contact Adrienne at 612-338-2674 ext. 103 or adorn@thecedar.org"

PIECE TWO: MAILER/DONOR GUIDE
I'd like to send a more detailed, 4-color, glossy mailer to donors 2004-2006. I also want a general use "donor guide" that presents pieces of our fundraising case and provides information about why and how to donate to The Cedar. Instead of facilitating the design and printing of two totally different pieces, I decided that it might make sense to combine the two. I've therefore sketched out a 4 page booklet/mailer whose inside two pages serve as the "donor guide." In this format, all time-sensitive and merged information lives on the outside pages of the mailer. Here are the sketches:

Cover Page (Page 1 of mailer):
















Cover Page (Page 1). Text
Text/look of the cover page (page 1 of mailer) will be the same as the front of the postcard.

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink: "www.thecedar.org/donate" or "visit us online at www.thecedar.org/donate" or "donate online at www.thecedar.org/donate."

Page 2-3 of mailer/Page 1 of the donor guide:


















Page 2 of mailer.
Left page. Text, from the top:
"Be among the first 100 campaign donors at $50 or more and receive your choice of the following thank you gifts"
Insert "campaign logo" as bullet points?
"Two tickets to January 18th (I have to check the date) performance of African American stringband The Carolina Chocolate Drops."
"A Live at The Cedar: Visionaries CD which includes live recordings of shows peformed at The Cedar."
"A (something descriptive) Cedar tote bag."

Below this, I'd like a (labeled) photo of the Carolina Chocolate Drops which, again, interacts with the rest of the page sort of like this:

















Page 3 of the mailer/Page 1 of the donation guide: (Remember that the middle pages of the mailer are doubling as a general "donor guide.")

Text, from the top:
THE CEDAR (in Cedar logo font)
"The Cedar 501c3 is an intimate performance venue in Minneapolis that has been presenting local, regional, national, and international music for 17 years."
"Our mission ('our mission' in bold) is to promote inter-cultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance."
The following is technically part of our mission statement, but it should be added as we see fit as the mailer comes together. I don't want too much text to make the piece look cluttered:
"The Cedar is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, support for emerging artists, diversity of programming, and community outreach."

"Meet Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, intern. Sage joined The Cedar as a volunteer during her junior year of high school. Two years later, she started as a house manager and made an investment in The Cedar by becoming a top donor. Another year later, she started volunteering as an office intern."
"'I was looking for a way to give back to my community while expanding my musical tastes and exposure to local artists.'"

"When you donate to The Cedar, you support local, independent artists and help bring culture to Minnesota by allowing The Cedar to present a diverse mix of artistic programming from around the globe."

On the right side of this page in a "vertical banner:"
"We are made of CEDAR"
"Show us what you're made of. Donate today."

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink

Page 4-5 of the mailer/Page 2-3 of the donor guide:

















Page 4 of mailer/Page 2 of donor guide
Left page. Text, from the top:

(in bold) "The Cedar depends on your charitable gifts." "Revenue from ticket sales only cover 46% of The Cedar's operating expenses. The Cedar books events that focus on service to the community rather than maximizing revenue. The larger number of individuals and foundations who support The Cedar financially means a larger number and variety of programming opportunities The Cedar can pursue."

Below this, a text box that personalizes the communication further by offering bits of information about Sage and her relationship with The Cedar. We haven't nailed all of this text yet, but something like:
"Spotlight on Sage (insert campaign logo)"
"Cedar jam you just can' get enough of: Tinariwen"
etc.

Another Sage photo to the right.

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink.

Page 5 of mailer/Page 3 of donor guide:
Right page. Text, from top:

"With your help, The Cedar will be able to do the following in 2008:
"1. Bring back some of your favorite artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Dan Wilson, and Altan"
"2. Complete upgrades to our sound system, lobby, marquee and other capital improvements that improve the concert-going experience."
"3. Something else"

"Small donations count, too!"
"(in bold) A gift of any amount shows your support for The Cedar (end bold) When a large number of individuals donate to an organization, it demonstrates community support. Giving at any level makes an investment in and shows a vote of confidence for The Cedar."
"(in bold) Small gifts add up to make a significant financial impact."
"(in bold) High donor participation inspires others (end bold) Individuals with the capacity to make larger donations will be more likely to do so if other community members also support the organization."

"Sage says, 'The Cedar is important to me because it brings local people together with artists from around the world.'"

Weblink at the bottom.

Page 6-7 of the mailer/Page 4-5 of the donor guide:
















Page 6 of mailer/Page 4 of donor guide
Left page. Text, from top:
"3 easy ways to donate."
"1. Online at www.thecedar.org/donate"
"2. Mail your donation form and payment to: 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454"
"3. Call us at 612-338-2674 ext. 103"
"For questions or more information, contact Adrienne at 612-338-2674 ext. 103 or adorn@thecedar.org"

Page 7 of mailer/Page 5 of donor guide
Right page:
Pledge form on the right half of the page with perforated edge. *The pledge form will me merged with donor "household name," address, phone, and email - maybe merged information can be highlighted or in a different color to bring attention to it? People will take a second look if they see their name, etc. On the side of the pledge form something like: "The information we have for you is filled into the form below. Please make corrections and fill in missing information.

My original pledge form template will be changed in the following ways:
1. Change "name" to "household name"
2. Top will say "I am made of CEDAR, too" (instead of "Yes! I would like to...")
3. Under email, a box to check that says "I would like to receive The Cedar's monthly e-newsletter"
4. Delete three check boxes

Back cover to mailer:
















The back cover will have the mailing information: merged address, return label, postage.

PIECE 3: POSTERS

The posters have a similar layout/text as I've explained and outlined for the mailer and postcard aside from one of the posters which I'd like to have a "thermometer." The idea is that I'd fill out the thermometer as the number of donors increases. Here are my sketches for the posters:































































PIECE 4: WEB

In order to effectively use the web for the current fundraising campaign, I've prioritized my suggestions for more effective web marketing (see "Website Thoughts" post.) I've targeted the easiest, most urgent changes that I think will allow for the most web traffic and best advertise the fundraising campaign.

The following should be implemented immediately:

1. Change the Upper left corner box on The Cedar's homepage. Wipe out the background picture and replace it with a plain dark purple background. In place of the current text, insert "THE CEDAR" in Cedar logo font in white with the address and phone number below.

2. Delete all of the links on the top left banner on the homepage. "Nordic Roots Gallery" and "Cedar Photo Gallery" should be consolidated as simply “Photo Gallery” and included as a sublink under “About.” Site Map doesn’t even work. I don’t see a need for “privacy policy,” but if we must, we could include that under “about” as well. Delete “music news” (including all side bars “jazz news” “folk news” etc. - I don't see this contributing anything to the main purpose of our site) and include “directions” under “contact.” If in the future we see a need/compelling reason for “music news,” we can include a “links” page under one of the main categories.

3. Change the main links banner to include only the following links:
About, Calendar, Tickets, Donate, Volunteer, Contact

We don’t need a link to the survey anymore. I’ll think about it and may want to add it under the donate page. “Cedar News” items can be included as a sublink under “About.”

4. On the right for newsletter sign up, change it to say this:

The Cedar’s monthly e-newsletter
(box to insert email)

Two radio buttons that say:
Sign me up!
Unsubscribe

5. Delete The Cedar “news feed”/links on the right panel. This is redundant. In its place, one link for “on sale” ticket announcements. Don’t need “Cedar News” title.


The following to be implemented once all content is ready and in place:

6. The DONATE page
The donate page should have the same "look," font, colors, etc. as the mailers. Diane is designing this "look."


I'd like to try to include all of the following information on the "donate" page without things looking too busy:

-“We kick off our end-of-the-year fundraising drive on November 1st!”
-Haven’t nailed the language yet, but something like “416 new donors to give $50 each by December 31st”
- A thermometer (for donor goal)
-The main photo
-Next to the main photo, some text like “Meet Sage. Cedar donor, volunteer, intern, and house manager.” And a quote by Sage with a link that says something like “read more.”
-Links including:
More about Sage
Becoming a donor
Read Sage’s Blog
Photo Gallery
Tell us your Cedar story
-A video clip with a title underneath like “hear what Sage has to say about supporting The Cedar

Here's a sketch:

















7. I want the fundraising drive to be featured on that right side bar where “Cedar News” now is. Something like “We are made of Cedar fundraising drive starts Nov. 1” with a link to the donation page and maybe a mini goal thermometer.