Sleepless in Waterloo Region: CreateAthon’s Marketing Blitz for Non-profits

Branding. Marketing. Impact.

What are those words doing in a non-profit conversation? Whos got time for them, never mind money? Isnt a simple statement of purpose enough to melt hearts and unleash a rush of support?

Truth is, they are just as important in the world of charitable community service as they are in business. Organizations that choose to ignore self-promotion – or worse, regard it as tasteless  and embarrassing – risk being elbowed into obscurity by a more colourful, prouder, crowd.

This is where CreateAthon jumps in. A U.S.-based program, it offers free marketing oomph to non-profits with tired websites, worn-out brochures and logos that have wilted with age.

Applications are now open to fill the cohort of local agencies for CreateAthon Waterloo Region 2014. The deadline is Aug. 11; the event, Oct. 24.

“This is about making a difference through design,” says Jolene MacDonald, co-founder of Two Blonde Chicks Inc., the Kitchener design-and-marketing firm that sponsors CreateAthon Waterloo Region. “All these organizations are so purposeful, but they arent going to be successful if they dont have good marketing tools.” 

CreateAthon started in South Carolina in the mid 1990s. Now it has events across North America, and beyond. It estimates the value of all that work amounts to more than $11 million.

Capacity Waterloo Region and Conestoga College are partners in the local event. The head-scratching and pencil-chewing falls to Conestoga’s second- and third-year graphic-design students.

As the partners pare applications down to several agencies, the students sort themselves into teams. Each team – guided by a professional designer – takes  an agency under its wing.

The teams do some background work, then park themselves in a computer lab for 24 hours – the “athon” in CreateAthon. At the end, they present their proposals to the organizations.

“It was probably one of the best experiences that Ive had,” says Edward Faruzel, executive director of Kitchener Waterloo Access Ability. “Everybody was so willing to help out. Everybody was easy to talk to. We could come in and discuss our ideas.”

KW Access Ability and seven other organizations took part in CreateAthonWaterloo Region 2013. Faruzels agency got some ideas for a new brochure, plus a website makeover with colours and fonts that work well with text-to-speech screen-readers used by people with vision loss.

The website launched June 13.

Students also designed a new logo, an update of KW Access Ability’s lily symbol. Each of the five petals in the new design represents a key service the organization provides: advocacy, information and referral, Phirst Link Computing, recreation and health and wellness.

“The students get some real-world experience, says John Baljkas, a graphic-design professor at Conestoga College. “They have deadlines to meet. Its a truly collaborative experience, and they learn about giving back to the community.

Last years group of eight organizations came in with a wish list of 40 items. They received about $100,000 worth of work, MacDonald says.

“It is a rare opportunity that a charitable organization in Waterloo Region can get its advertising campaign produced, its brochures designed, its brand rebranded or its website designed for – free,” says Matt Miller, an executive-in-residence at Capacity. “We have several teams of students, backed by seasoned professional art directors, who will put together lively communications packages.”

To apply, click here

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