This is the story of the creation of an advertising campaign that cost (almost) nothing. VIA, a mid-sized, independent advertising agency in Portland, ME took on the pro bono challenge of raising awareness of the services of The Salvation Army in the Greater Portland area (raising a little money wouldn't hurt either). Adding to this challenge was the fact that 83 cents of every dollar donated to The Salvation Army goes directly to the people that it serves leaving very little money left over for expensive advertising campaigns. So VIA created a grassroots, guerrilla campaign that is being supported by 50+ Greater Portland businesses and includes over 5,000 creative placements in spots where you would never expect to see an ad (on store windows & coffee sleeves, inside pizza boxes & on rocks, on dirty car windows & shopping bags, the list goes on and on - we even got our message on modern furniture in the trendiest of places). This gargantuan guerrilla effort was supported by traditional print, online and TV advertising all created in-house and run on media donated by local network and cable TV stations, newspapers and websites. We will be EVERYWHERE.
It has been a ton of work but also a ton of fun. It has been great for us to really feel a part of a community effort at a time when our community needs us the most. The positive energy that has been generated has been pretty inspiring.
Oh yeah, did we mention that the concept for this campaign came from one of our youngest creative teams? And, that The Salvation Army stepped way outside of their box with this one? Well, it was and they did. Check us out in action here and check out our campaign site at www.salvationarmydonate.org
The Advertising Campaign That Cost Nothing | Out to Launch | MediaPost
VIA’s campaign featured in this well-read weekly advertising industry blog
The Salvation Army of Northern New England launched a fantastic campaign in Portland, Maine, dubbed the “advertising campaign that cost nothing.” Eighty-three cents of every dollar donated to The SA goes directly to programs and people served, which helps explain the concept of the campaign. More than 40 local businesses in Portland agreed to participate in the campaign by donating windows, walls, coffee sleeves, bar mirrors, shopping bags and pizza boxes as ad space. You might even find a rock turned into an ad. “Free ad space helps us free even more people from addiction,” reads one guerilla posting. MORE
