Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha is the largest NGO social services provider in Nebraska, serving a population of approximately a million people of all faiths in the 23 counties which compose the Archdiocese.

The work that Catholic Charities performs isn’t flashy or glamorous – working with the hungry, addicted, abused, voiceless or forgotten – but the services offered to thousands of children, families, individuals and seniors are essential to the health and strength of the communities served.

Catholic Charities depends on the compassion and generosity of a significant number of contributors to fund and fulfill its mission – donors, volunteers and partners.

Like many charitable organizations, Catholic Charities makes an annual financial appeal aimed at both its current supporters and new supporters. Such communications must create immediate relevancy and spur action with donors and potential donors that are often geographically separated from where the social services are offered, may not be aware of the breadth of services offered by Catholic Charities, are inundated with requests for donations and, in every effort to make sure funding is used to serve those most in need, do not receive purchased messaging from Catholic Charities with any sustained frequency.

Bozell worked with Catholic Charities to create the theme of “Ourmaha,” obviously a play on the Omaha name, with design and messaging elements to quickly drive significance with the recipient that a great community like Omaha takes the work of everyone regardless of where you live or work.

The request was made via a targeted direct-mail request and, thanks to the generosity of many of our media partners, was supported with both discounted and public service television, radio, out-of-home and online advertising broadcast in the brief and cluttered time between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The 30-second animated spot shared here was produced inexpensively and, in addition to airing approximately 300 times, has been re-used as an educational and promotional piece by Catholic Charities on its website, in social media and in public presentations.

The campaign was a success, with an approximate 600% return on investment, raising much needed funds for Catholic Charities’ vital mission, and in addition, was re-purposed throughout the following year in new awareness and educational materials.

Social media marketing has become a a fairly standard part of marketing programs today for lot of companies and of course everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. If you haven’t made the leap yet, here are some very basic tips to get started. Read More

More and more I find myself untethered from my computer and able to deal with what I need either from my Blackberry or my iPad. I now often go an entire weekend without opening my laptop, but still get the work done I need to get done plus easily stay connected to friends and family.  And I’m far from alone.

While it’s no surprise that some 234 million Americans  age 13 and older use mobile devices (that’s 90%), the growth of smartphone penetration is very rapid according to the latest report from comScore MobilLens. Over 49 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones as of May, up 8.1 percent from the corresponding February period. The smartphone penetration has nearly doubled in just one year to nearly 21%.  According to Nielsen projections, by third quarter 2011 smartphones could have nearly the same market share as feature phones.

RIM (like my Blackberry) still has the largest share of the platform market. And while the iPhone has received the lions share of the buzz, especially with the release of iPhone 4, it’s Google’s Android platform that has seen the greatest growth in the smartphone market over the past several months. Android continues to propel itself closer to the #3 spot (currently held by Microsoft).

And just how are we all using our smartphones?

The only stat that surprises me is the one on accessing social networking sites. It seems low to me. I can’t recall talking to anyone in the last few months with a smartphone that hasn’t accessed at least Facebook or Twitter with it.  I’m curious. How about you? Do you use your smartphone to access a social network site?  Take this poll.

Do you know who spends the most time on Facebook?

Adults 18-34 spend the most time on the site per week, at 8.5 hours out of 22.4 spent online.  Weekly Facebook time drops to 4.6 hours among users ages 55 and older, representing a lower proportion of that group’s average of 21.5 hours per week on the internet.

Facebook Highly Trafficked by Asians 

Facebook usage is heaviest by Asians. Not only did that group spend the most hours per week on the site, but they also devoted the greatest percentage of their weekly internet time to Facebook (39.6%, compared with 35.1% among blacks, the second-highest group).

Facebook Appeals to a Higher Income Bracket

Incomes also rose from less than $50,000 up to $100,000.  Affluent Facebook users making at least $100,000 annually spent the most time on the site and on the web as a whole.  In Q1 2010, comScore found that the visitors who spent the most time on Facebook also spent the most money online.

Source:  eMarketer

My Two Cents

Facebook advertising is very efficient and cost effective. It is just another touch point along the consumer path and a great way to connect with them.  Facebook is a great way to get out to the masses without the sticker shock.  Typically what I have seen with PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns on Facebook is that you often get way more impressions than you pay for. 

That is the beauty of PPC campaigns.  Millions of people may see your ad but you only pay if that person clicks on your ad and goes to your site.  Also with Facebook you can target based on age, gender, relationship status, likes & interest, education & work and connections on Facebook.   

So I am interested in running ads on Facebook.  How much budget should I set aside? 

I would recommend setting up a daily budget of $50 to start.  Remember that you only pay if someone clicks on your ad.  If your creative lacks an incentive to click then the chance of running through this budget is unlikely. Also keep in mind that Facebook uses an algorithm (just like PPC on Google) that ranks your ad in “popularity” and this has direct impact on positioning.  If your ad is performing well chances are you will find that ad at the top of the page. 

Even if you have a massive budget this doesn’t ensure that your ad will fall near the top.  The creative must be compelling and people must be clicking on your ad.  Also, more impressions will be served up if your ad is performing well.  Remember that Facebook only gets paid if someone clicks on your ad so of course they are going to run those top performing ads more. 

You can also pay-per-impression (CPM) if you would rather have the guarantee that your ad will run a certain number of impressions over the campaign’s flight.

Have you ever found yourself responding to an email in anger?  I know sometimes I’m tempted to send off a little terse response. But with email it’s tough enough to communicate an approachable tone even on a good day, that a little terse-ness, even sarcasm, can make you sound like a total jerk. So think before you click send…save a draft, go get a cup of coffee, walk around, and imagine that tomorrow morning someone has taped your e-mail outside your door. Would your associates and friends be shocked by your language or attitude?

Or would they be impressed by how you kept your cool, how you ignored the bait when your correspondent stooped to personal attacks, and how you carefully explained your position (or admitted your error, or asked for a reconsideration, etc.).

Don’t pour gasoline on a fire without carefully weighing the consequences. It’s a small world you may have to work with the person again and again. Do you want a copy of your bitter screed to surface years from now, when you want a letter of recommendation or you’re up for promotion?

Do this instead:

• Go ahead and write it — make it snarky, biting, and vicious
• Then revise it — liven it up with traditional Lithuanian  curses or translate it to Vulcan if that’s your preference
• Then print it out, throw darts at it, and scribble on it with crayon, take the paper cutter to it
• Do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better and get it out of your system. Just don’t hit “Send” while you’re still angry.

I really don’t have anything against you folks at AARP, but come on…do you really think that mailing me an AARP membership card and solicitation BEFORE my 50th birthday is a good marketing move?  If so, you should fire the person or company that gave you that advice.

It’ s not like that 21st birthday that you look forward to with great anticipation. Turning 50 isn’t something I stress over (the alternative is worse) instead it’s a birthday I look at with little interest. I didn’t even give it much thought until I got your mailing today.  Frankly, I would rather not have it thrown in my face that because of it I’m eligible for membership in AARP.  I know you’ve tried to update your image and you’ve shed the “American Association of Retired Persons” moniker, but much of the residual baggage remains — at least for me.  I still think of you as the old people group. I don’t feel old. I don’t act old. I’m not thinking of retiring or even slowing down. I still have lots to learn, lots of big plan, lots I want to do. 50 isn’t what it used to be. Come on…it’s like everyone says –50 is the new 40.  I have no intention now, nor in the foreseeable future, of asking for the “senior” discount.

Try me again in 10 years.  Maybe I’ll feel differently by then.

:)

Borsheims is one of the largest independent jewelry stores in the country and has successfully branded their name and identity as a high-quality product. Their 10^th Annual Swiss Watch Faire, as part of the 2009 Borsheims Holiday Campaign, required an identity of its own. We wanted the faire to be more than just an exhibition for watch vendors. We wanted to add some style and enhance the attendee experience. With objectives of growing in-store attendance and sales for the event, Bozell determined the best ways to target the correct audience.

Our strategy was to develop a campaign from September to November to strictly focus on the promotion of the Swiss Watch Faire Event, which was held on November 20 and 21. For the 10^th annual event, Borsheims offered six months, no-interest financing for the first time. We implemented several mediums in the campaign, including outdoor signage placed in highly trafficked areas of Omaha and email marketing efforts. A beautifully designed Swiss Watch emblem was featured as an in-store floor graphic along with other prominent store signage. Almost 40,000 wristbands containing a watch emblem and promotional information regarding the event were also distributed at Qwest Center Omaha.

In addition, a direct mail piece was distributed to a highly-targeted group of clientele, specifically focusing on those in the Omaha area, as the Swiss Watch Faire is an in-store event only. It was sent to nearly 20,000 customers and achieved a 20% response rate.

(Omaha, Neb. – July 2, 2010) – Bozell, a creative marketing communications company, is proud to announce the launch of its latest Facebook canvas page, My Mango. The canvas page was created for an exciting all-natural frozen yogurt shop moving to Omaha. Red Mango is one of the nation’s fastest-growing, all-natural, non-fat frozen yogurt franchises.

To enhance the user experience for Facebook fans of the Red Mango’s first Omaha store at Shops of Legacy, 16950 Wright Plaza, Suite 151, Bozell built the My Mango tab that allows anyone to create their own Red Mango treat: Frozen Yogurt Treats, Fruit Parfaits, Smoothies and Probiotic Iced Teas. Facebook fans can select from a variety of flavors and toppings, and will then be presented with the calorie count and list of health benefits for their treat. Red Mango fans can also share their treats with all their friends. My Mango also gives visitors exclusive, local coupons for Red Mango’s delicious and healthy treats.

Build your own treat today at My Mango. And be sure to check out the grand opening of the new Red Mango location on July 24, from 2 to 9 p.m., for free yogurt, live music and free tethered hot air balloon rides.

About Bozell
Bozell is a creative marketing communications company with offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Overland Park, Kansas. Bozell combines qualitative and quantitative methodology to get close to its clients’ customers. Bozell then uses advertising, digital marketing, dialogue relations, technology and innovative creative to provide targeted solutions for local, regional and national clients. For more information, visit www.bozell.com.

To Benefit the Nebraska AIDS Project

(OMAHA, Neb., July 1, 2010) Forty-five local designers stepped out June 23^rd to present their condom fashions at the 2^nd annual Project Runway Condom Fashion Show to benefit the Nebraska AIDS Project. Two of these innovative designers were Bozell employees, Carrie Ratcliff and Jill Rizzo.

The Team: Hardisty-Horsley, Ratcliff, Rizzo and Berry

Ratcliff and Rizzo, both graphic artists at Bozell, teamed up with The Knot designer, Adrian Hardisty-Horsley, to design a raincoat made completely from condoms. Their model, Christina Berry, walked the catwalk at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Omaha, along with 34 others, thanks to sponsorship from Valley STD and Liquid Courage, a local tattoo shop.

The project unexpectedly fell into Ratcliff and Rizzo’s lap. They were both approached by a hairdresser at the Icon Hair Studio, a sponsor of the event, and couldn’t say no to this exciting event that promoted such a worthwhile cause. “We wanted to bring awareness to AIDS. People tend to forget about it with all the other issues our society deals with today,” Ratcliff said. The three met at a local coffee shop to talk about ideas and decided on a clever spin on the condom’s old nickname: raincoat. The raincoat was fully functional with a hood and brand tag. They also made matching accessories for themselves, including a bracelet and a necklace. They are already thinking about design ideas for next year’s show, and look forward to participating again in this non-profit event.

Christina Berry, the model

This year’s Project Runway Condom Fashion Show was organized by Nebraska AIDS Project’s event manager Gary Winingham with local radio announcer Damian Montez as emcee. The 2010 show was hosted to increase community awareness and raise funds for Nebraska AIDS Project’s prevention, outreach and education programs.

The Project works to eliminate the spread of HIV and offers services to those afflicted by both HIV and AIDS. They believe that this disease can be eradicated and by building a supportive community, those with the disease can be empowered and help educate others. To find out more about their free testing and counseling services, visit www.nap.org.

To read more about the team’s step-by-step process, read Rizzo’s blog post on Bozell’s Insights.

About Bozell
Bozell is a creative marketing communications company with offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Overland Park, Kansas. Bozell combines qualitative and quantitative methodology to get close to its clients’ customers. Bozell then uses advertising, digital marketing, dialogue relations, technology and innovative creative to provide targeted solutions for local, regional and national clients. For more information, visit www.bozell.com.

Party favors from the NAP Project Runway Condom Fashion Show

Did that title get your attention? This is not your average blog entry and this was not your average fashion show.

Just recently, I was involved in a Project Runway Condom Fashion Show Fundraiser for the Nebraska Aids Project along with another member of my design team, Carrie Ratcliff and fellow designer/friend Adrian Hardisty-Horsley. It was hands down THE most challenging design project we have ever been involved in. And we were so glad to be a part of it.

Step 1: Find a sponsor. We were lucky enough to be sponsored by the greatest tattoo parlor this side of the Missouri: Liquid Courage (who just happened to celebrate their 10 year anniversary).

Step 2: Find a model. Again, we were VERY lucky to be introduced to a professional model who was not only the most gorgeous model at the event, but was extremely patient and chill. She didn’t complain once about how hot our coat made out of condom wrappers was to wear.

The Team: Adrian, Carrie, Jill and Christina

Step 3: Design something out of condoms. We met once over coffee with inspirations and sketches and ended up collaborating to create our dream “raincoat.” Forget the fact it would be made out of condoms – it will be very well designed, and everyone will want to wear it. They will look past the fact that it is made out of condom wrappers and tape. (keep reading for more about the actual fabrication.)

Step 4: Engineering the design. We purchased every kind of glue and tape possible. We hunted down a dress form and was able to borrow one from our friends at the Creighton Fine Arts Department. Which, by the way, was an invaluable asset. I cannot imagine designing and completing a clothing design without a dress form. Especially when condom wrappers need some major work to get them to lay flat and appear seamless.

Christina, our model, demonstrating the working hood on the condom coat during the after party.

After working through the design sketches, which had to remain flexible since we had no idea how the condoms and wrappers would work as a physical material, we got together to test the functionality of the wrappers and the condoms themselves. How easy we could get them to stay together. The winning combination: staples and packing tape! Yes…you heard that right. It took a total of nearly 18 hours (and a bottle of wine) to complete the design and fit our model. The first time she put the coat on, we all got goosebumps. It looked like an actual wearable! Which was precisely our main goal. We didn’t want our outfit to look like a costume or the obvious: a bunch of condoms glued together.

Christina, our model, rocking the condom coat with grace and style during the after party.

The event was a great success and raised dollars and most of all awareness for the Nebraska Aids Project. It was such a success that NAP will most likely make this an annual fundraiser. Even though it was a major challenge (Literally, we all suffered staple wounds and mylar condom wrapper cuts – Band-Aid should have been our sponsor), took hours of our time and energy – we would still do it all over again. Because that’s what Creatives thrive on: BIG challenges for a great causes.

We can’t wait for 2011’s Condom Fashion Event and are ready to throw down!

The outdoor portion of the runway. The entire runway was over a block long and wove its way through the Magnolia Hotel.