Holiday Giving Campaign
Holiday giving campaign concept and design for Willow Domestic Violence Center of Rochester, NY.
I was contacted by my client at Willow Domestic Violence Center in Rochester, NY in late October to create a campaign for the holiday giving season. The first item up was an oversized postcard. They were thinking of a “giving tree” concept. They were envisioning a tree with hanging ornaments or gifts. Each item would represent a different giving amount and what that funds would support: $25 for a toy, $50 for pet supplies, $100 for a new cell phone, etc. It was a lot of content to communicate on a postcard, but a great challenge.
The first step: research tree images. The organization’s name was “Willow” and their brand used images of a willow tree. So it made sense to use a willow rather than the traditional pine or fir one typically sees during the holidays. Emphasis on “giving”…not too much on the “holiday” look.
I supplied a selection of willow tree illustrations and iconography, but after a couple of rounds, the client decided to go with more photo-realistic imagery. But once I played around with photos, gift graphics, and copy, it became clear the design would be far too busy to clearly communicate the desired message.
Together, we came up with the concept of using actual gift packages to communicate the giving levels, and we’d place the gifts under a tree. Again, steering clear of traditional holiday imagery, we chose to place the presents under hanging willow branches.
Ask Postcard - The development of the Holiday Giving campaign kicked off with the creation of the ask postcard. Three versions of the postcard were produced with different “ask” amounts listed on the front.
Six giving denominations required images. I started with an image of a white gift box and red ribbon. The white box would make it easy to place imagery and text on the side to represent the giving level, but we ultimately nixed the holiday red ribbon, changing the color to coordinate with the purple in Willow’s brand palette, and used the brand green for the box.
A supporting partner—a local wood flooring company—came on board to match donations. I created a gift package, based on the same box, but with a wooden top and a bottom wrapped in dollar bills.
Customized “Gift” Image - Image started as a white box with a red ribbon and was altered several times for different campaign needs.
Once the postcard design was confirmed, I had to create support graphics for multiple websites, emails, and social media posts.
Willow Home Page - Created banner graphic as well as all support imagery for each topic listing.
Donor Pages - Created banner images and support graphics for all donation pages.
The campaign launched on Giving Tuesday. By the end of the day, the final total was just $22 shy of the total matching amount that the partner had committed to. I was asked to make a last-minute celebratory image that announced the final total. I found a “bursting package” that was similar to the one we’d used, once again altered it to match the branding colors, and included imagery used in the rest of the campaign.
Instagram - Imagery for the kick-off of the campaign on Giving Tuesday.
To wrap up the season of giving, Willow would send an appeal letter to their donors. My client wanted it to have a similar feel to the holiday giving campaign, but to pull back on “holiday.” They wanted the letter to feel warm and personal.
I used the willow branch background image as the connection between the holiday campaign and the final ask letter. With the branding color palette and typography styling, it really pulled together nicely.
Appeal Letter Package - Mailing envelope, letter, and response card.
“Lori captured the essence of Willow’s mission and the spirit of the season in the artwork for our holiday campaign. With her as a creative partner, our fundraising and awareness efforts were amplified in a time when our message and support of survivors was critical.”
BRAND GUIDELINES
Willow’s brand guidelines include two fonts: Adobe Garamond and Helvetica, and two main colors: light green and purple.