The Challenge
The Cape Coral Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 33 represents active and retired men and women of the Cape Coral Police Department. For the past several years, the organization has treated local school children to free back-to-school shopping. The annual program reinforces the ideas of sharing and giving, and promotes the idea that role models of all ages are crucial to the development of local youth. The program is open to school children of all ages and provides participating students with $200 to purchase supplies and other necessities at a local retailer. For past events, the program has helped approximately 75-80 children per school year. In 2019, the Fraternal Order of Police wanted to increase the number of school children that would benefit from the program to over 100 as well as media involvement. They enlisted the help of Spiro & Associates to develop a PR campaign that would engage the local community and drive increased student participation.
The Solution
The Brand Architects™ kicked off the campaign with development of a save-the-date card. The two-sided invitation was printed and incorporated a rich navy and deep gold color scheme to complement the City of Cape Coral FOP Lodge 33 logo. Images of backpacks, school supplies and school-related subject matter don the front and back covers with relevant copy about the event. The save-the-date card was equipped with a QR code for invitees to scan to add the event to their calendars. The save-the-date invitations were hand-delivered to local dignitaries, media representatives and business professionals along with a City of Cape Coral FOP Lodge 33 T-shirt that invitees could choose to wear to support the event.
Next, the Agency developed a public relations campaign centered around press releases, media alerts and feature story pitches. In collaboration with our media partners, the Agency capitalized on digital and print opportunities that not only promoted the event but also shed light on all of the good the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 33 does to give back to the community.
The Result
The campaign was an overwhelming success and we earned a great response from invitees. The shopping trip kicked off in the Target parking lot with a photo of participants clad in their bright yellow T-shirts provided for the event. The event drew a tremendous turnout, including the mayor of the City of Cape Coral and other local dignitaries, as well as school board members and administrators. The event was covered by the three top broadcast media outlets, generated a 92% pickup rate and garnered numerous post-event articles. The client was extremely happy with the turnout and the overall publicity the event received.
