From the different stages of homelessness to abuse, addiction, and children in need of guidance, the Bethesda Mission, a Harrisburg, PA area non-profit has a dedication and one hundred years of history in providing a light of hope to those who need it.
The Mission came to Freefall looking for a way to streamline operations and refresh their messaging in order to attract new donors to their cause. After performing background research and initial creative development Freefall came back with answers to what they were looking for. What we landed on was an idea with two simple, but very powerful words, INSPIRE HOPE.
INSPIRE HOPE is a call to action to present and future donors, it’s a point of action for those who work within the Mission’s walls and it’s what those who go through the program provide to others who are just entering. Rather than showing the dreary life of the person who needs the Mission, the message shows the positive side of what the Mission does and how this is beneficial to the surrounding community. Hope is the currency the Mission deals in, in order to help one man, one woman or one child at a time.
One of the problems Bethesda Mission faced was public perception – they were seen as a shelter that helps homeless men. The reality is that the Mission helps men, women and children through various problem areas in their lives. This is a message, and a story, that needed to be told. Freefall created a simple block color system that would be shown at the top of every piece of outward communication presented. On top of this we split the campaign into the three varying sections, men, women and children, in order to better tell the story of what Bethesda Mission actually does. With the vast equity the Mission has in helping men we also made media recommendations regarding what should be shown as well as the frequency. We put women and children at the top of the list. These were the stories that needed to be told most.
Below is a glimpse into the ongoing work that Freefall has created for the Bethesda Mission. In line with helping the Mission develop a brand voice that better tells the story of who they are and what their mission is Freefall has created the work to present this brand story and get it out into the public eye.
It’s about an individual and their particular struggle. It’s not about the exuberance of success, but rather the light smile of success. These people came to the Bethesda Mission seeking help and, with inspiration and hope, success was achieved. In turn, this success allowed these individuals to Inspire Hope in others who need the Mission’s help.
OUT OF HOME
With the short amount of time the commuter or passer-by has to look at an outdoor message, Freefall created the most concise form of the Mission’s message that we could. This includes the Bethesda Mission name, the INSPIRE HOPE message, who the viewer could be helping, as well as the place where they can do this.
Being the main social media gateway the Bethesda Mission uses, Freefall created new cover photos and profile pictures (only one combination of which is shown here) to go along with the rest of the campaign.
E-MAIL CAMPAIGN
Along with other social media formats, Freefall created e-mail communications for the Bethesda Mission to further reach out to existing and new donors. These are simple in form – they tell a story, give a message and ask the reader to donate to the cause and help Inspire Hope in the life of someone else.
SOCIAL
Social ads, next to out of home, need to be a relatively quick read. Freefall dropped back to the simple Inspire Hope message along with the who and how in order to try and reach the viewers who see them. With these ads, however, we did add visuals to try and better put a face to the message.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The Bethesda Mission is an integral part of the community. They wanted a way to show this as well as ask others to join in and give back. Freefall developed a way to do this via coffee. These cups have the Inspire Hope as well as a ‘I LOVE HBG (Harrisburg)’ messages included. These are to be distributed to area coffee shops where, for an extra 10 cents, the coffee drinker can both show their love of community as well as help the Bethesda Mission in its goal to help those in need.
