In every story with clients, I focus on what makes them unique. Child Advocates often goes ‘where others fear to tread’ with groundbreaking services for children, including its award-winning “Interrupting Racism for Children” workshops.
The Child Advocates Story
Communications & Marketing
I am a Communications and Marketing Consultant for Child Advocates, a nonprofit that fights for justice and equity for children, statewide, who have been placed in the child welfare system after facing abuse and neglect. The organization helps them find a safe and secure home with its’ experienced attorneys and it conducts race equity programs to address disproportionality in the child welfare system and to build a better future for every child in our community.
The Plan
In order to attract and retain volunteers, sponsors, and donors and build Child Advocates’ brand, I oversaw a one-year communications and marketing plan aligning Child Advocates with target audiences in paid, earned, owned and shared media. The plan included the continuation of a year-round billboard campaign with updated messaging; a yearlong sponsorship with one key radio station for reaching its target audiences which included a monthly half-hour interview, with leadership staff, profiling its programs; radio ads on three other stations; digital media campaigns; strategic storytelling through videos, social media, email newsletters, thought leadership articles and blogs; and the launch of a new Child Advocates’ podcast which I produce, and host, giving the agency a platform to tell its’ story without limitations on content or time.
Crisis Communications
In April 2021, the agency went through an unexpected contract crisis involving its 39-year role as the CASA (court-appointed special advocate) in Marion County for thousands of vulnerable children. The city chose a new contractor, which Child Advocates would now report to as a subcontractor while still performing all of the CASA work for the county. During difficult negotiations, Child Advocates’ board opted not to sign a new contract.
From the PR perspective, the board chose to honor contract negotiations and only issue statements, as needed, from an attorney but I worked, behind-the-scenes to help keep sponsors, donors, and other stakeholders informed through unexpected change.
I wrote strategic emails and videos during contract negotiations, from the Child Advocates CEO to thousands of email subscribers, to keep telling the story of *who Child Advocates really is*. The goal was to keep supporters on board before and after crisis.
This is Who We Are
Here is a ‘one day-turn’ video that I produced for the agency’s annual Appreciation Day event for its CASA volunteers which took place during contract talks.
New Chapters After Crisis
When the Board chose to start a new chapter without the CASA contract, I wrote this video message from the CEO and distributed it through an email newsletter, social media, and media.
Click Here to read an Op-Ed I wrote based on an interview with a former Child Advocates’ leader, in the aftermath of the contract change:
Results
As a result of concerted efforts to keep volunteers, donors, and stakeholders informed, Child Advocates still maintains strong support in its’ new chapter, and the organization is building a new story to share in 2022 with current services, while gaining the confidence of a state agency to conduct new health-related services for children.
I also created media talking points for Child Advocates’ CEO when she was free to speak after contract talks ended. And I increased storytelling efforts in Child Advocates’ new chapter through social media, radio spots, and press releases for media interviews.
In every story with clients, I focus on what makes them unique. Child Advocates often goes ‘where others fear to tread’ with groundbreaking services for children, including its award-winning “Interrupting Racism for Children” workshops.
Marketing Reach Improvements
- Nearly 2000 radio commercials throughout the year, which I wrote, produced and often voiced, on four radio stations, adapting them to address changes. Listener reach was in the hundreds of thousands.
- A yearlong Billboard campaign, targeting key zip codes for volunteers and support, made 15,600,000 impressions
- A quarterly, paid television segment profiling Child Advocates’ programs in three newscasts, with a highly-rated local network affiliate, reached nearly 100,000 viewers
- A new following of hundreds of listeners—and growing—for Child Advocates new podcast on WISH-TV’s All Indiana Podcast Network includes Facebook promotion with its 390,000 followers
- A steady growth, on most Child Advocates’ social media platforms, with new followers and engagement based on “telling Child Advocates’ story” with impact
