MKCREATIVE

The University of Maryland’s marketing department approached MKCREATIVE to ask for help: They wanted to promote the Erickson School — a unique department dedicated to the study of aging, public policy, and business — with a view to increase student recruitment to its undergraduate, graduate, and executive education courses. The marketing department felt that video should be be a core part of this strategy.

Our Solution:

We gathered our small team of seasoned television and video production specialists to produce a long-form video (used in kiosks and distributed at recruitment fairs) and a shorter, edited version targeted at undergraduates. The high-definition video was produced in record time and was delivered to our client in time for the beginning of the school year. Both the Erickson School staff and the university’s marketing department felt that the videos exceeded their expectations for content, style, pacing, and impact and would do much to enhance their recruitment efforts.

Green Guerillas asked us to act as creative agency, marketing consultants, and co-producers of an enviromental film festival in New York City. We had limited time and resources in which to both market the event and to produce it.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE developed a strategic marketing campaign to leverage client and co-host/sponsor relationships. Our strategy involved designing and developing print, online, and video materials and then supporting these materials with a concerted and high-profile traditional marketing and social media campaign.

MKCREATIVE also produced the film festival providing staff, crew, equipment, etc. to ensure the event went off smoothly.

As a result of our integrated and strategic approach to promoting and producing the film-festival, we were able to deliver the following:

1. A very successful, but over-subscribed event, with many late-arrivals unable to enter the venue. These individuals were canvassed and their contact details recorded for future film-festival use.
2. The social media campaign resulted in the (newly-created) Facebook page going from zero to 152 followers, zero to 152 “Likes”; and 240 active users in just over six weeks.
3. The social media campaign resulted in the (newly-created) Twitter page going from zero to 59 followers in just over six weeks.
4. Facebook ads created for the event had over 526,000 impressions for a total of 220 clicks (CPM of $0.38) in just over six weeks
5. Wesbite visits grew from 200 visitors/week to over 750 visitors/week as a result of the integrated Twitter, Facebook, and e-newsletter campaigns. 75% of these visitors were visiting the client website for the first time.
6. The website signup email subscription list grew from 3 to 162 signups over the life of the six week campaign
7. Co-hosts saw unprecedented interest in their programs and services and were able to sign-up a record number of individuals to their contact lists
8. Co-hosts raised a significant amount of donations from first-time visitors to the film festival
9. The client was thrilled with the attendance figures, donations raised, publicity generated around the festival, and with how well the actual screenings and filmmaker Q&As went. The client committed to further, larger, events in the future as a result of MKCREATIVE’s ability to exceed their expectations.

Example of Banner Ad

Example of QR Code Developed for a Co-Host

Example of Poster

Our client needed a set of eNewsletters and email announcement templates for their relationship-building and fundraising activities. They were unhappy with the stock templates offered by their existing mail distribution service.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE developed a series of standardized templates with custom-content areas allowing our client to vary the look-and-feel, while still maintaining an integrated design approach. We moved the client to a new mail distribution service with integrated analytics so we could now track the efficiency of subject lines, content, time/day of mailings, etc. We also created a new email signup form and integrated it into the client’s existing website.

MKCREATIVE created slide presentations for the National Committee on Citizenship conference every year. Our client, Bagger Events, contracts us to both develop presentations for the event and to provide MKCREATIVE graphics staff to run the presentations during the conference. We also act as technical consultants.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE assigned a team to develop Keynote slide presentations for the NCoC conference. We worked with the client, NCoC, and with third-party content providers to ensure the slide presentations were designed and produced following best practices. MKCREATIVE staff also manned graphics computers and advised the client and NCoC on technical matters during the event.

NASDAQ approached MKCREATIVE and asked for help generating a large number of fact sheets to very exacting brand and design standards. These fact sheets are used to market the client’s products and services to it’s own clients and to its strategic partners.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE assigned a small team to develop and institute a process that would efficiently and predictably channel the source documents (Word documents) through a rigorous design and production chain to create Adobe InDesign masters for client use. We leveraged our online project collaboration tool to create efficiencies in the job submission process and developed procedures for the production artists and lead designer to efficiently collaborate on all aspects of the document design and production, thereby speeding up development time.

The client needed to have more control over the content creation and editing on their website plus the existing site needed a major facelift.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE re-designed the user interface and developed a new website built on the WordPress platform. The client was then able to control and manipulate every aspect of the site’s content. We also provided the client with training and guidance on every aspect of the new content management system as well as ongoing technical support.

Visit the website here

Many of our clients require slide presentations as training materials or as speaker support and they’re looking to get away from the dreaded “Death by PowerPoint” experience.

Our Solution:

We work with our clients to develop a narrative, develop design and layout solutions, and create infographics and data visualizations so that the audience is engaged and enthused by the audio visual experience in front of them.

We’re big fans of Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds and believe that slide presentations can be both informative and fun!

Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC, Inc. were on a very tight budget and had to create their annual report for 2009 without the usual project team in place and on very short timeline.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE designed an abbreviated annual report containing the bare essentials necessary to pass muster both with the readership and with the client’s financial reporting requirements. In a short span of time we went from a blank canvas to a fully-realised design and thence to one of our digital printing vendors to have the book produced — all in record time.

Download and view the annual report here.

The Green Guerillas felt their membership kit was old and tired and that it needed re-thinking.

Our Solution:

We developed an integrated set of elements that would show the organization to best effect. A set of envelopes, flyers, and newsletters using the same themes was also created. Membership donations increased as a result of a redeveloped strategic development plan using these newly-created communications materials.

BoxTone, Inc. came to us once again: this time to solve a number of marketing and design challenges to support their presence at the prestigious WES2010 Mobile Technology Conference in Orlando, Florida and their role as a major sponsor of the event.

Our Solution:

MKCREATIVE worked with the marketing department at BoxTone to co-develop a series of messages that would underpin their presence at the conference. We designed and produced a number of marketing and communications pieces including:

1. A design to be streamed to plasma televisions throughout the conference center and adjoining hotel
2. A set of large hanging signs and banners for hallways, escalators, client areas, cocktail and relaxation area, and the tradeshow arena
3. Booth signage for the client’s tradeshow booth
4. A mousepad used as a giveaway
5. Looping animations for the client’s tradeshow booth

   

   

   
   

   

   

   
   

   

   

   
   

   

   

   
   

   

   

   
   
   

Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City was dissatisfied with the lack of a coherent marketing communications kit outlining all of their programs and outreach their organization provide. They needed a compelling solution for stakeholders and for the general public at large.

Our Solution:

We worked with NHSNYC to develop a number of double-sided, full-colour, fact sheets to identify core program areas the organization is involved with and presented the final set as an integrated design solution. The fact sheets were bundled into an MKCREATIVE-designed 2-pocket folder with business card and supported by a robust media and information kit.

The program sheets were such a success that NHSNYC asked us to rethink the branding for these programs so that all communications material (letterhead, business cards, two-pocket folders, annual report, website, etc.) would reflect this strategically-integrated design approach.

A selection of the program fact sheets derived from the full set of 9 documents

Many of our clients require videos as part of their on-going strategic marketing campaigns or as one-off pieces to be used at fundraising events such as galas and benefits.

Our Solution:

We work with our clients to develop a narrative, develop a storyboard, and create a video that is appropriate to the audience or need. Our solutions include developing both short- and long-form videos which:

1. Promote or highlight a successful outreach program
2. Show the workings of the nonprofit organization as a whole. These profiles are often used as part of fundraising strategies to attract major donors and/or are used to support grant applications.
3. Allow the executive director or program manager to speak directly to the audience. These are often embedded on the organization’s website and/or sent out as embedded video clips in enewsletters.
4. Document a meeting, conference, or event for archival, training, or promotional use.

Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City needed to update their website from a static one (that could only be edited by someone with deep technical and design knowledge) to a dynamic site that any approved staff member could access and edit.

Our Solution:

We redesigned the website from top-to-bottom: a new user-interface sitting on top of a content management system that used a database to manage homes for sale listings, geo-location, news updates, video and photography presentations, registration for classes and events – at one of seven locations – and the a sophisticated form and email submission system that each neighborhood office could access and maintain. We also worked with key staff members to provide them with documentation and training. Oh, and did we mention that it also had to be a bilingual site!

Visit the NHSNYC site

The Green Guerillas were on a tight budget but wanted a direct mail piece that could do double-duty: send traffic to their website so readers could find out more about an upcoming fundraising event, and act as a vehicle to generate donations that could be easily sent to the organization.

Our Solution:

We designed a folding, self-mailer with an integrated tear-off reply-paid envelope for folks to drop their check into and send back to the client. The response rate was terrific and generated a sufficient funds to expand the organization’s outreach and fundraising efforts in other ways.

A folding, self-mailer with detachable reply-paid envelope

The Bronx River Alliance (BRA) was dissatisfied with the lack of a coherent marketing communications kit outlining all of their programs and outreach. They needed a compelling solution for stakeholders and for the general public at large.

Our Solution:

We worked with BRA to develop a number of double-sided, full-colour, fact sheets to highlight and promote core program areas. We presented the final set as an integrated design solution. The client was thrilled with the end-result and was able to generate increased awareness of it’s programs and additional grant funding as a result of the clean, focused, and integrated messaging MKCREATIVE developed for them.

Program sheets shown as a set

Capital One asked us to develop a series of posters as part of a communications kit. This kit would be used promote a set of management imperatives being rolled out organization-wide.

Our Solution:

We developed a colorful and eye-catching communications solution: an evolving narrative communicated through the use of color and arresting photography that would integrate with existing communications collateral previously developed for the client.

A sampling from the full set of posters

Capital One, a long-time client, came to MKCREATIVE Media and asked us to develop a series of posters, flyers, and communications materials to promote Earth Day awareness at their corporate campus in Richmond, Virginia.

Our Solution:

We worked with our client to create a colorful and eye-catching communications kit that introduced new paradigms to the inhouse brand style, later adopted by the communications department.

How to present trends, analyses and charts in a compelling form.

Our Solution:

Combine persuasive copywriting, testimonials, survey data, and trend graphs in a multi-page color document. Our client used the presentation to successfully persuade the City of New York to reconsider its intention to hire non-union labor in a drive for cost-reduction. The report graphically presented the advantages union labor could bring to City projects and the savings that would accrue to the City over time.

Pages from the report presented to the City of New York

The client, a New York City community-based nonprofit, received grant funding to support a long-term arts program within the city. We were asked to develop an identity system for the program and the communications materials that would support it.

Our Solution:

We designed and developed a comprehensive branding package along with print and textile collateral designs for staff and consultants to use. Because of the constant turnover of interns and volunteers within the organization, MKCREATIVE also produced a branding style guide and provided training to the volunteers and interns at the client office. This helped reinforce the importance  of maintaining the integrity of identity system throughout the organization in all client communications collateral.

A subset of the communications materials developed for the client

LCG Communications, a PR firm in New York City, needed to redefine it’s brand identity after a period of rapid growth and the adding of new business lines. They also needed to completely revamp their stationery, website, and communications materials.

Our Solution:

We interviewed the principals and employees, analyzed the organization’s client base and work to-date, and brainstormed with the client to establish a baseline for the ID system makeover. We produced a brand style guide for client use and trained key employees in the correct use of typography, color, grid-systems, and the logo.

The new ID system was rolled out to both the client website and to all of it’s marketing and communications collateral, all of which was designed and developed by MKCREATIVE.

A sampling of some of the elements making up the stationery kit