All America City Award

Members of our team helped the National Civic League promote the All-America City Award in thousands of communities across the United States.

The Challenge: Theodore Roosevelt founded the National Civic League in 1894 to promote citizen involvement in local governments across the United States. In 1949, the organization developed the All-America City Award to recognize communities that were doing an exemplary job of including all sectors of the community to identify and overcome critical local issues. The intent of the award program is to provide positive recognition to these communities, while holding them up as role models for others to follow.

Over the years, organizations such as the Saturday Evening Post, USA Today, and Allstate sponsored the award program for approximately $1 million per year. In 1999, sponsorship dollars vanished due to the faltering national economy and the fate of the award program was put in jeopardy. It was critical to maintain momentum for the program to keep it alive and to attract a new sponsor.

The Solution: A member of our team stepped in and developed and implemented cost-effective marketing strategies that required a minimal investment by this nonprofit organization. The plan relied on state organizations and national media coverage to conduct the bulk of the publicity necessary to generate applications from communities across the United States. It also relied heavily on e-marketing strategies that were immediate and required no expense.

The Result: Despite the virtual elimination of the marketing budget, the All-America City Award survived. The marketing strategies generated support from state and local allies. It also generated media coverage in hundreds of publications across the country. Hundreds of communities continued requesting applications for the award each year. New sponsors, including Marriott International stepped in to keep the important award program alive and viable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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