How was the project implemented? What were the steps taken?
All aspects of building the unified brand of FCBuzz.org were undertaken by the staff of the Cultural Alliance with support from a Board of Director’s marketing committee who brings expertise in marketing, sales, and nonprofit media development. A professional communications company was contracted to build the website under our specific requirements for elements and function. We developed the website as the anchor for the brand name over a nine month period and launched it in February of 2010 with a festive event attended by over one hundred people. Our “online media manger” does customer service to assist members with getting signed up to post on the website. Alliance members are responsible for posting all events. She watches the website and troubleshoots as well. Our "program and marketing manager" runs the marketing roundtable and manages all the collaborative buys and partnerships that have become extensions of the unified brand. The executive director oversees all aspects of the related projects and provides direction by negotiating and defining all initial partnerships.
Have they been refined over time?
Overtime—the past year—we have seen an explosion in the number of possibilities to build cooperative initiatives around the brand. We have initiated the following beyond the basic robust website: -Marketing Roundtable: Meets six times a year to promote collaborative working relationships among the marketing directors, cooperative strategies, and present capacity building workshops. -Cross-promotion of events: Through “FCBuzzGoesLive", partnering organizations advertise one featured event a month and there is an FCBuzz.org promotional table at the event to build awareness of the the website and upcoming “FCBuzzGoesLive” events. At these events we collect emails and do ticket give aways, etc. -Newspaper Insert: Partnership development of a print insert in the Fairfield County Business Journal newspaper promoting arts and culture events. Section is branded-FCBuzz with a weekly print calendar extracted from FCBuzz.org -VENU magazine: Regular feature page in this arts magazine, titled FCBuzz is contributed to highlight arts and culture presence in towns. -You-Tube channel: Produce a regular FCBuzz promotional video featuring area events and posted on the FCBuzz.org channel. Has a volunteer host who interviews attendees and the camera work and editing is done by local college student. -Bundled advertising buy for lower rates on Metro North train-line: Posters are purchased by partnering organizations and are all branded with FCBuzz.org. -Other branded advertising bundles: Offers that are currently in the works inclulde reduced costs on magazine ads, “Groupon” rates, rack card rates at tourist locations. -A weekly E-Buzz newsletter: This email newsletter features events happening each week and drives audiences to FCBuzz.org. -Joint pomotion of FCBuzz.org: Logos on member websites to promote events. -In development: A media partnership is in the works to development an FCBuzz.org blog with thirteen Hearst Newspapers in Fairfield County that have complimentary websites that host the blog. -In development: A five-minute nonprofit radio station drive time “show” branded FCBuzz—which would highlight things coming up on the weekend and connect audiences to FCBuzz.org. Also, a link on the radio station website with FCBuzz.org logo would serve as the station’s community events calendar.
