El Paso United Community Resiliency Center – Our Team Can Help

The Project

Did you know the United Way of El Paso County has been a part of the El Paso region for more than 90 years? The community supported non-profit agency focuses on making a difference in the areas of education, basic needs, health and financial stability through a variety of efforts, resources, and partnerships.

When area residents began to feel the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the non-profit stepped up with the creation of the El Paso United Community Resiliency Center (CRC). The novel program was designed to help area families experiencing financial hardship, whether it was directly or indirectly caused by the pandemic. However, minimal awareness among the community and a looming deadline regarding the expiration of grant funding worried the organizations and an RFP was issued for help with marketing and advertising strategies.

The Approach

Upon notification of being awarded the project, CultureSpan went straight to work as time was of the essence to ensure as many families as possible could receive financial help. Considering the urgency related to funding, we agreed that the message had to be direct and straight to the point for audiences. The funding also had specific qualification requirements so it was important to include those details as part of the messaging in order to ensure
qualified inquiries.

As a fairly new program, there were concerns regarding audiences contemplating its legitimacy and whether or not that would prevent them from applying. We helped resolve this issue by recruiting real CRC team members to represent themselves in the various campaign assets. It was also crucial that the talent representing the audience look familiar as well. As such, we were mindful of selecting talent that was not only culturally representative of them but demographically as well. This included families, seniors and those working service industry jobs.

Lastly, since the campaign was based around a short timeline, the CRC requested an alternate creative direction that could be implemented should the initial version not be as effective with calls and inquiries.

The Results

CultureSpan’s recommended approach for the six-month campaign consisted of a combination of strategically placed television, radio, digital, social media, print and outdoor. Throughout the life of the campaign, impressions were continuously delivered and CTRs (Click Through Rates) along with radio frequency typically exceeded
industry standards.

While our alternate creative direction was at the ready, a few weeks into the campaign revealed no need for it as the CRC was happy to report that audiences were responding favorably to our proposed creative. The only request was a heavier presence in key focus areas, which allowed for more online visits and calls to help families in need through the life of the campaign.

Looking to achieve similar results for your own campaign efforts? Send an email to Gabriel.Acuna@CultureSpanMarketing.com so we can get started!