If you’ve lived in Columbia as long as I have, I’m sure you’ve seen it: that ubiquitous purple circle adorning trucks, donation bins, t-shirts and flyers around town. I’m talking about the Food Bank logo. And if you’ve been paying attention over the past few months, you might have noticed that our friend is looking a little different these days (no, not because of Botox.)

Last fall, our longtime friends at the Central Missouri Food Bank approached VANGEL about working on a brand refresh. Since the organization’s start in 1981, they’ve done more than a little growing, and needed to update the brand in order to reflect that growth.

The first item of business was the name. While down here in Boone County, the Central Missouri prefix seems perfectly acceptable, the Food Bank actually serves 32 counties, including those in the very Northeast corner of our state. After much discussion, we suggested that the name be changed to The Food Bank of Central & Northeast Missouri. We felt the new name would help everyone in the Food Bank’s service area feel acknowledged and valued. We were also confident that this name adjustment wouldn’t be too disruptive, as it would easily accommodate the fact that most simply refer to the organization as “The Food Bank.”

After we established the new name, we started working on a new positioning statement. Over the years, the Food Bank has used a variety of positioning lines, based on the material and/or venue. While there was nothing wrong with the statements already in use, our goal was to come up with something that would be all-encompassing in its expression of the Food Bank’s purpose and mission.

So what did we come up with? Sharing Food. Bringing Hope. This new positioning statement sends a message that association with the Food Bank satisfies the needs of both giver and receiver. It creates positive opportunities for involvement on both sides of the relationship.

With a new name and tagline in hand, we were ready to give the logo a facelift. If this were an episode of Extreme Home Makeover, we’d be at the home-staging phase, where they bring in all the fancy new furniture and make everything look pretty. And in true Home Makeover style, you’ll have to stick around until after the break to see the big reveal…

By: Mike Vangel and Brooke Omar

But even though the industry’s fundamental purpose is to convince shoppers to buy a product they may not actually need, such persuasion can be done in an “ethical and tasteful” way.

Wow. This from someone at our very own University of Missouri—on the need to launch an “Institute for Advertising Ethics.” (Read the whole article here.)

Really?

Have they been watching too much Mad Men?

You kind of expect the denizens of academia to turn over rocks looking for signs of rot in business and society, but this really does look like someone trying to “Super-Size” a non-issue. Quick–someone grab the ShamWOW! and clean up this mess before it gets all over the carpet. Not that anyone really needs carpet. Let’s just talk-up the benefits of dirt floors and we can eliminate the need for the Electrolux and the Scrubbing Bubbles, too.

Are Americans really a band of zombies hypnotized by clever copywriting and subliminal messages? (Are you thirsty?) Are consumers today—armed with instant access to consumer-generated product information and social media tools—really victims of the advertising industry?

Really?

Here at VANGEL we eliminate the guilt and angst associated with such a tawdry industry, by choosing our clients carefully. We ask: Who are they? What industry do they represent? Do they have a solid reputation for product and service excellence? Will we be proud to represent them?  If the answers to any of those questions leave us in doubt, we walk away.

That’s how we maintain the “ethical and tasteful” standards we want the industry to reflect.

In the past year, we’ve been proud to help House of Brokers strengthen their brand in the local marketplace. We’ve created a public service campaign for First Chance for Children about the importance of reading and talking to babies. And we’ve made it easier for the underinsured in our community to find a medical home with our work for Family Health Center.

But come on. Do you really need a house to live in? Do you really need to read with your baby? Do you really need quality medical care?

Please, people from the Institute of Advertising Ethics: don’t assume you know what we need. Unless you’re selling us ShamWOWs. Everyone needs one of those.

In 2009, nonprofit organization First Chance for Children came to VANGEL with a challenge:

Develop a public service campaign to reach young, low-income mothers about the importance of reading and interacting with their baby.

Research shows that reading, holding, talking, and playing with a baby directly affects the language and cognitive skills that prepare that child for school success.  That’s why First Chance for Children is dedicated to parent interaction as part of an early education system that helps every child arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed.

In order to understand our target audience, VANGEL and First Chance for Children conducted two focus groups. Specifically, we were looking for information that would steer the strategic direction of our public service campaign and ensure our creative execution resonated with the audience.

The focus groups revealed some interesting things about this group of mothers:

• They are very aware of the importance of reading and talking to their babies.
• Their biggest barrier is time. Interestingly, participants’ idea of how much time it would take to make a difference was one hour a day.
• They do not want to be preached at. Participants indicated they would like to be “shown” the message, not “told what to do.”

Based on this research, VANGEL developed a campaign that reminds mothers that just a few minutes can make a difference.  We chose our messengers strategically, as a way to “show” rather than “tell.”  The result is two 30-second television public service announcements, “Just Five Minutes” and “When I Was a Baby,” supplemented with radio ads and bus boards.

VANGEL is proud to work with First Chance for Children. And we’re proud of this just-completed campaign.  Thanks to Columbia-based Boxcar Films for some beautiful footage, and all of our local actors for a job well done.

If you’re looking to reach a particular target audience in an effective and compelling way, give VANGEL a call.

Recently, our company finished a months-long project for Keep Columbia Safe, a grass-roots organization in Columbia, Missouri. Here is the case study, which shows how effective a cohesive, coordinated campaign can be.

Keep Columbia Safe is a grass-roots organization formed to rally support for community efforts to solve crime and promote public safety in Columbia, Mo.

THE CHALLENGE

Keep Columbia Safe was tasked with generating voter support for Proposition 1, a citywide ballot initiative authorizing the chief of police to use publicly-owned surveillance cameras as a tool to help maintain a safe and vital downtown area.

THE BACKGROUND

Columbia resident Adam Taylor was brutally attacked by a gang of teenagers in a downtown parking garage. The unprovoked attack was captured by a city-owned video surveillance system. Police reviewed footage of the attack and quickly arrested several of the attackers. Soon after, Taylor requested that the Columbia City Council hear public comment regarding the use of additional cameras downtown. The council denied his request.

Taylor and his family believed the use of safety cameras was a public safety issue that deserved broader public discussion. They approached VANGEL to create an organization that would help rally public support and keep the topic of community safety in front of the public.

Working with a group of interested citizens, VANGEL helped name the new entity Keep Columbia Safe, and articulate its primary objectives:

1. To educate the community about the organization Keep Columbia Safe.
2. To inform the public about the Proposition 1 ballot initiative and encourage people to vote YES on the use of publicly-owned safety cameras downtown.
3. To create a solid platform for advocating future community safety initiatives.

THE CAMPAIGN

To accomplish these objectives, VANGEL created a strong web presence for the organization that quickly and effectively reached community members. The website included information about the attack on Taylor, the initiative petition that placed the safety camera issue on the ballot, other public safety organizations with similar interests, and personal safety tips. Additionally, the website offered visitors an opportunity to express their opinion regarding the use of safety cameras. Nearly 2,000 people participated and Keep Columbia Safe generated nearly 8,000 web visits over an eight-month period.

Keep Columbia Safe also connected with the community through the use of social marketing. Acting as social marketing managers, VANGEL helped Keep Columbia Safe engage community members through updates on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Keep Columbia Safe accrued thousands of followers and fans, and drove hundreds of users to the website. One Keep Columbia Safe YouTube video received over 4,300 hits.

THE ELECTION

VANGEL created an integrated public relations and advertising campaign leading up to the public vote on Proposition 1 that included print, radio, web, television and direct mail. VANGEL also created a five-minute PowerPoint presentation promoting Proposition 1 that was used at more than 20 community presentations.

THE RESULTS

Resounding victory. Keep Columbia Safe’s Proposition 1 garnered 59 percent of the popular vote. The work continues at KeepColumbiaSafe.com.

I believe buying media should be a strategic decision.  I mean “strategic” in the sense that an effective media buy should target as specific an audience as possible.

Sounds pretty simple, right?  If only.

Here’s an example of what I mean: We once had a client with a product targeting women 35 to 45 years old.  Strategically, this female demographic was spot-on. The campaign we produced included a TV spot that was created to resonate with that demographic.

Our client loved the spot, and approved a media buy that was strategically aimed right at their targeted audience. All was right with the world, at least for a few days.

A week or so into the campaign, our client called and expressed his “concern” about the media buy.  He said he was concerned because no one on his management team or his board of directors (who had previewed a presentation of the new campaign) had seen the company’s spot running on TV.  “We’re just not seeing it anywhere,” he said.  I told him, “Actually, that’s pretty good news!”

There was a long pause before he asked me to explain what I meant by “good news.” I pointed out that his management team and board were all men, and our media buy was targeted toward younger women.  It wasn’t likely, for instance, that one of his guys would be watching Oprah mid-afternoon when his company’s spot was running.

My logic was impeccable, and sound logic wins every time, right?  Not exactly.

In order to keep the client happy, we had to alter the media buy to include some men’s professional golf broadcasts. It made absolutely no sense strategically, but the client was pleased and his board got to brag on the campaign to their buddies.

The campaign was declared a success. We learned, once again, that part of any successful strategy is a satisfied client. What the heck, we may even have been lucky enough to catch a woman in our targeted demographic who was so bored on a Sunday afternoon that she was willing to watch men play golf.