Advertising Campaign
The Women's Center:
Finding Help on the Way to Work
Background
The Women's Center (TWC) is a nonprofit organization providing
affordable counseling service, including reduced-fee options depending
on need. Based in Vienna, VA., the TWC has a 30-year history of
supporting women in times of trouble.
In the fall of 2004, TWC opened a facility in downtown Washington, D.C., to complement its long-standing presence in suburban Virginia. Grant-based funding covered a majority of the building expenses, but the center needed to generate additional revenue by attracting insured or paying customers in order to cover everyday expenditures.
JDG's Solution
The task was two fold: produce print and radio ads and develop a corresponding media plan. From a creative standpoint, JDG started by devising themes and copy points for the campaign. The headline, "Let's Talk," sets the tone for the ads by engaging the reader with an inviting yet casual approach. Additional copy, "Families, Relationships, Emotions, Careers, Finances," called out the typical issues facing women on a daily basis. Visually, the ads featured photos of women. The subjects ranged in age and ethnic background—a deliberate approach aimed at speaking to a broad audience.
JDG developed a media plan that reached professional women on their daily commutes. JDG researched various media outlets that would match the ideal audience: women ages 25 to 55.
The campaign's strategic media plan scheduled insertions to run
throughout the holiday season—from Thanksgiving to the New
Year—when stress levels for many women are at their peak.
The execution consisted of:
- Weekly placement of newspaper ads in the Washington Post Express (daily) and the City Paper (weekly).
- A campaign of 30-second radio commercials on a local station (WASH) with high female audience ratings to supplement the print campaign.
- A 4-week burst of Metro railcar ads ran between mid-January and mid-February. The ads blanketed the Metro during this spell, covering 25% of the cars.
Results
Calls increased immediately following the ads' appearances. The TWC kept track of all inquiries by asking callers where they had heard about the center.
Of the 247 tracked inquiries (approximately 60% of all calls), the media mentioned were:
- Newspaper ads 47%
- Metro rail card ads 20%
- Other (referral, friend, etc.) 18%
- Web site 10%
- Radio 5%
The Women's Center campaign successfully reached its target audience and significantly increased the number of paid counseling sessions at the new downtown location.
