%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R 25 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R /I5 27 0 R /I6 28 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250428183507+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250428183507+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1643 >> stream xWMW1f8lg" 0rh-#nIUS_r2C9cuWgi)fՒ*\yRT -;zIRZ~ݗv8IGV /ZZGސz$)MJrI毾:)2pU,u;({ '<ёRRϲ{(8YRs$N_J޿ߠI^jaV-9.q@M'»?;4j 66{ݑOisW>*My/IȯXQbh*al%fZ5]ЬlyYS] `.JMI3WoI3A&E>G#@&&_-$ǚ;o­'^# e^Kx?BΛܕ[k@XI=†`&mN1Z"O#;ܘ5/A̳+ϵq:#8HvenYr5̞1t^g1Eq1˔[ie`:C* |;J,F/_RRvXq0J "P؛R vݣ,k1`1>CN4ԋ͆e Vо?_[1B E#kI /(2\# 4JSV34t0Ocuތ~T;42;ywz_UNC |Rt>Nd-VBa=Cܗ˄hUB1:#$1!#j)ERfO1yA/@J;VZ_bPBY{6kٱ9@{$-<|4{zAyԑG8#EY ա9+Aُc* C퉎oUHlvAZ.z'6}?.+c~{]O_}<(n gCCX=v`6*^ڌi쎖jL1G9:p;Soe?Rkхr 41kR~-a}2 nqQ/+"ُ!bd#)L;AES=|lBs(s£mAkacX00֬5'|F\ｕz 2%2yR1/9LFn*5IHfuSx8'†Rfx- О3)k\k٢rMvȭ@<8qcnS{9V ?R҃>{L>^`zxh{9~:v)o*ͷPV9vq;6Xr&̓$KUb@OWug4݅Q68> SYrZ{SL<:B RKƐ aИO{BxDw]r z i3EɣosNUk]گ`#^0'ni(ywS9=Ne80Լ|z9M۴̎F𝃽Ȳo?hr endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1797 >> stream xX6Wq%˲4` 9,r%ZZ"$e+vnMKޫWEEI3e=~Of"27{lX*zlۜH|TA9OHjI9;)nrnv4Hswauе_QOf6-YC?OUzSKG6W$QINưgiW wn@:Z7IvJYmEM)ɺVE=G 15C}C^llHC R^l>Yvn\ϊ:%f Er{p KƒLM &>f\ip F舟W~@^MYT'쿷0!`\yγ=#E`Be@(bW'hX*k'7,Wnl|RHYC12)$ȳN;(To CIY48j̬H3-ͫbOĦLB-sдu_H)DVYJYba-~kWaƔWY8ۋL Vvr@[dkN`LOOgCwn/MJw/#fyٟX`5-X^bhPWm)}JMЖI](7ɖ }iN%t4|IW :N>E4F]iu!}J}%!F3 kRx{L@mMv~G̫{vkaeWր)gdS|و,ytx1ϣlS"[W8I2=1`7> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 25 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 26 0 R >> endobj 26 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1761 >> stream xX˒6WLSddlǮ$)wMjjj Q8U9jqv)Wnyqpι.%Mۜ_$ ~*MDZCM/SJ3Îa;rÂ|Uӏ:HW/ Ћע(> ^+_Awj$3N$ZWmOSҫX.7XfH(IzagR=I2)Z+S)2˵ج2b0H@[EG[Ijf9km_ɤ7j:=xwI1lEc??10e!,m ov^9ێ#vٱn3[*D~`KjFn[ItiT$iL䗐O{UzeV6- hhoG)kO{xswVGpl }hlM{e"PR˘I|lQ%@PAXew;Qګ:ËB6ܑGSJ=P_2_l` TխyXY8T]~Tu K2f ${݇ç6^S8J3k z luҜhcZ͛@WaQ1sbZ(\s IZ$[,9~okfB9Bh;U2qy*c^u[TOr;U_\#;6h@}Ns ,Ο"xFI̶t`vB{% ~7:*wւmFW fu(A㚶Q0Be9QΟU(Vb7ѐ eZmgW)-zk ̛W(`<iyO09=(CP;!A΀j-=Yb'1tn\"꺏j޴(;'׻QvJIź9ɺF(t!N㹰05eۚK u`e > /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 29 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000490 00000 n 0000000527 00000 n 0000000676 00000 n 0000000779 00000 n 0000002495 00000 n 0000002602 00000 n 0000002710 00000 n 0000002820 00000 n 0000002933 00000 n 0000003049 00000 n 0000003078 00000 n 0000003188 00000 n 0000008763 00000 n 0000009894 00000 n 0000009953 00000 n 0000010012 00000 n 0000010117 00000 n 0000011988 00000 n 0000012045 00000 n 0000012102 00000 n 0000017677 00000 n 0000018808 00000 n 0000018913 00000 n 0000020748 00000 n 0000026323 00000 n trailer << /Size 29 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 27454 %%EOF Army uses guerrilla tactics to advertise in Maine | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Army uses guerrilla tactics to advertise in Maine

May 27, 2009
5 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Two-week campaign hits the community of Portland.

People in Portland, Maine, saw a lot of red for two straight weeks on chairs, coffee cups, even bathroom mirrors—all part of an edgy new marketing campaign for The Salvation Army.
The Army doesn’t have a brand problem; if you see a red kettle, you know where the money is going—but across the board, donations are down and the Army here needed to move beyond red kettles to kick-start donations.

“We have been lagging significantly behind previous years,” said Craig Evans, director of development for the Northern New England division. “The Salvation Army has not invested heavily in marketing or advertising. We pride ourselves on good stewardship…83 cents of every dollar goes back to services.”

So, The Salvation Army took a big step out of its conservative comfort zone and went to Portland-based The Via Group, a nationally recognized marketing agency with clients like American Eagle Outfitters, HBO, Hewlett Packard, Lo Jack, and The New York Times. They asked Via to help create a campaign—for free—to reach a new audience. Via said yes.

“They let us be provocative, and think outside the box…and with that chemistry we came up with a cool idea,” said Greg Smith of The Via Group.

That idea: guerrilla marketing.

For two weeks people in and around Portland were hit hard with The Salvation Army message when they ate pizza or had a cup of coffee or visited the restroom at local restaurants.

“The challenge was to create a campaign to increase visibility that cost nothing and emphasized stewardship to honor donor intent,” Evans said. “We had many sessions with the creative team at Via, with a lot of energy and fairly limitless ideas for unorthodox tactics to convey our message.

Members of The Via Group executed the campaign. Though many of the tactics, like writing on a dirty car window, appeared random, Evans said everything was strategic, controlled and orchestrated by members of the ad agency.

“They were very much involved and took this campaign personally,” Evans said of the agency’s team members. “The sense of ownership was very clear.”

The creative team wanted to increase awareness of The Salvation Army while staying true to the organization’s mission that the money should go to services, not advertising.

“We embraced the idea that we had no money—and so that’s where the idea started, let’s do a campaign that cost nothing,” said Mike Irvine, copy editor for The Via Group.

They asked local businesses to offer the space, and nearly 50 said yes.

“Watching these guys run around and do what they are doing to get the message across has been phenomenal and inspiring; if we can spread that, it’s great,” Evans said.

And while the campaign seems a little edgy for The Salvation Army, it actually takes the organization back to its roots in the late 1800s.

“I look back at our origins; we started as a street ministry and sort of a guerrilla movement, so why not use these guerrilla tactics now…it’s a good fit,” Evans said. “The buzz in Portland has been unreal—people are talking about it and the campaign has been well covered by the media in the New England region.

“We wanted to raise the visibility of The Salvation Army, which will hopefully lead to financial support of our division,” Evans said. “The ultimate goal is always about helping people.”

From a report by New England Cable News and an interview with Craig Evans.

People in Portland, Maine, saw a lot of red for two straight weeks on chairs, coffee cups, even bathroom mirrors—all part of an edgy new marketing campaign for The Salvation Army.

The Army doesn’t have a brand problem; if you see a red kettle, you know where the money is going—but across the board, donations are down and the Army here needed to move beyond red kettles to kick-start donations.

“We have been lagging significantly behind previous years,” said Craig Evans, director of development for the Northern New England division. “The Salvation Army has not invested heavily in marketing or advertising. We pride ourselves on good stewardship…83 cents of every dollar goes back to services.”

So, The Salvation Army took a big step out of its conservative comfort zone and went to Portland-based The Via Group, a nationally recognized marketing agency with clients like American Eagle Outfitters, HBO, Hewlett Packard, Lo Jack, and The New York Times. They asked Via to help create a campaign—for free—to reach a new audience. Via said yes.

“They let us be provocative, and think outside the box…and with that chemistry we came up with a cool idea,” said Greg Smith of The Via Group.

That idea: guerrilla marketing.

For two weeks people in and around Portland were hit hard with The Salvation Army message when they ate pizza or had a cup of coffee or visited the restroom at local restaurants.

“The challenge was to create a campaign to increase visibility that cost nothing and emphasized stewardship to honor donor intent,” Evans said. “We had many sessions with the creative team at Via, with a lot of energy and fairly limitless ideas for unorthodox tactics to convey our message.

Members of The Via Group executed the campaign. Though many of the tactics, like writing on a dirty car window, appeared random, Evans said everything was strategic, controlled and orchestrated by members of the ad agency.

“They were very much involved and took this campaign personally,” Evans said of the agency’s team members. “The sense of ownership was very clear.”

The creative team wanted to increase awareness of The Salvation Army while staying true to the organization’s mission that the money should go to services, not advertising.

“We embraced the idea that we had no money—and so that’s where the idea started, let’s do a campaign that cost nothing,” said Mike Irvine, copy editor for The Via Group.

They asked local businesses to offer the space, and nearly 50 said yes.

“Watching these guys run around and do what they are doing to get the message across has been phenomenal and inspiring; if we can spread that, it’s great,” Evans said.

And while the campaign seems a little edgy for The Salvation Army, it actually takes the organization back to its roots in the late 1800s.

“I look back at our origins; we started as a street ministry and sort of a guerrilla movement, so why not use these guerrilla tactics now…it’s a good fit,” Evans said. “The buzz in Portland has been unreal—people are talking about it and the campaign has been well covered by the media in the New England region.

“We wanted to raise the visibility of The Salvation Army, which will hopefully lead to financial support of our division,” Evans said. “The ultimate goal is always about helping people.”

From a report by New England Cable News and an interview with Craig Evans.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like