- Bridesmaid's Anxiety Inspires Well-Timed Agency Drive and Lands New ClientIt's a universal complaint by women: bridesmaids' dresses can only be worn once. After the big event, these garments are usually sentenced to life in the back of the closet without any hope of parole.
But for Boston-based Schneider & Associates, these dresses not only became the inspiration for a mock wedding reception benefit that generated over 200 dress donations but the cause celebre that landed the agency a new client.
After Jennifer McCann, Schneider's marketing manager, was invited to be a bridesmaid in three weddings within one month, panic quickly set in when she calculated the substantial cost of her participation and its minimal return on investment.
After expressing her anxiety to agency president Joan Schneider, they had a spirited discussion about how prevalent her grievance happened to be. In fact, they thought her plight was so common that it would make a great theme for the agency's annual charitable event.
Together, along with Sara Gottman, Schneider's assistant, they brainstormed the agency's first annual "Dressy Dress" drive and went on a mission to find a non-profit home for dresses that would be donated from the event. Surprisingly, when they started their search last February, they soon realized that finding an organization eager to receive formal wear was not a simple task. Ultimately, it required a number of calls to various not-for-profits before they found a taker, the Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries in Boston.
Although Goodwill wasn't the first place that came to mind for the agency, Peter Saltonstall, VP of external affairs for the 102-year-old charitable organization, immediately saw the benefit in not only taking the dresses but playing an active role in the drive. In fact, Saltonstall concedes that although Goodwill is the "sixth best known logo" for philanthropic donations, much like Schneider's marketers, "people don't always think about us when they get ready to make a donation."
Event Takes on Life of Its Own
- To kick off Schneider's first annual Dressy Dress drive, everything was donated-from staffing time ( at both the agency and Goodwill), to the disc jockey from a popular radio station, as well as the party favors (wedding cake, bride bouquet and sparkling grape juice). The campaign's only cost involved postage for the announcement letters to clients, co-workers and other industry contacts.
Although Schneider usually throws a charitable bash every year, the Dressy Dress Drive required much more time and attention than their other efforts (commanding the equivalent of two months' staffing time).
To promote the drive, the Schneider group sent out about 1,000 holiday cards requesting formal wear donations.
In addition, a few hundred letters were sent to Goodwill's board members, local corporate executives and media contacts.
Goodwill also supported the event with an impressive external marketing push involving two billboards close to the event, promotional signs and posters at various corporate drives and shopping mall sites, and PSAs on radio stations.
Pretty soon the phones rang off the hook with clients and associates asking for details on how they could make donations. "The response was incredible, every week we got dresses sent to us, sometimes anonymously," recalled McCann.
Mock Wedding Reception
- Schneider's cornball creativity and hard work paid off. The well-timed noon mock wedding affair was held April 29 (taking advantage of prom season and the spring warm weather) at Boston's Copley Square, a popular high-traffic open plaza area downtown.
Over 100 participants turned out for the event that featured a bride and groom, a live DJ playing tunes like "Here Comes The Bride" and the "Macarena," Schneider staffers and friends sporting their favorite formal wear, a wedding cake, and lots of dancing.
No detail was spared as prizes were given away for the most dresses donated, the oldest tuxedo and to the lucky woman who caught the bouquet.
The event not only generated favorable local coverage on the benefit's unique but resourceful theme (Boston Globe and Boston Herald), but Adweek committed some regional ink to the campaign and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel was also impressed.
But the biggest reward from all of Schneider's hard work was landing Boston's Goodwill as a new client. Goodwill, which used a number of PR firms on incremental campaigns, was in the market for a PR firm to strengthen its image and build renewed awareness of what Goodwill is all about.
"People don't know the continuum of services (youth training programs and seminars) Goodwill provides after they make a donation," said Saltonstall, who was sold on Schneider's brand of creativity with the Dressy Dress Drive. "The chemistry and synergy with Schneider was so good, we had to hire them as our full-time PR firm."
Goodwill is now in talks with Schneider about their first contract assignment that will promote Goodwill's "Saturday Academy," a major camp for inner-city youth. Schneider is also considering another dress drive for next year.
(Schneider & Associates, 617/536-3300; Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, 617/541-1256)