Goodstock helps nonprofits get their names out

KOJO Drill Team has reached new levels with the help of a Madison area advertising firm.

The organization that offers cadence and precision marching programs for boys 9-18 was among 13 nonprofit organizations that received free advertising materials and assistance at the first annual Goodstock marketing-makeover event.

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Powered by strong coffee, pizza and the spirit of charitable giving, more than 25 marketing professionals of the Madison ad firm Knupp & Watson pulled together the KOJO promotional campaign and a dozen others in just 24 hours. That was a year ago.

Today Richard Scott, founder and director of KOJO says his enthusiasm for the Power Point presentation prepared for him continues to grow.

"And it keeps growing and growing," Scott said. "The professional format that they presented to us was a benefit, not only in terms of reinforcing some of the things that we were already doing, but it allowed us to expand into other areas."

Nonprofit organizations often lack the time, money and expertise to promote their efforts to the general public. The Goodstock event quickly and effectively provides those groups with valuable marketing materials such as logos, letterheads, slogans, posters, Web sites, even radio and TV commercials that will raise awareness.

Andy Wallman, creative director of Knupp & Watson, 5201 Old Middleton Road, said Goodstock is an opportunity for people at his firm to help the nonprofit community in the best way they know how. "We have a long history of social marketing, nonprofit work," Wallman said. The big idea was, how can we give in the biggest way possible? Do a marathon."

The promotional services offered up for free during Goodstock are valued at more than $300,000. In 2005, Knupp & Watson received advertising resources donated from local media providers, which included more than $30,000 in radio and TV ads, more than $12,000 in print ads, $19,500 in cinema ads and service donations from area business for printing, music and video production, photography, and graphic design. High-quality advertising that helps build business means a lot to nonprofits that operate with limited financial resources.

Katie Beilfuss, membership and operations coordinator for the Wisconsin Wetlands Association said members of her organization lack the skills and financial resources to create effective promotional materials by themselves. She said the information display created for them last year by Knupp & Watson not only saved time and money but also effectively conveys their story to potential donors.

"The brilliance of the design is that it is a very simple timeless piece that basically describes the messages of wetland conservation and why it matters," Beilfuss said.

"They were able to really distill down what our messages are, what we wanted the public to understand."

Now in its second year, Goodstock continues to advance nonprofit causes by helping to raise awareness. Scott said the KOJO Power Point presentation has made it possible to share the message of his group to a wider audience.

"Our involvement with Knupp & Watson took us to another level," he said. KOJO has already expanded its drill team organization to include an African-American based theater program and a musical production is now under development.

Beilfuss said the Wetlands Association is in the process of designing an organizational brochure that draws on the conceptual design of the display Knupp & Watson built for them. "There are other tangibles that are coming out of it," Beilfuss said. "We're just taking their lead and running with it."