The Brief

Each year, Riverview Center hosts the Annual Evening of Light. The event serves as the main fundraiser for the organization, which provides free services to those affected by sexual assault in Iowa, and to those affected by sexual assault and domestic violence in Illinois.

Riverview Center secured national speaker Elizabeth Smart for their keynote address and engaged Plaid Swan to lead the public relations and marketing efforts in order to increase ticket sales.

Our Solution

Plaid Swan developed a strategic marketing plan and developed advertising for print, billboard, radio and digital. In addition to traditional marketing, Plaid Swan wrote and distributed the news release announcement about the event and handled all media inquiries. Interviews with Elizabeth Smart were arranged with local media prior to the event and on the day of the event, along with interviews for Riverview Center staff on local radio stations.

We also assisted in crafting social media posts to help promote the Annual Evening of Light and secured a personalized video from Elizabeth Smart for social media, which received over 7,000 views and over 30 shares on Facebook.

The Result

Plaid Swan helped Riverview Center secure media coverage for the Annual Evening of Light in local newspaper publications and on radio stations. Additionally, we helped target regional markets with advertising to increase the reach of the event and draw in people from the surrounding communities.

Riverview Center had its best year ever for ticket sales, selling more than 700 tickets to the Annual Evening of Light and raising awareness to an entirely new group of potential funders in the process.