CreateAthon 17: Welcome to Camp TRIO!

Hi ho, hikers! We’re back from another two-day trek to Camp TRIO with some in-TENTS tales from CreateAthon 2023. This marketing marathon was a creative kumbaya where Team TRIO earned our “Work Hard. Enjoy Life. Make a Difference.” badges supporting five more deserving Lowcountry nonprofits. 

Opening ceremonies took place bright and early on Thursday, Oct. 26. Our team took their Camp TRIO nicknames – “Buggy Campfiresinger,” “Itchy Flyswatter,” “Muddy Riverrafter,” etc. – and settled into two camps, the Rowdy Raccoons and Mellow Yellow Jackets.

Since CreateAthon efforts kicked off on Jan. 1, Team TRIO donated nearly $88,000 in pro bono marketing efforts. From roasting marshmallows to boosting missions, we’ll share these stories around our campfire for years. 

1. Despite their strong teaching efforts, Dorchester District Two school district is the sixth lowest funded in the Lowcountry. The DDTwo Foundation is working to change that. We proudly assisted DDTwo by developing unique branding for their $2 For Two community match donation program with a new logo, brand standards, info one sheet, strategic plan and a brand-new campaign landing page.

2. Art is an essential outlet for expressing our culture and identities and learning about the world. Engaging Creative Minds (ECM) is powering on imagination of young Lowcountry learners with STEAM-infused arts and community efforts. Our support for this client involved an extensive creative strategy, volunteer recruitment collateral, a social media calendar and branded materials to help educators and ECM staff spread the word about their lessons.

3. Founded by friends rallying around a loved one battling breast cancer, Share Our Suzy Lowcountry (“SOS Lowcountry” for short) honors her memory by financially supporting those fighting the same fight. TRIO brought new life to this image with a new logo and website infusing Suzy’s “voice” and a style that matched her firecracker personality. And we included her photography, which – you may be familiar with it – was used on the cover of Hootie and the Blowfish’s iconic debut album, “Cracked Rear View.”

4. Police-public relations are more important than ever. The LENS Foundation works to connect community and police in peace, so our team stepped up to help the new Mount Pleasant chapter. As our team will tell you…building a new website in only 24 hours is no simple feat, but we completed this ground-up build, had time to craft brand standards, and set the chapter up with a MailChimp account, too.

5. For Tri It For Life – Charleston, triathlons are more than a race. They are an opportunity to exceed our limits and find inner strength. Through a 12-week mentored training program, this nonprofit helps women complete their first race and discover a supportive community. To help this cause, we developed a media outreach strategy, a social media calendar (with a suite of custom Canva templates), plus a brand standards guide and a prepared Facebook ad set and proposed budget.

With closing ceremonies over, our campers are back in action in the office! CreateAthon 2023 was another badge-worthy effort by our team, and we can’t wait to see how these projects help our clients make a difference. And, of course, shout out to our favorite camp counselor and nonprofit marketing expert, MIA. She perfected her 2023 Marketing To-Go Kit with a new and improved digital edition.

Special thanks to the food sponsors who kept our mess hall stocked – Verde (Mount Pleasant), Benny Palmetto’s, Steel City Pizza Co. (Mount Pleasant), Chick-fil-A (Long Point Road) and Mex 1 Coastal Cantina (Sullivan’s Island).

For more information on CreateAthon or how to apply for next year’s pro bono marketing marathon, visit trio-solutions.com/CreateAthon.