In marketing, a clear brand image or mark has to rank among the most powerful of assets. [1]
With a properly reinforced symbol or mainstreamed arrangement of a few words, an enterprise can convey a great constellation of benefits and attributes. Associate feelings. Motivate action. All very often with passing Go! nor stopping to collect two hundred dollars via message recipient’s critical-thinking gatekeeper. [2-4]
Now in mid-December, thoughts are intensely focused on Christmas, “a time for ….” [5]
Last week, as Giving Tuesday cookie distributions and ever more generous financial donations transitioned to equally important bookkeeping processes en route to distribution initiatives, Saline Area Social Service invited Saline Journal to hear plans for leveraging community generosity well beyond December 25. [6,7]
“People in this area want to help their neighbors throughout the year,” Anne Cummings, SASS Executive Director began. “That means through their churches, students with National Honor Society, businesses on Main Street and all the way into industrial manufacturers here and City employees.
I am so glad Saline Area Social Service comes to mind for their support this time of year. There’s a spirit that starts to feel stronger as we had into Thanksgiving and that carries right through until the first of the new year.
I think people feel like they know what to do at this time, so it feels more natural.
That prompted Ms Cummings and her team to ask themselves what the could do to make needs identification for SASS feel more natural during other calendar periods. Digging into their organized, detailed records for client requests and distributions, Saline Area Social Service was able to develop focused lists of items in higher demand, roughly broken down by quarter.
Some requests appear just once. Others, sometimes seemingly obvious even, repeat — as indication of need for emphasis. Some “quarters” a longer, others shorter. Think of them as “Pantry Planners,” intended to help both those who stock them and those who draw out to fulfill needs.
Recognizing that this is a new initiative, the Saline Journal Calendar has been updated with Pantry Planners “Open” and “Close” dates for each quarter through Q4 of 2020. Each includes its own list of needs specific to the time frame specified. [8-12]
At root, these are lists and labels developed to further power the mission of Saline Area Social Service, all for good.
References
- “Branding” Enterpreneuer.
- “How Logos Became the Most Important Quarter-Inch in Business” Rob Walker (June 16, 2017) Fortune.
- “Does every business need a tagline?” Gary Slack (October 3, 2017) B2B Marketing.
- “Do not pass Go! Do not collect 200 dollars!” Urban Dictionary.
- “Christmas: How did gift-giving and caroling get started?” Sara Miller Llana (December 21, 2013) The Christian Science Monitor.
- “‘Giving Tuesday’ 2019 is your chance to help less fortunate in Saline get their family coffers into the black, too – twice over” Dell Deaton (November 29, 2019) Saline Journal.
- Saline Area Social Service (home page).
- “Calendar” Saline Journal.
- “Close ‘Pantry Planners’ Q4 list for Saline Area Social Service” Saline Journal.
- “Open ‘Pantry Planners’ Q1 list for Saline Area Social Service” Saline Journal.
- “Open ‘Pantry Planners’ Q2 list for Saline Area Social Service” Saline Journal.
- “Open ‘Pantry Planners’ Q3 list for Saline Area Social Service” Saline Journal.
