CASE STUDY
Why You Should Care
The East Cooper Civic Club (ECCC) is made up of a rare group of descendants of the original inhabitants of Scanlonville, South Carolina. The Scanlonville community is made up of land purchased by freed slave Robert L. Scanlon.
While the area has developed, and begun to reflect the likes of modular and mc-mansion suburbs, the community still serves as a home to rich African American history. It is this exclusive club that protects the invisible safeguards of this small town. In recent years, the club has been an integral force in landmark legislation. This includes declaring the community’s Black cemetery as a historical landmark, and the protection of it’s marshlands and wetlands from the development of private docks. Through local activism and grassroots campaigns, the ECCC has upheld the integrity and authenticity of Scanlonville and intends to do so indefinitely.
What are we dealing with here?
Many of the members of the ECCC are foreigners to the technological age of social media presence, email lists, and the brand equity that comes with a strong visual identity. Made up of mostly elders of the Scanlonville community, we faced opposition when presenting new strategies and designs. Our goal was to develop a brand strategy that was so solid; they’d recognize the benefits right away.
The club has relied mostly on word-of-mouth and print marketing. A recent grant award has motivated the ECCC Board Members to expand their digital and print marketing efforts, draw in younger members to honor the legacy of the club, and increase their online presence. The ECCC frequently presents to City Council and community leaders and needs to dawn a more professional and established external face.
How'd we fix it (Brand Strategy + Tactics)
- Conduct brand strategy + market research to identify target audiences
- Determine tactical ways to reach these audiences
- Filter in concerns and requests from the group and close constituents
- Research previous efforts and their effectiveness
- Determine which social media outlets were best suited for their cause
- Review social media analytics to determine peak traffic and engagement
- Refresh messaging on social media pages. Determine the best voice + tone for the intended ECCC audiences
- Develop a visual identity that supports the historic, waterfront, and close knit community of Scanlonville, SC
- Through brand strategy sessions, we determined that the best colors to represent this historical African-American community were shades of royal blue and brown
- Create a logo design consisting of a primary, secondary, and tertiary mark that spans across multiple marketing and media channels. This logo is legible and easily identifiable on small and large scale presentations
- Create an organizational brochure to educate community and non-community members about the rich history of Scanlonville, SC
