CORPORATE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CASE STUDY

Company	Coughlin Porter Lundeen
Partner	Page Ahead
Program Name	Harry Potter Bookmarks
Date	July to September 2000

The Challenge

In the engineering, construction, and architecture industries traditional marketing methods have erratic results: PR is difficult to obtain and advertising yields a small return. Direct mail, however, is one method that has demonstrated some consistent success in driving business.

In light of this, Coughlin Porter Lundeen's Marketing Director, Jill Jago, was looking for a way to differentiate her company not only for clients and prospects, but for the company's own employees. Because Coughlin Porter Lundeen (CPL) specializes in designing and building school structures, she was particularly interested in raising awareness in the K-12 sector-a forthcoming "hot" market-by reminding clients that CPL works in that market and that, as parents, they care about that market. Furthermore, she hoped that this message of caring and commitment could also be conveyed to the Coughlin Porter Lundeen employees, instilling a greater sense of pride in their company.

The Solution

Harry Potter Bookmarks -
A direct mail/community investment program

Program Development:
Ms. Jago developed a marketing program that addressed some of these challenges by combining the effectiveness of direct mail with a community investment program that she hoped would instill pride and differentiate her company. With a focus on the K-12 market, she suggested to the company's Principals that they allocate their advertising budget to her program. The Principals were supportive.

Program Goals:
Ms. Jago had three goals for this marketing program:

1. Remind people in the K-12 market that Coughlin Porter Lundeen exists as an excellent resource
2. Give back to the market that has given so much to Coughlin Porter Lundeen
3. Send a message of excellence and commitment to Coughlin Porter Lundeen's own employees as a way to build pride

Program Description:
Ms. Jago established a partnership with a local nonprofit organization called Page Ahead. This organization addresses children's literacy issues and ensures that at-risk children have books in their own homes. After discussing the program's objectives, Ms. Jago and Page Ahead set up a two-phase approach to accomplish Coughlin Porter Lundeen's marketing goals.

In the first phase, Coughlin Porter Lundeen purchased over 200 new, hardback children's books and donated them to Page Ahead for distribution to at-risk children. Taking advantage of the publicity over the release of the fourth Harry Potter book, Ms. Jago timed the donation with Harry Potter's birthday in July. She then had Harry Potter bookmarks designed and mailed to a targeted list of 200 clients with whom Coughlin Porter Lundeen works in the K-12 market, announcing that a book had been donated in the client's name to Page Ahead.

In the second phase, Ms. Jago involved staff by holding a book drive in the office, through which they developed a classic collection of over 70 children's books. On September 15, 2001, United Way's Day of Caring, eight employees took the books to John Muir Elementary School where they spent the morning helping children pick out books, write their names on the covers, create bookmarks, and then read with them. Ms. Jago remarked, "It was so important for all of us to see the excitement on the children's faces, and to share such a thrilling day with them. Their faces lit up at the idea of owning a book. They understood the importance of book ownership."

Program Results:
The program was effective at achieving all three of its goals. Many of the clients with whom CPL works in the K-12 market took time out of their busy schedules to thank Coughlin Porter Lundeen for making such an investment in the community. Not only did Coughlin Porter Lundeen succeed in reminding clients that it exists as a community resource, it also differentiated itself by demonstrating a strong social commitment to this sector.

Additionally, Ms. Jago achieved her second goal by partnering with an organization that was successfully addressing the needs of the K-12 sector. By working with Page Ahead to put books in the hands of at-risk children, Coughlin Porter Lundeen gave back to the market that had provided it with so much business.

Finally, employees of Coughlin Porter Lundeen were energized by this project which brought an element of delight to their job and instituted a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Their pride in and commitment to their employer was renewed.

Program Cost:
The entire campaign, including book purchases, graphic design, and postage, cost the equivalent of placing three half-page advertisements in a local business journal.

Program Analysis

Having enjoyed the positive benefits of the Harry Potter Bookmark program, Coughlin Porter Lundeen found itself in a quandary: How to make a long term commitment to corporate - community involvement? Coughlin Porter Lundeen came to Fuse for help in developing a sustainable community engagement plan that would address the needs of all involved-the company, its employees, and the community.

In analyzing the Harry Potter project, Fuse realized that, although it had achieved all three of its goals, Coughlin Porter Lundeen had two fundamental problems in its approach to corporate - community involvement: assurance of employee buy-in and sustainability over the long term.

Although employees had responded enthusiastically to the Harry Potter project, there was no guarantee that this result would be duplicated in another campaign. Without measuring employee attitudes toward corporate engagement and discovering which social issues they cared most about before launching a campaign, CPL had no way of managing the internal outcome of the project. As it turned out, Ms. Jago hit on an issue that employees cared deeply about, but, had she chosen to support an issue they didn't, the results could have been disastrous.

While employee response to the Harry Potter project was positive, however, CPL was unable to harness this renewed pride and energy because the project was not repeatable. It was impossible to know if the Harry Potter series would maintain its popularity over the long term or to predict when anther volume would be issued. By tying itself to the Harry Potter series, Coughlin Porter Lundeen's efforts to maintain a meaningful involvement with the community would have been forever tied to publishing forces beyond its control.

Recommendations and Long-term Outlook

Fuse approached these challenges first by doing the internal groundwork by which Coughlin Porter Lundeen could manage the success of its future community efforts. By conducting employee surveys and roundtables, Fuse made three key findings: 1) CPL employees believed that corporations should give back to the community they operate in; 2) those efforts, however, should match the corporation's business objectives; and 3) education was a social issue of most importance to CPL employees. These results showed that by focusing its future efforts on the K-12 market, Coughlin Porter Lundeen could be assured that it was making the necessary INVESTMENT for a long-term successful philanthropic partnership.

Based on Fuse's findings and recommendations for sustainable partnership, Coughlin Porter Lundeen has successfully launched a long term partnership plan with commitment from its employees, and for the benefit of itself and its community partners.