DDL Advertising recently connected with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State after running a donation campaign back in March. Boss Lady was a big sister for almost 10 years, so we wanted to give back and donate to the organization in the form of running a digital campaign to increase likes and engagement on our Facebook page. As a result, we donated $80 to BBBSOS and even helped with cause marketing by partnering them with the Pawtucket Red Sox to host a mentor event at the PawSox game in mid June. The goal of this event was to match potential mentors with little brothers.
Boss Lady Stacey & Lindsay present the donation to George from BBBSOS
Stacey poses with little sister, Skyla
BBBSOS needed to match approximately 90 of their Little Brothers with Big Brothers, so we went to the drawing board and brainstormed alongside WPRI to come up with a fun way to match them with male mentors. We thought it would be great to coordinate an event that draws community attention with a fun twist like having guest superheroes to motivate young boys that they can conquer anything. WPRI proposed a collaboration with the PawSox to host a meet and greet mentor event including an exclusive 2 hour pre-game BBQ dinner and costumed superhero characters from CW’s hit shows including The Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash at McCoy Stadium. This was followed by the June 20th PawSox game against the Buffalo Bisons. Plus, a little from BBBSOS got to throw out the first pitch of the game!
Angelina throws out the first pitch
This event was supported by a TV campaign across CW Providence targeted at men ages 18-49 to encourage them to become potential Big Brothers and register to attend the event. :30 spots aired on programming including hit shows: Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, The Flash, Arrow, and sports programming. The on air promo schedule ran from May 28th to June 15th leading up to the game on June 20th and generated much success according to Director of Development and Community Relations at BBBSOS, George, who said, “I can’t tell you how unbelievably successful this event was for our agency. Over the past few weeks since the commercials have started airing, we have had a great deal of new individuals who have reached out looking to be a part of our agency in a variety of capacities. Donors, Volunteers and Committee Members have been pouring in!”
Commercial promoting the BBBSOS mentoring event at the June 20th PawSox game
In addition to the successful TV programming, BBBSOS rep, George Evans Marley, also appeared on the Rhode Show for an interview promoting the event and their organization. In the interview, he describes the benefits of joining Big Brothers Big Sisters and what’s involved in being a mentor for a little brother or sister. With a total of 92 boys who need a good role model in their life and 200+ attendees, this event succeeded in this goal.
George spoke about the organization and the event at the PawSox game on The Rhode Show. Click here to view.
Here are some fun photos from the BBQ tent where Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State had their mentor booth & CW Providence brought along popular costumed characters like Flash.
George, from BBBSOS waves hi
CW and BBBSOS in the BBQ tent
Lindsay and Stacey pose with The Flash, a superhero from popular TV series on The CW Television network
Lindsay poses with The Flash
WPRI also produced a Building Trades PSA with Michael Sabitoni, the President of the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council who promoted the mentoring event. Michael generously sponsored this event and threw out the first pitch of the game!
Building Trades PSA featuring Michael Sabitoni, the President of Local 271 Laborers Union
Michael Sabitoni, who sponsored the BBBSOS event, throws out a pitch
Michael walks with Michael Gwynn, Vice President Corporate Partnerships
Kiddos greet Paws, one of the Pawtucket Red Sox mascots
Overall, the television campaign across CW drove lots of interest and the event itself generated over 200 registered attendees and lots of confidence in future matches! George from BBBSOS expressed his happiness with the outcome of the campaign as a whole, “Stacey, you and your team have been absolutely amazing! You should be proud of all of your hard work and thank you again for putting this event together! Thank you ALL! It takes a village and this village has some outstanding residents!”
We enjoyed working with BBBSOS not only since Boss Lady Stacey was a Big Sister herself, but because we had the opportunity to dive into cause marketing and link them to a fun event to match littles with Big Brothers. Stay tuned for more exciting upcoming projects!
Michael, Angelina, and PawSox player pose with Sox and Paws
Click here to check out our other portfolio piece about partnering Seasons Corner Market with the PawSox for a 2 year sponsorship package!