THE CHALLENGES
After decades of meeting in schools, Grace finally found a home in the most perfect but unlikely of places: in the middle of a shopping mall. Ballston Quarter, the mall, is located among the dining and night life that attracts many young professionals to this city across from Washington, DC.
How can Grace reach a population demographic that's among those least likely to go to church in the country?
All while continuing to foster relationship with their existing congregation of diverse attendees?
All while continuing to foster relationship with their existing congregation of diverse attendees?
MY TEAM'S SOLUTIONS
Coming out of COVID, our marketing director saw people's overwhelming need for connection, particularly meaningful relationships. Grace has always had a heart for fostering these relationships. Additionally, Grace has encourages attendees to safely ask questions and explore faith. I began from here.
This multi-tiered solution involved both marketing and use of physical space. I researched common felt-needs, popular questions about faith, Ballston's demographic and experiences of other churches' grand openings. I built designs for this that aligned with Grace's brand, and could be effective in both digital and physical spaces. Together with my marketing director we honed in the final messaging and my final design, then presented these for approval from staff leadership and Ballston Quarter.
View of Grace's signage from Wilson Blvd
HOMEPAGE VIDEO
Grace launched a new homepage video to coincide with the opening. To create this I compiled footage shot by a freelance videographer, as well as my own. The 24 second video can be viewed on Grace's site: trygrace.org
Grace wanted a connection with their community so we opted to send a direct mailer to 34,000 households. After receiving a hard proof from the printer and seeing a wide deviation in color from our brand, I drove an hour out to the printer in Sterling, VA to get things right. Time was of the essence as these needed printed the next day.
I worked with the press operator for hours to get the colors right. But I was right at home in the windowless press room, the air filled with fine paper particles, as I was reminded of my first design job after college doing the same thing!
