A fantastic idea turned into a fantastic commercial
Alpha Autism needed a new Television commercial for their awareness and fundraising campaign called 'Drawtism: play Pictionary for autism'. According to Wojciech from Alpha Autism, last year’s TV commercial was not very clear and did not have strong call to action, although they did pay for its production. This year, they required the assistance of a volunteer to translate what they thought was a great idea, into a message that would communicate the core message of linking the frustrated Pictionary player and autism, as well as inspire people to host their own pictionary game.
After placing a volunteer project with goodcompany, Dom Megna contacted Alpha Autism and within four weeks, Dom had come back with 4 different concept and scripts ideas. Each of them was strong and it was hard to choose one. Once they did, Dom was able to pull favours from contacts and colleagues in his industry to produce the TVC without costs to Alpha Autism. With the competition to have a TVC scheduled as a Community Service Announcement strong, Wojciech believes that the strength of the ad got them over the line with at least one TV network. In the end, Dom produced 5 TVCs, one for each of the states involved in drawtism. Wojciech says that 'this year’s commercial is a vast improvement, we were treated more professionally, and we didn’t have to pay a cent'.
As a small not for profit with a very ambitious campaign in drawtism, Alpha Autism constantly encounters the problem of having limited resources, and wanted to create a campaign that could confidently compete for the same charity dollar that larger organizations compete for. By having their TVC produced professionally and hassle free, it meant they had one less concern and could channel their limited energies on other pressing elements of the campaign.
A lack of resources is one of the primary reasons that organsiations like Alpha Autism seek out skilled and professional volunteers. Wojciech explains however, that this lack tends to negatively affect how well you can manage such volunteers. 'Preparation is the key. We had clear goals because drawtism was in its second year and was well grounded conceptually. In addition to this, ensuring that you communicate openly and honestly with the volunteer is vital'.
To view this Fantastic commercial promoting Drawtism and for more details on how to get involved, please click below:
