Greetings From Greenlee:
A Letters Of Love Event
Greetings from Greenlee was a high-attendance charity event held at Iowa State on November 28, 2023. The Iowa State Advertising/Public Relations learning community carried out the project from end to end—creating and purchasing promotional materials, acquiring sponsors, and planning the event. I was an advisor for the community and contributed to nearly every aspect of this large-scale event.
The event was for Letters of Love, a nonprofit organization that sends uplifting messages to terminally ill children. The charity has chapters at universities across the U.S., which send hundreds of thousands of letters worldwide.
Client:
The Event
Greetings from Greenlee had 16 sponsors, received media coverage, and attracted students eager to support the Letters of Love cause. Our event alone helped send 1,020 cards to hospitals, making it the largest card-writing event in Iowa.
Case Study:
Joanna Schroeder, Kiley Trecker, Hannah Gossman, and I led JLMC 110, a first-year class required for Advertising and Public Relations students. The goal of the class was to provide first-year students with a strong portfolio piece. Our solution was a charity event for Letters of Love, which combined elements of both public relations and advertising.
August
From left to right: Spenser Leise, Joanna Schroeder, Kiley Trecker, Hannah Gossman
Selecting a Campaign Vision: I led a brainstorming session to determine the project’s core visual themes. The students chose a simple, hand-drawn look to represent the innocence of the children we were sending letters to. One student’s mother, a preschool teacher, had her students draw our campaign slogan to help guide our vision.
Preschool students’ drawings that acted as our “vision guide”.
Creation: The class was divided into three teams based on interest: advertising, led by me; public relations, led by Kylie; and social media/event planning, led by Hannah. We assigned them outreach and promotion responsibilities for the event. The 20 students worked on posters, social media posts, and copywriting.
September-October
My job was to review the work, provide critiques, and teach students how to improve their composition. Over the course of the project, I did this for 30 compositions.
Large Print Ad (start-finish)
Mailer Print Ad (start-finish)
Sponsorship: As the event approached, the list of sponsors secured by the public relations team grew exponentially. I was responsible for designing stylish posters for sponsors and organizing a raffle for the event. Each written card equaled one raffle ticket, which participants could enter into one of 14 prize options.
November
With the deadline approaching, there was a lot of pressure to complete the project. To ensure the best outcome for the event, my role included making final edits on all prints, cutting stickers, purchasing media, and placing media.
Poster reformatting
Sticker designs
November 28th
When the event finally arrived, it was a hit. Hundreds of students came to support the cause. I played an administrative role, directing volunteers and guiding guests.
