Meet Bill Joyner, Media Development Director for the Economic Development Division of the North Carolina Community College System. As a producer of customized video, print, and interactive computer-based training programs, Joyner plays a significant role in both the marketing of the community colleges’ services to business and industry, and in the training of new and potential employees—particularly those in new and expanding industries—across the state.

North Carolina pioneered the concept of state-supported, customized industry training via the community college system over 50 years ago. Our state is widely renowned as being one of the nation’s most business-friendly, largely because of the workforce training offered by our community colleges. Often, an important component of that training is media developed especially for a specific company. Joyner works with skilled producers all over North Carolina to deliver that support.

Recently, Gotham has begun work on a brochure for the North Carolina Community College System promoting many of the different programs community colleges have to offer, including BioNetwork and Career Readiness Certification. The brochure is a challenging waterfall design with 12 different sections describing the college system and the many opportunities offered for career seekers and employers. Once completed, over 20,000 copies will be distributed to potential employers statewide, nationwide and worldwide.

Client
Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned cooperative specializing in electrical distribution to its 72,000-membership base of rural North Carolina residents and corporations in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe and Allegheny counties and parts of Wilkes, Alexander and Avery counties.

Target Audience:
Blue Ridge’s 72,000 members

Objective:
To provide members with a newly formatted Annual Report that enhances customer satisfaction by also delivering member capital credits in the form of a credit or a check, cooperative news and a services brochure.

Challenge:
There were three major challenges to this project:
1) Design the annual report so that it fits postal codes
2) Uniquely identify each of 72,000 members with variable data
3) Accurately match checks or credits to the appropriate member

Solution:
The issue of sending the correct check to a specific member was resolved by die-cutting a window on the back of the self-mailed report. The variable addresses appeared on the back side of the check or refund to ensure that the appropriate money was mailed to the specific member. The “services” brochure was designed to fit into the annual report structure and be used in the future as a stand-alone piece. Communicating value-added services is a critical aspect of Blue Ridge’s overall messaging strategy. The lighter weight paper stocks and overall structure of the piece meant the annual reports could be mailed as affordably as possible.

Results:
Members who attended Blue Ridge’s Annual Meeting had overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the newly formatted annual report:

a) Raised member/owner identity
A third-party survey was conducted in the 2nd Quarter of 2008 by TSE Services, Inc. to quantify member/owner satisfaction and messaging success. The survey revealed that member identity rose to 74.4%, up 8.3 points from the first quarter of 2008, representing the largest jump in member/owner identity since data was first collected in 2004, as well as the highest member/owner identity rating ever received. Previous ratings were in the 68% range.

b) Increased awareness of the benefits of Capital Credits
The survey showed definitively that the new Annual Report package raised the level of awareness and understanding of the benefits of capital credits for members/owners. Of those surveyed, the following percentage of members/owners reported a better understanding of capital credits:

41% of those who received checks with their annual report
28% of those who received the bill/credit insert with their annual report
33% of new members who received the general information (without a check or a bill/credit insert)

c) Increased customer satisfaction
Client research has shown that member/owner identity drives up customer satisfaction. Indeed, the TSE survey measured customer satisfaction at 9.1 on a 10-point scale. This rating represents one of the highest customer satisfaction levels Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation has ever received.

Client's Reaction to the Project:
"For well over a year," explained Renee Whitener, director of public relations for Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, "Gotham's Woody Stoudemire not only worked closely with me to plan the project, he also met with other employees and vendors who were responsible for executing this project every step of the way." She continued, "I especially like Woody’s high level of accountability and how he treats each project as his own regarding not only creating effective design and copy, but also in finding cost effective ways to develop and deliver the project. I could not have chosen a better marketing partner than Gotham for a project of this magnitude and importance to our strategic public relations plan. They were a very big reason for its success."