What a difference a day makes!

IdeaThon's Jam-packed 24 Hours Nets $36,875 Worth of Resources for Multicultural Coalition

Representatives of the Multicultural Coalition of Grand Island met with IdeaBank at 11 a.m. July 22. Less than 24 hours later, they received $36,875 worth of services and resources to promote their Immigrant Story Walk.

IdeaBank's first-ever IdeaThon had clearly exceeded expectations. Audrey Lutz, Multicultural Coalition executive director, was visibly moved.

"I have felt the tidal wave of emotions for your efforts. I'm incredibly grateful to you!" she said. "Thanks for giving us such a dream-worthy 24 hours! We look forward to having the best event in MC's history!"

The Immigrant Story Walk will be from 5 to 9 p.m. June 11, 2022 at Stuhr Museum.

While IdeaThon's results were a dream come true, they didn't happen without a lot of lost sleep. IdeaBank's team of strategists, designers, programmers and copywriters worked for 24 hours straight to create the resources presented to the Multicultural Coalition that Friday morning.

The night of creative cramming was punctuated by watching the sunset from the roof, late-night strolls, Nerf gun fights and, yes, a nap or two here and there. But why go to such lengths — in such a short amount of time — to help one nonprofit agency?

“IdeaBank is part of the community, and we care about the vital work that nonprofit organizations perform,” owner Sherma Jones said. “We created IdeaThon to support those efforts by tapping into the creativity and philanthropic spirit of our team.

"IdeaThon also demonstrates the vast capabilities of IdeaBank as a full-service marketing agency," she said.

During the 24 hours of IdeaThon, IdeaBank developed:

• The theme "Can You Survive the Path to Citizenship?" for the Immigrant Story Walk
• Logo for the event
• Logo animation
• Website and event registration
• QR code event check-in
• Direct-mail invitation
• Email invitation
• Three videos
• Promotional posters
• Two press releases
• Social media campaign
• Email and SMS marketing campaign
• Resources for the event such as signage, a backdrop and floor graphics
• Identity kit for immigration simulation game

Whether it's a commercial client or a nonprofit organization, a multidisciplinary approach produces the best results.

"We can do the whole gamut, and it's better for you if we do," Jones said.