City of Dyersville, Iowa
Dyersville, Iowa—best known as the home of the iconic Field of Dreams—is a small community in Eastern Iowa. Safe and clean with a large Catholic population, the city aspires to grow its population, increase its diversity, and expand tourism to other parts of this magical town in the middle of the country.
The City of Dyersville came to de Novo to help achieve the following goals:
- Retain current and attract new residents to expand workforce and increase diversity in age, ethnicity, and religious views.
- Increase community participation (full commission boards and active civic engagement).
- Increase tourism beyond Field of Dreams and MLB games.
Audience Insight
(distinctly different so we had two insights for audience)
Residents: Pride drives progress.
Visitors: Compelled by the prospect of magic.
Competition Insight
Sea of sameness focusing on quality of life for residents.
Brand Insight
Dyersville is a diamond in the outfield, with optimistic, realistic, and intentional growth.
Strategic Insight
Dyersville is a rare mix of history, pride, and progress, drawing people from all four corners to find their idea of home.
The Magic’s in the Middle
Marketing Strategy
Tell Dyersville’s story through the eyes of three different audiences: lifelong residents, returning residents (boomerangs), and new residents. Inspired by the majesty of baseball and the Midwest, we created refreshed branding, updated messaging, and new videos to convey how visiting and living in this community feels like coming home—whether for a day or a lifetime.
First Congregational
First Congregational United Church of Christ is a progressive, open-and-affirming church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Though open to all, church attendance is stagnant, and the church’s congregation is getting older.
First Congregational came to de Novo to help achieve the following goals:
- Increase awareness of their open-and-affirming status and differentiation from similar churches.
- Increase service attendance.
- Increase volunteers and church membership.
Audience Insight
People want personal affirmation, spiritual structure, and genuine community without the judgment. They want “Religion that relates.”
Competition Insight
Other churches feign authenticity, acceptance, and community.
Brand Insight
First Congregational is religion fully realized, offering true affirmation and genuine community in an historic space that is anything but an ivory tower.
Strategic Insight
First Congregational meets you where you are in your spiritual journey.
Spiritual. Not Spectacle.
Marketing Strategy
We crafted messaging and created a video and digital campaign to show how First Congregational is a safe, authentic place for people in search of spirituality.
Baird
Baird—a national wealth management firm—is comprised of advisors from around the country. The Vander Leest & Wenzel Group—a Cedar Rapids-based team of advisors—provides a distinctive, multi-generational approach to wealth management.
The Vander Leest & Wenzel Group came to de Novo to help achieve the following goals:
- Increase awareness of the group in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor.
- Grow by 20 clients (good-fit clients).
- Expand knowledge of full-service offerings to gain larger share of each account.
Audience Insight
Clients want to make money and maximize their wealth. They don’t need an advisor, but they want support. Conscientious investors know their money can do more.
They want human connection, expertise tailored to their goals, and empowerment to fulfill their personal legacy.
Competition Insight
All play it safe/guarded/sterile. Don’t highlight the emotions of these decisions. They say the “right” things, but not always the real things. Guarded, impersonal, and with only surface-level humanity, the competition simply lives in a world full of bulls and bears.
Brand Insight
Thoughtful vs. Transactional. Building their own legacy while building yours.
Vander Leest & Wenzel Group has all the potential for personality but needs to show how they put people before portfolios.
Strategic Insight
Vander Leest & Wenzel Group sees your potential to give money meaning.
Baird and Beyond
Marketing Strategy
We cast away some of the conventions in the financial industry to help the Vander Leest & Wenzel Group stand out in a crowd of conformity. We developed a messaging strategy and videos that show how the Vander Leest & Wenzel Group goes above and beyond to deliver for their clients and our community.
Messaging
Financial advising should always be personal and never feel transactional. And all advisors are NOT the same. But it can start to feel that way, can’t it?
We care as much about people as we do portfolios. From different backgrounds, interests, and experiences, we bring ourselves to work each day, powered by the reason each of us got into this business in the first place: you. By understanding your goals, adapting to life’s changes, and partnering with you for the long-run, we offer the most valuable asset of all: peace of mind. That’s the human quality that gives money meaning.
Leaving a legacy starts with defining your idea of success. That’s why we’re here.
Campaign Theme - Baird and Beyond
- Beyond the Blazer (Advisors)
- Beyond the Balance Sheet (Services)
- Beyond the Boardroom (Community, Nonprofit)
- Beyond the Bull (Clients, Relationships)
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329 10th Avenue SE, Suite 206
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
