Cumberland Treatment

Hi, Nick

Thanks again for connecting with us. I enjoyed our discussion, and as promised, I’ve put together these case studies for your review. They show some of our services in health but I’ve also included other creative/marketing examples from other verticals. If something strikes a chord, let’s set up a time to chat where we can dig in and show you some of our working files/processes so that you can get a better sense of what you’d get by working with us.

Welcome Nick

On this page, you’ll find the case studies we’ve selected especially for you. All of them showcase the talent, passion, and ingenuity we put into everything we do. Reach out if you have any questions!

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A mother smiles with her two young children in front of a nice suburban home

Ashley Addiction Treatment

Forming a single brand for holistic healing.

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Ashley Addiction Treatment

Growing a Nonprofit Healthcare Brand Around Addiction Recovery

Those battling addiction often navigate isolation, shame, and the pain caused to loved ones, making it difficult to seek help for substance use disorder. Ashley Addiction Treatment, a nonprofit recovery and substance use treatment facility founded in 1983 by Father Joseph C. Martin and Mae Ashley Abraham, has treated over 45,000 patients over four decades.

As a well-known and respected center providing both inpatient and outpatient treatment and recovery support services, the organization struggled to regain brand recognition after a name change and needed to differentiate itself as a leader in substance abuse and treatment. They turned to idfive to help refocus their brand, increase their reach, and solidify their position as experts on making lifelong recovery possible.

The Strategy

After an extensive series of interviews with former patients, senior leadership, and other members of the Ashley community, we realized that Ashley had an incredibly strong reputation with alumni and audiences familiar with their services. However, they needed new strategies to expand name recognition, articulate the Ashley experience, and broadcast their inclusive and innovative approach to treatment and resources while paying homage to their legacy as a pioneer in recovery and wellness.

Branding

With critical findings from our research and discovery phase, idfive updated Ashley’s website and branding guidelines to a more contemporary identity that would stand apart from other addiction treatment centers and position the organization as a trusted resource. We also restructured Ashley’s messaging on services, outreach, and expertise, to ensure the organization’s values, impact, and mission were concisely articulated.

Design

Inspired by the beauty of their Havre de Grace campus, idfive capitalized on the natural surroundings to inform the new, more refined visual communications strategy and design. Ashley’s updated style uses vibrant colors, illuminated photography, and their beautiful campus to tell their story.

Ashley’s refreshed logo is comprised of a modernized take on the original leaf-made wreath logo designed when Father Martin’s Ashley founded the center. The more contemporary treatment is a reminder that while the center is modern, innovative, and forward facing, we recognize and celebrate the history as one of the pioneers in substance use disorder treatment and recovery. The idfive team paired the wreath with a new tagline, “Everything for Recovery,” articulating that it is a lifelong investment in each patient to live healthy lives.

Media

We created a media plan that was straightforward: generate awareness among the general public and position Ashley as a thought leader in substance use disorder treatments and addiction expertise. In addition to social media buys, email campaigns, as well as print and search ads, the new brand guidelines provided by idfive now serve as a roadmap for Ashley to maintain a consistent visual identity and messaging across all media platforms.

Client success

Since idfive began its partnership with Ashley, we’ve seen a more concise representation of the Ashley identity across internal and external touchpoints. From social media and paid advertising to the website, Ashley’s communications are now aligned and have a crisper, more distinguished visual identity. The clarity of the organization’s brand as well as its updated digital presence through blogs and online articles allows Ashley to reach individuals and families in need, increase media exposure, and command a more elevated dialogue regarding substance use disorder and lifelong treatment strategies.

Four young adults chat over coffee at a table in a brightly lit common area with large windows on Sheppard Pratt's new campus

Sheppard Pratt Baltimore Washington Campus

Setting a new standard in mental health care.

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Sheppard Pratt Baltimore Washington Campus

Generating Awareness and Excitement for a New Beacon of Mental Healthcare

Sheppard Pratt is the nation’s largest nonprofit mental healthcare provider, and they recently completed construction on a state-of-the-art new mental health facility near 1-95 and BWI that’s accessible to regional and national patients. The challenge? Breaking through preconceived notions of what mental health “looks like” to spread the word and build excitement for the new campus, while introducing a new image of compassionate care in a space designed to promote dignity and compassion.

The Strategy

The opening of the Baltimore/Washington campus provided Sheppard Pratt with a unique opportunity. As it has done throughout its 150-year history, it is setting the standard of excellence in mental health care. With a humanistic, therapeutic design—patient rooms face wooded areas or interior courtyards, ensuring privacy and capitalizing on the healing power of nature—the new hospital shatters the mental health facility stereotype. We saw that the hospital could be a metaphor for where mental health is going, and destigmatize mental health treatment along the way. And opening in the midst of a pandemic, the hospital provided its patients and the region even more than unparalleled expertise: it provided hope.

The “Hope is Here” campaign encapsulated the positive emotional component of the Baltimore/Washington campus with a dual meaning: Sheppard Pratt is where people can find help, and a new facility is here to provide compassionate care.

Media

Campaign tactics and channels included:

Facebook retargeting and prospecting
Local news placements
Geo-fencing
Digital Audio
Digital Billboards
Underwriting radio spots on WYPR, the local NPR station
Light pole banners
Magazine spreads
Community center signage
Custom Logo Gobo Spotlight

Branding

The visual treatment positioned the new facility as a place of light, order, and calm, consistent with the space’s soft, warm color palettes. By utilizing some of the colors, layout, and the mandala graphic from Sheppard Pratt’s previous media campaign, the campaign provided brand continuity while introducing a bold, exciting new chapter for the organization.

Green

Light Green

Sky

4.4

The campaign search engine marketing CTR; the healthcare industry benchmark is 1.8%.

With mental health services needed now more than ever, I’m proud of the role our team played in building local awareness of the new Baltimore/Washington campus and its accessibility to everyone in the area.

Jill Sprague

Associate Director of Media

The Result

Across all platforms, the campaign performed at or above healthcare industry benchmarks

Leveraging the campaign’s success, ”Hope is Here” became the branding for the grand opening event, Sheppard Pratt’s 2021 annual report, and the hospital itself: www.sheppardpratt.org/hopeishere.

2.6

Million impressions from all campaign paid media sources

A woman's arm with a band-aid and sticker that reads "I got my COVID-19 vaccine"

Chase Brexton Health Services

Spreading facts on the vax.

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Chase Brexton Health Services

Using Video Content to Make the COVID Vax Fun

Many folks are hesitant to be vaccinated for COVID because of fear, lack of information, misinformation, and historically-based mistrust. A long-time, trusted source of healthcare and wellness information in the community, Chase Brexton knew that it had to address these issues head-on with accurate, timely, and engaging information.

Strategy

idfive realized that there wasn’t any shortage of information about the benefits of being vaccinated. Unfortunately much of the information — especially promoted by government agencies and well-meaning groups of all kinds — was dry, unengaging, and generally unrelatable for many people, especially those in communities where English was not the primary language or in areas of generally low educational attainment. Even worse, “COVID fatigue” was causing many to ignore sources of accurate information, rumors, misinformation, and disinformation — often presented in sensationalistic formats designed to attract clicks on social media — and spreading fear and distrust among many.

We knew we needed to take a different approach. Collaborating with Chase Brexton we developed “Vaxy Nation,” a unique and irreverent cartoon character portraying a ringmaster of a fictional circus. By relying on an animated mascot we knew we could transcend many of the cultural barriers a human spokesperson might bring while also incorporating an irreverence and sense of humor that would encourage engagement and sharing of accurate information about the COVID vaccine and its importance.

Design

Our diverse audiences came from a wide variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds including native Spanish and English speakers. The Vaxy Nation character was designed to be disarmingly ambiguous and fun, with an aesthetic that worked across all audiences. Partnering with Unconquered, we created characters that combined a retro look with contemporary sass.

Storytelling

Obviously vaccination is a serious subject. But we also knew that people were pretty tired of the seemingly-endless stream of serious talk about COVID and admonitions to get vaccinated. So we took a different tack, using humor to dispel disinformation and disarm the cognitive resistance our audiences had developed after nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

The campaign is extremely well-received by the media and is enjoying a lot of favorable online engagement. The industry has taken notice, too: in December of 2021 the campaign was honored with a Gold Award from the Healthcare Digital Marketing Awards, a nationwide awards program for digital healthcare communication.

Evergreen Health

Welcome to the new Evergreen Health

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Evergreen Health

How to build greater awareness and affinity among Maryland residents and brokers?

Evergreen Health was a Maryland based health insurance provider, established in 2012 as a result of the Affordable Care Act. While a majority of the smaller health care companies created with the affordable care act to serve as alternatives to larger, nationwide insurance failed, Evergreen Health found success. But to continue competing with larger insurance carriers and succeed at its mission to bring honest and affordable healthcare to Marylanders, Evergreen had to build greater awareness and affinity among Maryland residents—a challenge that required a refined brand, a new website and a fully integrated marketing campaign.

Strategy

Supported by extensive research into Evergreen Health’s audiences and company goals, the “Healthcare. Only braver.” campaign was designed to increase insurance enrollment while introducing Evergreen Health as a company that provides smart, honest, and affordable high quality health insurance. idfive was able to enhance the brand with new design elements, a new tagline and a brand mascot that embodies the unique insurance carrier.

everGREEN

With these brand elements in effect, a variety of integrated marketing tactics including banner advertisements, email marketing, advertorials and an e-book entitled “The World’s Easiest Health Insurance Guide (EVER)”, drove leads to unique landing pages and a redesigned website. With the e-book especially, the company was able to commit to their mission of demystifying healthcare and assisting families and individuals, while at the same time gathering interested leads for the sales team. In a field dominated by large corporations, Evergreen Health was able to stand out as a truly approachable, technologically disruptive and ethically committed health insurance option.

Bloomsburg professor and student sit in front of monitors at an on-campus media editing station

Bloomsburg University Recruitment Marketing

Elevating awareness in an uphill market.

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Bloomsburg University Recruitment Marketing

The Challenge

Bloomsburg University has always been focused on student access and success, and a rebranding effort in 2019 helped to sharpen that focus. But then BU needed to enhance brand awareness, support enrollment growth, and communicate its value proposition in the crowded Mid-Atlantic higher education landscape to multiple audiences—undergraduates, transfer students, graduate students, and parents.

Strategy

Partnering with Bloomsburg’s marketing and admissions teams, idfive developed an integrated, multiyear campaign strategy, informed by audience demographic data developed during the University’s rebranding. The objective: to drive site traffic, engagement, and CTRs to the BU Admissions microsite and position “Bloom” as a top choice for prospective students and their families.

While the FY20 campaign focused primarily on brand awareness, the FY21 campaign capitalized on the increased brand awareness to deliver a hybrid brand and lead generation approach. Among the tactics added were Facebook and Instagram retargeting and creative A/B testing across the Google Search, Facebook, and Instagram campaigns.

Media

With ongoing active account management, and using the information gained from the previous years’ campaigns, the idfive media team further refined audience segmentation in FY21 by audience type and location.

Facebook social campaigns and Instagram story placements focused on driving engagement with two main strategies: prospecting and remarketing.

Prospecting ads targeted parents, students and curated high school lists, as well as newly implemented Facebook/Instagram page and website visitors lists created with existing lead and inquiry contacts.
Remarketing ads targeted recent Facebook/Instagram page and website visitors of the BU page and lookalike audiences created based on this list of users.

259

Percent above Google Search industry benchmark, Aug. to Oct. 2021

It’s been rewarding to partner with the Bloomsburg team and push the media plan to deliver more each year as capabilities in attribution and tracking have expanded.

Erinn Hesse

Associate Director of Client Services

Results

Year-over-year CTR performance, FY20-FY21:

Facebook ↑24.33%
Instagram ↑ 39.71%
Google Search ↑ 166.12%
Google Remarketing ↑ 915.24%

A medium black dog's tongue lolls out sideways

Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter

Paying it Furward.

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Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter

The Challenge

Every year at idfive we reserve funds for holiday gifts for our clients. But in 2015, we wanted to try something new. Rather than send gifts, we decided to use that money to contribute to a nonprofit on behalf of our clients. And rather than just make a simple donation, we banded together to volunteer our time, energy and expertise.

Inspired by our fondness of both animals and Baltimore, we chose to support the Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS). As the largest shelter in Maryland that doesn’t turn away animals, BARCS takes in an average of 35 animals a day and as a result they’re constantly looking for additional resources in order to treat the never-ending influx of Baltimore’s sick and abandoned animals. In order to give a much-needed boost to year-end donations, we developed an integrated marketing campaign focused on fundraising. Concepting for the project started in November, with a goal of raising $100,000 in a month.

The Solution

Working with the BARCS marketing team and a host of volunteers, we created the #PayItFurward campaign which combined paid and earned social media, volunteer engagement, PR outreach, email, out-of-home, print, and point-of-sale tactics. Beginning with the launch of a four-minute online video released to volunteers in advance of #GivingTuesday, the campaign sought to engage BARCS’s most vocal and active audiences, and mobilize them as ambassadors for the fundraising effort. idfive and BARCS then released a steady stream of content through coordinated email and social media posts, as well as posters and “collateral” designed to engage humans and dogs alike—Milkbone “fortune cookies” wrapped with messages about BARCS fundraising.

The Results

idfive and BARCS’s marketing efforts shattered expectations and far surpassed the goal we’d set back in November. The campaign attracted the attention of multiple news outlets and we were even able to service the generosity of many of our previous partners, leading to a daylong billboard spot from Clear Channel and free poster printing from Indigo Ink. With idfive matching donations up to $1,000, on #GivingTuesday alone the campaign brought in over $32,000 (four times the money raised on that day the previous year). For the month of December, idfive and BARCS marketing efforts helped to bring in over $250,000 in online and offline donations, more than double the initial goal. The campaign then went on to win a Silver Award from Baltimore’s American Advertising Federation in the Public Service Integrated Campaign category. As a mid-sized agency working with a local nonprofit, that’s a momentous achievement—but then again, it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog…or agency.

A caretaker introduces a service dog to a young girl in a mechanized wheelchair

Kennedy Krieger Institute

Appealing to the heart with patient stories.

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Kennedy Krieger Institute

The Challenge

The Kennedy Krieger Institute is a place like no other—they’re an outpatient center, a school, a research and advanced training center, and a home to numerous community programs. Their dedicated physicians, researchers, therapists, and educators work in concert to target the problems involving the developing brain, in order to unlock every child’s full potential. The Institute is so diverse and so active that many visitors to the Office of Philanthropy website were faced with an overwhelming array of ways to help or get involved, receiving limited information about the actual patients. They wanted to redesign their website to make this connection. This website needed to express the Institute’s impact, encourage people to give and express the story of the lives they’re touching.

Kennedy Krieger Institute Mobile Homepage

Kennedy Krieger Institute Homepage Design

The Solution

idfive and the Kennedy Krieger Institute began the Office of Philanthropy website redesign project by identifying the Institute’s core web visitors and then understanding what each constituency would need to know to help out. The new website provides a clear pathway for all visitors and guides them to specific involvement opportunities, all the while encouraging giving with stories about patient experiences and insight into how all forms of support can make a difference. Big, beautiful photography made the patients the centerpiece of the website, and prominent features like the “Make a Difference” blog inspired visitors to dig deeper into the personal stories of the patients. It was these choices that allowed the website to convey the bright and inspiring work being done by the Institute, as well as the lives of the ones they’re helping.

Portrait of an American bobtail meower, also known as a cat

Maryland SPCA #GivingTuesday Campaign

Raising funds with a cuddly campaign.

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Maryland SPCA #GivingTuesday Campaign

The Challenge

With the globally recognized day of nonprofit support, #GivingTuesday, approaching, the Maryland SPCA was in search of a creative partner to concept a fundraising campaign that they could execute across multiple online channels. The nonprofit organization had a limited budget and a fast-approaching deadline, but a strong desire to connect with donors and advocate in a meaningful way leading up to and for #GivingTuesday.

The Solution

In the wake of a divisive mid-term election, idfive and the Maryland SPCA decided that their campaign would give voters a happier, more cuddly set of candidates to vote for: cats and dogs. Playing off the well-known partiality of dog people versus cat people, the “Vote Cat. Vote Dog.” fundraising campaign engaged donors with the opportunity to “vote” with donations.

idfive provided the concept and visual designs to the nonprofit’s marketing team, which then executed the campaign through various social media posts and emails targeting past donors, current donors, and volunteers. The campaign raised more than $41,000—$11,000 more than their goal—and celebrated both furry political parties as winners.

A young woman holds a small black and white puppy

Maryland SPCA 150th Anniversary

A paw-sitively cute anniversary campaign.

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Maryland SPCA 150th Anniversary

The Challenge

Guided by a multi-year strategic plan, the Maryland SPCA is driven to grow their services and strengthen relationships with key audiences, including previous donors and millennials. Approaching their 150-year anniversary, the organization saw the 2019 year as a momentous time in their history to double down and re-energize their base. To do so, they needed to create an engaging visual system for the anniversary year and align the messaging platform with the future of the brand—all while honoring their fruitful legacy.

The Solution

Partnering with the Maryland SPCA, idfive designed a visual identity for the 150-year anniversary that includes a suite of logo marks and a flexible texture pattern. The designs balance the simplicity and refinement of the organization’s legacy with a clever playfulness, appealing to both millennial and older donors who have a strong connection with the traditional brand and legacy. Available in a variety of flexible forms and styles, the designs can be incorporated into a number of marketing pieces, including event promotional materials, merchandise, social media, and a Van-Wrap for the organization’s new mobile vet station, adoption center, and promotional vehicle.

There’s more where that came from.

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