More than $1 million is up for grabs and is available to one lucky nonprofit organization.
The $1 million is not the prize in a cash giveaway, but is the estimated value of the marketing campaign that Ad 2 Honolulu bestows each year.
More than the money, though, “the impact was pretty awesome,” said Ed Flores, executive director of current recipient Ala Kuola.
Despite the widespread community need for its services, not enough people knew about it.
Ala Kuola is a court-sanctioned organization that can help domestic violence victims obtain temporary restraining orders. Its other priority mission is preventing domestic violence by educating youth about respect and nonviolence.
The Kapolei-based Family Court system offers TRO filing services Tuesdays and Thursdays, and provides help only by appointment on other weekdays. Ala Kuola, however, provides walk-in help Monday through Friday and is in town.
It’s not a competitive arrangement. Rather, the nonprofit helps facilitate the process for the community.
The violence prevention work extends the curriculum of the national Coaching Men Into Boys program. Ala Kuola provides training to coaches of athletic teams, and the coaches deliver the curriculum to their players “because the coach is the mentor,” Flores said.
For Ala Kuola, Ad 2 re-branded the organization, updating its logo and creating a new tag line.
In Hawaiian, Ala Kuola means “the path to safety and life,” which was the old tag line. It defined the organization’s name. The new tag line explains its mission: “Let’s end the violence.”
Flores thinks it’s brilliant, because by using the word “let’s,” the tag line is inclusive. “We’re not talking just about my office; we’re talking about everybody in the community,” he said.
Ad 2 also revamped and modernized Ala Kuola’s website to clearly explain how the organization helps the community.
“It’s powerful now,” Flores said.
Ala Kuola mall posters prepared by Ad 2 were installed in key locations and resulted in additional inquiries.
“It’s been positive and every day it’s growing,” Flores said.
While the needs of the nonprofits Ad 2 selects each year can be similar, they do not have a cookie-cutter approach to campaign recipients.
Ad 2 is itself a nonprofit, and its membership of advertising industry professionals age 32 or younger will create an integrated marketing campaign to fit the selectee’s needs. That can include public relations outreach; public service advertising in print, broadcast and online; and something called creative executions, which could include an event, for instance.
“The group is so energetic, they’re so powerful … they’re always involved with you,” Flores said. “They’re like, ‘Whatever we can do for you, let me know. If you have a question, it’s not a stupid question,’” he said.
“They would work a full day at their respective jobs, but they bring this energy to you in after-hours meetings,” Flores said. “The energy and enthusiasm, and in every phone call and email, you can see this passion. Unbelievable,” he said.
Ad 2 Honolulu has a long history of winning top honors in national industry competitions for its work on behalf of nonprofits.
In fact, the 2015-2016 public service campaign for Ala Kuola won first place in the Ad 2 Division of the American Advertising Federation’s Club Achievement Competition.
“We feel honored to have worked with so many amazing nonprofits in the past,” said Shauna Simons, Ad 2 Honolulu public service adviser, in a statement. “We look forward to supporting the community again this year by helping another great organization.”
Applications can be downloaded from the Ad 2 website Ad2Honolulu.org, while further information is available by emailing info@ad2honolulu.org.
“If anybody has doubts about applying … just go for it,” Flores said. “We’re very small, just four people here, but when (Ad 2) said it’s worth $1 million, I’d say it’s worth about $2 million, because it’s another million dollars in friendships,” he said.
On the Net:
>> ad2honolulu.org
>> alakuolahawaii.com
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com of on Twitter as @erikaengle..
CORRECTION: The Hawaii state Judiciary offers temporary restraining order services in Kapolei on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “TheBuzz” column on Page B6 Wednesday said those services were not available in Kapolei on those days.
