As the Creative Director for the Long Range Planning Committee (of Job’s Daughters International), it was my job to not only recognize the creative and marketing needs of Job’s Daughters International, but to address those needs with viable and beautiful solutions.

One of the most important tasks LRP took on was a new brochure, as there had not been a new one in nearly two decades! With declining membership, it was imperative that the organization invest in some new brochures to attract a fresh generation of members. (Because the organization is for girls ages 10 to 20, external promotion and marketing should always be a top priority. However, limited finances have often held the organization back in this regard.)

In the process of determining that a new brochure needed to be created, several ideas where offered. Brochures for young girls, brochures for older girls, brochures for parents, brochures for our organizations own alumnae, brochures for businesses. Huge beautiful brochures that were 12″ × 12″ folders full of goodies. A brochure that could be customized at the local or state level.

Certainly the ideas were lovely, but financial limitations at all levels of the organization proved that such ideas would have been cost-prohibitive. A 12″ square folder would have cost a ridiculous amount of money to mail. Full-color booklet brochures that could be customized, and only a few dozen printed for a small chapter? Never going to happen. A half-dozen brochures with language tailored to the reader was nice in concept, but how often were you going to be able to grab the exact one you needed in the moment? (Six custom one-pagers were created for this process, but they were designed to fit on a single letter-size piece of paper, and an individual chapter could easily print them out as needed (with custom contact information included).

In addition, recent insurance requirements demanded that the organization have media release forms for all individuals who were used in any promotional materials. Lots of the photos that we had on file were off-limits. (Which wasn’t a real loss—the photos were hopelessly dated anyway.) A photo shoot was in order, and I ensured that we included real members, of all walks of life, all races, all shapes and sizes. True diversity to represent our international organization.

With all that in mind, I came up with an excellent product. The final brochure includes the following:

1. The brochure layout has two covers (to illustrate the many activities the organization offers), and thanks to a tent-design, can stand up easily to be more eye-catching.
2. The brochure fits in a standard #10 envelope so that no extra postage would be required.
3. The brochure’s language caters to both girls (fun, friendship, activities) and parents (poise, philanthropy, scholarships), and is a manageable length.
4. The brochure’s photos feature a diverse array of members from all over the nation doing all sorts of things.
5. The brochure can be customized via data merge fields on the covers (shown above with the <<Jurisdiction>> text), as well as on the center Contact Us page, and custom versions can be printed at no additional cost, when the total (bulk) order is placed. The brochure can also stand alone without the custom text, and still look striking.
6. The brochure is affordable to print, even in full color, per quotes that I received from multiple vendors. This is especially important given the custom option—something that a small chapter could never afford without the benefit of bulk pricing.

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