JOCELYN HOUSTON
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Ok, so I'm really proud of my media calendar and budgets....but I've been lucky enough to create, build, and even auctioneer on behalf of some awesome campaigns.
 
Below is the work that will always make me smile. 


OPPD "Chronicling Campaign"  - An EFFIE finalist campaign

​At Bailey Lauerman, one of my main accounts, Omaha Public Power District, was looking to increase customer satisfaction through a broad awareness focused on their commitment to community through: affordability, reliability, and environmentally-sensitive energy. 
Based on their brand archetype, the "heroic caregiver", we developed a campaign that would shine a light on the public power utility's devotion through sound operations. Using stunning photography, we would capture what the utility was doing each day, and pragmatically report it to the Omaha-metro the next day across media channels including: digital, social, out-of-home, and live radio reads.
Over the 41-day campaign period, we created 369 creative assets that were changed every. single. day. As account supervisor, I was responsible for figuring out the logistics of how we capture, create, proof, and traffic all executions. I developed a newsroom in collaboration with our OPPD clients where we held a daily 8:30am huddle to align on the story, and executed a seamless campaign by developing an electronic job ticket system to keep everyone on track. I even held dress rehearsals with our stand-ins so the campaign would run without a hitch.
It was a wild spring and the acclaimed Effie Worldwide noticed. 
In 2020, the campaign was recognized nationally as a finalist in the Government, Recruitment, and Institutional category. ​

YMCA of Greater Omaha - Charles E. Lakin Opening 

After a successful capital campaign (raising $13M), the YMCA of Greater Omaha built a new YMCA in Council Bluffs, named for its lead donor, philanthropist Charles E. Lakin. At 73,000 sq ft, the Lakin YMCA would prove to be a catalyst in the region for what a YMCA could be. In addition to a comprehensive PR, donor stewardship, and member acquisition campaign, the new Y gave me the opportunity to flex my interior decorator muscles, designing all interior signage and design elements. My most rewarding challenge was finding a way to fit all 616 capital campaign donors, ranging from $3.5 million lead gifts to $1.75, on the wall of the facility. 
To celebrate the opening with the community, we hosted a donor sneak peek, and community open house (complete with 3,000+ guests!) 

YMCA of Greater Omaha - 150th Anniversary Celebration

2016 marked the YMCA of Greater Omaha's 150th year in Omaha. In 2015 I was approached by then CEO, Len Romano, to begin planning the year-long celebration. I began to work with UNO Criss Library's Archives department to archive the boxes and boxes of board minutes, photos, and scrapbooks we found in a closet in the Downtown YMCA and hoped something worthwhile would be found. 
Meanwhile, I began planning a year-long celebration, dependent on the support of major donors, including a community-wide weight loss challenge, video series, open house, balloon celebration, Durham Museum exhibit, 8 page Omaha World Herald special section and Gala (among plenty of additional advertising opportunities.)
​We successfully raised over $400,000 in our Y150 efforts, increased our media exposure and made significant strides in establishing the Y as a reputable and impactful nonprofit in the Omaha metro area.

Check out the historical book I wrote to commemorate the Y's 150 years in Omaha. 

Branding Experience

YMCA Branding - Website Redesign

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The Y-USA has issued brand standards for all YMCAs in America to adhere to and promote. In my position at the Y, I've acted as "Brand Ambassador" on behalf of the YMCA of Greater Omaha. While the website was technically brand-compliant upon my arrival in 2014, the website was not user-friendly, had poor navigation and was performing poorly in SEO. After selecting Red Branch Media as the website designer, I worked on complete website redesign, changing the navigation, improving registration process with help of a plug-in, and incorporated a Google calendar for group exercise calendars.
Right as I was ready to soft-open the site, I trained Welcome Center staff at our 9 facilities to navigate the site. However, they didn't know I was using their feedback to get a consumer's perspective. I used this feedback to make some last alterations and  released the site on-time and within budget.

Cornerstone Rebrand

In 2012, I was working at Cornerstone Print & Marketing as marketing director when we decided to rebrand ourselves as a marketing solutions provider. Formerly known as Cornerstone Printing & Imaging, we focused on positioning ourselves as more than a printer through renaming, rebranding all marketing collateral and launching a completely new website. As marketing director, I directed all print materials and website design as well as wrote copy to communicate our new positioning statement. I also played a strong role in strategizing the new direction of the company.
The website redesign won an AMA Prism award for Small Business Website Design in 2013 and our rebrand helped us win the Lincoln AMA 2013 Corporate Marketer of the Year award. See my interview accepting the award here.
Today, Cornerstone Print & Marketing is now Firespring
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