West Side Market
Fundraising Marketing & Digital Storytelling Campaign
Brand Identity • Website Creation • Graphic Design • Video Marketing • Campaign Management
Cleveland’s historic West Side Market is a beloved community institution and landmark with more than 100 years of history. In recent years, the nonprofit behind the Market has been working toward a long-term vision to preserve, modernize, and sustain this vital civic asset. JAC Creative was engaged as the lead creative and strategic partner to support the Market’s Transformation Project through fundraising marketing, donor communications, and a public-facing storytelling campaign.
The Challenge
With an ambitious Transformation Project underway, the organization needed a compelling fundraising campaign and storytelling strategy to inspire public support and increase community engagement.
The Goal
The goal was to honor the Market’s history, communicate the vision of the Transformation Project, and build momentum over time, while remaining authentic to the community it serves.
The Solution
JAC Creative partnered with the West Side Market to develop a fundraising-focused marketing campaign aimed at building awareness and enthusiasm for its upcoming Transformation Project. The solution had two phases:
Phase One: Engage a small group of high-capacity donors before the project was public
Phase Two: Transition to a public-facing campaign to educate everyday Market visitors, build trust, and encourage donations—without overwhelming audiences with frequent monetary appeals
Fundraising Collateral
We began by crafting a series of donor materials including a fundraising brochure, pitch decks, and a long-form campaign video that emotionally connected with the high-capacity donors and outlined the Market’s vision for the future.
Transformation Project Brand and Website
Building on the momentum of the Meet Me at the Market series, JAC developed a Transformation Project subbrand that was designed to feel distinct yet still part of the West Side Market brand. We used the new brand elements to develop and launch a microsite that detailed the transformation’s goals, communicated its impact on vendors and visitors, and guided supporters toward taking action through donations.
Fundraising Campaign
With the Transformation Project website launched, JAC Creative helped transition the campaign into a more traditional fundraising phase. We developed an ad campaign strategy that included print, TV, and online ads, targeting engaged West Side Market visitors and supporters. We designed, printed, and sent a direct mail piece that included an overview of the Transformation Project, encouraged support, and drove traffic to the website.
To coincide with the direct mail piece, we produced a three-part video series for a connected TV ad campaign that also targeted West Side Market visitors and supporters. The TV spots were supplemented with display ads to increase awareness of the Project and re-engage website visitors.
![[WSM-014] Transformation Project - CTV ad](https://www.jaccreative.com/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/cache/WSM-014-Transformation-Project-CTV-ad-1536x993-landscape-fbfd297cdf0a703a402d796a7fde3bc5-a47wfgokd681.webp "[WSM-014] Transformation Project - CTV ad")
The Impact
The combined power of the fundraising materials, two social campaigns, and advertising efforts has helped ignite public interest, civic pride, and financial support for the West Side Market Transformation Project. The storytelling series has sparked meaningful engagement online and in the community, while the campaign assets continue to serve as essential tools for donor outreach and stakeholder presentations. Through authentic storytelling and thoughtful strategy, we’ve helped the West Side Market connect past, present, and future in a way that invites Cleveland to invest in the future of the West Side Market.
What Our Client had to say!
“The team at JAC Creative has been an ideal creative and strategic partner. Not only do they bring tremendous skill and responsive customer service to the table, they strike that perfect balance between working within your identity and marketing strategy while also challenging and expanding it in constructive ways. They routinely help us deliver on our goals while bringing new and creative ideas to the table, all while staying on time and on budget. From graphic design and video production to content and fundraising marketing, the JAC team truly feel like an extension of our internal team and working with them is always a bright spot in my day.”
—Patrick Evans
Director of Marketing, Cleveland Public Market Corporation, West Side Market
Social Media Strategy
The campaign then shifted to a public-facing strategy focused on everyday Market visitors. We created and launched the Meet Me at the Market digital storytelling series: a content-driven campaign designed to highlight the real people who make the West Side Market unique. Watch them on their socials or here!
As the Meet Me at the Market videos gained momentum, we started to introduce another social campaign: in-depth explanations of the physical changes that would be happening throughout the Transformation Project. These were led by the Executive Director of CPMC, who manages the West Side Market. With each video, users gained understanding and excitement towards the future changes as told by Rosemary. These videos can also be watched on their socials or here!