SteegeThomson Communications

Clients

How do physicians choose among over 30 medications approved by the FDA for blood pressure for their patients? Which skin wash will do most to reduce infections in heart surgery? What kind of imaging machine should the health system buy? At University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, physicians, nurses and administrators can pose questions about the pros and cons of their choices to the innovative Center for Effective Practices. SteegeThomson worked closely with Penn Medicine to place this story on WHYY radio.

http://whyy.org/cms/news/health-science/2010/07/06/turning-research-into-lower-medical-costs/41326

We are so pleased that the National Writing Project has just received two honors for our work with them. A Beacon Award for Excellence in Education Marketing (from the Association of Educational Publishers) has recognized the 2008 annual report; and to top it off, a 2009 brochure received an EXCEL 2010 Silver Award from the Association Media & Publishing!

Striking out in a bold new direction with these publications, the SteegeThomson team used text and imagery to emphasize the beauty and power of the written word, while keeping copy itself to a minimum. These vivid pieces – and the awards that honor them – are a result of great teamwork and trust, developed over SteegeThomson’s five-year relationship with NWP.

Take a look!

Services:

Integrated planning, messaging, and identity

Challenge:

GPUAC saw its 40th anniversary as an opportunity to update a brand with equity but an outdated feel. SteegeThomson’s challenge was to develop branding that would reflect GPUAC’s critical and complex role in strengthening urban neighborhoods and the nonprofit organizations that serve them, as well as illustrate the power of coalition.

Approach:

Working with a branding steering committee, SteegeThomson recommended a simplified name (Urban Affairs Coalition), new tagline, and crisp messages around economic growth and the power of coalition. We designed a new logo and put together branding and messaging strategies and a flash presentation that concentrated first on an internal rollout to get GPUAC and its partners on the same page, and then on addressing target audiences.

Results:

The Coalition reports that SteegeThomson’s messages have focused its communications and contributed to culture change.

Community development corporations make a huge difference in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, but how many people understand what they do and how city residents benefit? How do you reach critical audiences and make the message compelling?

SteegeThomson recently completed a plan for Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations to help this umbrella organization and its members communicate effectively with audiences ranging from street level to corporate high-rises. The plan supports clear messages and specific examples of CDCs’ work creating economic opportunities, affordable housing, and a better quality of life throughout the city. We helped PACDC hire its first-ever communications director — our plan’s first priority — and take advantage of media opportunities. We topped off our engagement with two workshops for members and technical assistance to six member CDCs. As Philadelphia begins its own comprehensive planning effort, it’s a perfect time for clear messages and a shared vision!

SteegeThomson client Monell Center landed a spot on CNN this week! The attention was on a study by Monell bridging nutrition-science and psychology to look more closely at kids’ cravings for sweet things – a major factor in the current childhood-obesity epidemic. Monell’s study found that children with symptoms of depression, or with a family history of alcoholism, preferred much higher concentrations of sugar than their peers – suggesting that some children might even crave candy in an attempt to “self-medicate” for psychological conditions.

SteegeThomson’s services to Monell included a refreshed logo, streamlined name, and the award-winning website featured in CNN’s report, which helped Monell put a fresh face on its work and bring groundbreaking studies like these to a wider audience. Want to know more? Watch the CNN report, read about the study, or check out our case study on Monell!

How do we show the impact on people’s lives of complex work that takes place largely away from the public eye? We faced this challenge in serving the National Quality Forum, a major player in healthcare reform that brings together leaders from many sectors to set priorities and establish standards of care. To celebrate NQF’s tenth anniversary, we created a micro-site with video clips of national figures speaking to the importance of the organization’s work. The site also emphasizes NQF’s influence on changing practices through the stories of healthcare providers and patients at sites nationwide.

The design of the site and an accompanying print piece introduce a minimalist look that reflects NQF’s cutting-edge thinking. We are very pleased that the site has won an Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement in the nonprofit category – the second such award for SteegeThomson’s Web work this year.

See the award-winning site: beyondmeasure.qualityforum.org

SteegeThomson is happy to help Temple University celebrate the rebirth of The Baptist Temple, a new venue for events and performances at the heart of Temple’s main campus and the northern end of the Avenue of the Arts. Built in 1891 as a home for Temple University founder Russell Conwell’s congregation, the Temple is a magnificent historic landmark, repurposed today to bring new vitality to Temple University’s campus and new opportunities to Philadelphia’s arts, culture, and business communities.

SteegeThomson created The Baptist Temple’s new identity, from key messages and visual standards to promotional pieces, a sales kit, and a website. The website is designed so that Baptist Temple staff can easily update news and performances.

Read more about The Baptist Temple.

Visit The BaptistTemple’s website.

As the final major project to roll out of the $175-million Bold Ambitions campaign, the University of Pennsylvania School of Law’s new Sansom Street Building will be the capstone of a decade-long physical transformation. The $33-million, 40,000-square-foot project will further strengthen a tight-knit academic community and reinvent how a one-square-block campus utilizes space.

To help potential major donors understand the project’s importance, SteegeThomson translated the new building’s innovative use of light and space onto paper. Using coated vellum stock and special ink, the brochure appeals to both the eyes and sense of touch. In the care given to these special touches, the brochure speaks to the project’s significance and the still-unique qualities of print publications.

Early estimates indicate another year of record-breaking attendance at the 13th annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia’s Sakura Sunday, where attractions such as drumming, dancing, and a new Sushi Experience drew approximately 40,000 people this past Sunday, April 11. SteegeThomson has now worked with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, organizer of the Festival, for seven years to promote this celebration of Japanese culture and arts. SteegeThomson’s recommendations for revamping the Festival website to support media coverage and attract more visitors helped double attendance at Sakura Sunday in the last two years, and a cover photo and center spread in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Weekend section helped build momentum this year. The 2010 Festival kicked off when Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter donned a blue kimono to create a new sushi roll. New events created a buzz, too – like the first annual Cherry Blossom 5K, which drew more than 200 participants on a route canopied by lush pink blossoms.

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On March 1, 1985, Michele Steege and I gave birth to SteegeThomson. In fact, I began the day getting stitches in the emergency room. I had gashed my head on the edge of a bedside table in a move so awkward I could not possibly reproduce it.

Other people who have started businesses will tell you I didn’t hit my head hard enough, since I then proceeded to our first offices — two rooms in the back of Michele’s home. There, she and I sat pretty much knee to knee, conferring on everything. That was partly because the sliding glass door between our rooms didn’t actually close.

We outgrew those quarters in two years, as soon as we needed to hire staff. Our new space had a great advantage: an excellent Thai restaurant right across the hall. We could walk over, stick out a plate, and receive a large scoop of pad thai. We have never eaten so well again. But after three more years and new staff members, we had to give that up, too.

We took a different path.

Dispirited by the spaces available in high rises, we bought a Victorian twin in West Philadelphia. Here we have remained for 20 years. It’s a different kind of place to work. I like to think it reflects SteegeThomson. It’s a little off the beaten path. It has character and substance. It’s been around awhile, and it will be around through market cycles and changes in our field.

In these quarters, we have seen wonderful moments and our most difficult one — Michele’s death in 2004 in her third bout of breast cancer. It was awful, but we got through.

Some you get through. Some you celebrate.

I wish she were alive to celebrate what we have become. At 25, there are days when I am burstingly proud of my colleagues’ work. Equally often, I am humbled by what we need to learn. Always, I am awed by what our clients do.

How could I not be? Today we see clients like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation determined to improve the quality of health care, despite Congressional paralysis. We have the privilege of serving EARTH University in Costa Rica, a 20-year-old institution inventing a whole new model of higher education. We work with the U.S. Dream Academy, helping the children of incarcerated parents and other at-risk children get a shot in life. Our clients embody remarkable stories. We are honored to tell them.

With thanks

And so, to my colleagues, the network of SteegeThomson alumni and our many partners over the years, I say happy birthday to us! And to the wonderful clients who have believed in us with your business, we say thank you — and bring it on! We have our first new logo in 25 years. We have a new website. We’re ready for more.

Carol Thomson
President
www.steegethomson.com

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President of Thomson Communications (and not related to Carol), Charlie brings more than 25 years of experience on both sides of the media aisle. In his nine years of consulting, he successfully advocated the adoption of public policies for the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the Pew Charitable Trusts. He has trained numerous clients to deal with and utilize major media outlets to tell their stories. He has widely publicized research reports for clients such as the Brookings Institution and Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll. He has helped clients manage news coverage around crises for clients including the Red Cross of Southeastern PA and the Philadelphia Parks Alliance.

Prior to consulting, Charlie headed the Philadelphia School District communications office of eight staffers, managing critical news coverage of the former School Superintendent David Hornbeck. Before consulting, he reported and edited in print and broadcast journalism specializing in government and investigative reporting and editorial writing most recently for KYW Newsradio and TV-3.

SteegeThomson Communications began in 1985, when Michele Steege and Carol Thomson combined their talents as marketing strategists with an expertise in development communications to create a communications firm focused solely on the needs of nonprofit institutions and organizations. Michele and Carol built the firm on the key principles that guide its work today: respect for the client, the belief that every solution starts with sound strategy tied to organizational goals, a passion for language, and the insistence that the first job of design is to communicate.

Monell Center website has won an outstanding achievement award in the science/technology category from the Interactive Media Awards.

SteegeThomson developed the site as part of a major upgrade in communications for this wonderful biomedical research institute devoted to a better understanding of the chemical senses, taste and smell. The three other sites that attained this award level are operated by the Kennedy Space Center, NASA, and Sony.

See the award-winning site

Read more about our work with Monell

Nancy handles all questions about billing.

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Hunter is an award-winning online marketing and optimization specialist with 14 years of experience. From websites and landing pages to digital marketing channels such as e-mail, search engine optimization, pay per click, webinars, and social media, he has helped organizations achieve dramatic ROI gains. With a background that includes most facets of content marketing, Hunter has doubled lead pipelines and e-mail opt-in lists and improved the online conversion rates for a diverse array of clients. Now working with SteegeThomson on a project basis, Hunter was a staff member before taking a position as Content Marketing Director with Marketing Experiments. His work has supported our engagements with clients such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, Japan American Society of Greater Philadelphia, and The American College. Unusual in someone with Hunter’s technical skills, he is also an excellent trainer and gifted writer.

Hunter graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a B.S. in Journalism, and completed publishing programs at Rice University and Stanford University.

Markets

Click to expand a market.

News

Services:

Anniversary publication, event video, micro-site, and Web videos

Challenge:

A leading player in healthcare reform, the National Quality Forum asked SteegeThomson to help the organization celebrate ten years of achievement in creating national standards for healthcare quality and look to the future.

Data-intensive, policy-oriented, and largely behind the scenes, NQF needed to put a human face on its important work.

Approach:

We connected policy to practice through interviews with national healthcare leaders, an emphasis on results, and stories of quality improvement. In fresh, first-person video, and a Web site and anniversary publication driven by clear messages and illustrated by case studies from around the country at all levels of care, we made NQF’s work clear, accessible, and appreciated

Results:

Video clips have helped at least one healthcare system demonstrate the value of teamwork and good data in driving improvement. The micro-site won a 2009 Interactive Media Award for outstanding achievement, as it focused attention on NQF’s success in bringing diverse players together to improve quality.

Related Links:

Visit the award-winning Web site

Services:

Integrated marketing plan, website, continuing medical education program, and print and e-mail campaigns

Challenge:

After years of research, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation knew some simple steps would reduce the impact of asthma on children. Now, how could the Foundation promote these practices among those on the front lines of care delivery?

Approach:

Our approach focused on reaching healthcare policymakers and emergency department physicians, who treat asthma among the country’s most disadvantaged children. A tailored print and e-mail campaign reached those who fund health care at the state and local levels, while a free, online continuing medical education program reached thousands of emergency department physicians and nurses with information about the best ways to provide key education to children with asthma and their families. A clearinghouse website, pediatricasthma.org, offers proven strategies and best practices in asthma care, along with a variety of regional and local resources.

Results:

Several thousand clinicians have completed the continuing medical education program, many commenting that the information it contains has helped to shape their current practice. Outreach to the media resulted in placements in key professional journals, including Children’s Hospitals Today. Major healthcare funders and decision-makers, including those from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, sought information from the Foundation following the campaign. Even several years post-launch, key investigators and program sites continue to be contacted through pediatricasthma.org by people and projects who wish to replicate their programs.

Related Links:

Visit the award-winning website

Services:

Communications plan; website; updated brand identity package including a refreshed logo and tagline; capabilities brochures

Challenge:

The public face of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, the world’s leading independent research institute on taste, smell, and chemical senses, failed to reflect the creative, dynamic, and very relevant research and programming that goes on within its walls.

Approach:

Monell’s scientists are at the cutting edge, and their work often has profound implications for how we experience everyday life. With a logo designed by Paul Rand in 1968, Monell has a historical grounding in design that we wanted to bring forward into the 21st century. With bold language and visuals and a streamlined name (Monell Center), we helped Monell share an identity that reflects its independence and creativity. A strong and thoughtful Web presence was designed to help in recruiting, in facilitating communications among researchers, and in meeting the needs of the media.

Results:

Our communications plan gave Monell a blueprint for sharing its research with new audiences, and the updated identity, website, and print materials have been extremely well received by staff, board, and outside audiences. The website won a 2009 Interactive Media Award for outstanding achievement in the science/technology category.

Related Links:

Visit the award-winning website

Services:

Plan for a social marketing campaign

Challenge:

Reading aloud to children improves their language and literacy skills, making them better readers, speakers, and listeners who do better in school and become more employable, productive citizens. For many Philadelphia families, finding the tools and creating the time and space to read together are overwhelming obstacles. Philadelphia Reads, a local literacy and mentoring program serving children and families in Philadelphia, wanted to implement a campaign that would encourage parents to read to their young children.

Approach:

Our campaign plan for Philadelphia Reads combines mobile marketing, city-wide reading events, outdoor and transit ads, radio spots, and partnerships with existing programs, to reach mothers with a simple message about reading to their children.

Results:

Implementation will begin as soon as funding is complete.

Services:

Campaign theme, key messages, CEO letters, case statements

Challenge:

To inspire and motivate Hershey’s leaders, staff, and prospective donors to coalesce around a strongly branded campaign that reinforces the campus’s leadership role in Central Pennsylvania and its growing national prominence.

Approach:

SteegeThomson has helped to take the Penn State Hershey brand to the next level with a campaign theme that reinforces the notion of Hershey as a national rising star, a site of research, education, care, and outreach that leads in many fields. Creating content that could be implemented by the University’s in-house creative team to save on cost, we created the campaign theme, key messages, and written materials ranging from Dean’s letters to case statements for the Penn State Cancer Institute and Penn State Institute for Neuroscience.

Results:

Our campaign identity, messages, letters, and case statements have proven valuable tools in launching Penn State Hershey’s campaign.

Services:

Comprehensive campaign communications planning and materials

Challenge:

To provide multi-faceted support for the public launch of the University of Pennsylvania’s $3.5 billion Making History campaign.

Approach:

Working from a thorough understanding of Penn’s diverse strengths, its current position in the world, and its vision for its future, we developed messaging and a comprehensive communications plan for the campaign, and created materials to support President Amy Gutmann in briefing sessions with prospective donors during the campaign’s quiet phase. For the public launch, we produced a campaign video that stirred emotions and reinforced campaign messages, while our work on the campaign brochure with a newly formed campaign communications office created an important centerpiece for the campaign. We then worked with nine of the 12 Penn schools to reflect the campaign brand while showcasing each school’s unique personality. To help ensure a successful campaign launch, we developed a separate communications plan for the event and helped coordinate its implementation.

Results:

As of April 2010, the campaign has reached 75 percent of its goal, with more than $2.7 billion raised in a down economy. We have worked with several schools as their campaigns progress on everything from video clips to newsletters and donor reports.

Related Links:

Making History campaign video

Services:

Integrated campaign and media relations

Challenge:

The Annie E. Casey Foundation turned to SteegeThomson to help promote two important programs — one that honored organizations working to strengthen families and another that helped low-income residents of Camden, New Jersey keep more of what they earned.

Approach:

For seven years, SteegeThomson publicized FAMILIES COUNT: THE NATIONAL HONORS PROGRAM. We developed an extensive press kit that reporters could access through Casey’s website and mailed kits to community, political, and philanthropic leaders nationwide through specially developed mail lists tailored to reach decision-makers for each grantee. For the Earned Income Tax Credit program in Camden, we produced marketing materials, advertising, and a public relations and community outreach strategy aimed at reaching both families and tax preparation volunteers. These tools were later adapted for the Philadelphia campaign to capitalize on a regional marketing approach.

Results:

In our work with FAMILIES COUNT, we generated television and print coverage in media markets of all sizes, including Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, DC; Indianapolis; Maryland; and Louisville. All the honorees found that publicity opened doors for them and helped them raise additional funds. In Camden, raising awareness of the tax credit helped the number of tax returns prepared for free by volunteers to increase by nearly 80 percent.

Services:

Integrated planning, graphic identity, and social marketing campaigns

Challenge:

Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) is a 500-member statewide coalition of healthcare, education, recreation, and urban planning organizations supporting healthy eating and increased physical activity. At its inception in 2003, PANA needed a position, a brand, and an initial marketing strategy.

Approach:

To help PANA market its community-based programs, SteegeThomson used market research to identify barriers and incentives to action in key audiences, then crafted clear messages and developed strategies to promote actionable, accessible programs for healthcare providers, educators, and community planners. We positioned PANA as the “go to” information source on nutrition and activity among its target markets statewide, as well as an expert resource for media, and we created a visual identity system to unite its core programs.

Results:

PANA’s campaign for healthier schools enrolled 75 percent of Pennsylvania’s school districts within four years, and its initiative to promote the state’s parks and trails as great places for physical activity is in place in more than 25 counties across the Commonwealth. PANA has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and other national agencies for its coordinated and successful approach to systems change.

Services:

Collateral materials to support a scholarship fund in a comprehensive fundraising campaign

Challenge:

Full scholarships from the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund allow bright, underprivileged Chicago students to attend the nation’s leading college-preparatory high schools, but the cost of a scholarship is going up. The Fund needed to produce print collateral on a tight budget to help identify more scholarship sponsors and grow its endowment from $2 million to $6 million.

Approach:

Choosing the cost-effective approach of leveraging Daniel Murphy’s existing graphic identity and tagline, SteegeThomson branded The Campaign to Fulfill Futures and developed a brochure, custom folder, and campaign stationery package. To reflect the program’s power to transform lives, we put storytelling in the driver’s seat, using the success stories of four alumni as the heart of the brochure copy, while placing program descriptions in the sidebars.

Results:

The Fund’s new collateral carried forward the Fund’s low-key approach and gave new power to its fundraising by highlighting its greatest asset: the students supported by the Fund.

Services:

Campaign materials

Challenge:

To develop customizable, concise, and compelling materials for the public launch of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s $125 million campaign.

Approach:

As the centerpiece of its campaign collateral, Penn Vet wanted a brochure that matched the prospective donor’s primary interest — cat, dog, or horse — but also delivered powerful visuals at an affordable price. Given the staff time and budget required, one-of-a-kind printing was not practical. The solution? Three different covers on small, digitally printed runs. On future runs, Penn Vet can further customize by featuring donors and research projects to match the covers. A folder and a separate brochure for the large annual center complete a dynamic, easily tailored package. The materials scan as well as they read, using high-quality photography and bold messages to reinforce talking points for solicitors.

Results:

Response was positive from both internal and external audiences, including Penn Vet’s 27 peer veterinary schools. Penn Vet targeted campaign presentations to donors by segment — using canine materials, for example, at events such as the Westminster Dog Show — while keeping a core message that reached all donors. Campaign images and text did double duty on the Web site and in complementary materials such as planned-giving advertisements and campaign presentations to faculty.

Services:

Communications audit and recommendations

Challenge:

How should a Nobel Laureate organization with far-flung national and international aid programs, a completely decentralized structure, and a limited budget compete for attention in a saturated communications market?

Approach:

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) first turned to SteegeThomson to audit its communications efforts in 2003, after a new leader was named. In 2009, with a new marketing team in place, AFSC requested a second look at positioning, messaging, and communications priorities. To reach a younger generation of donors less familiar with AFSC’s work, we made extensive recommendations on the use of Web, social media, and mobile communications. Additionally, we suggested capturing innovative ideas from across AFSC’s diverse program areas and gaining buy-in for successful implementation.

Results:

As a result of its first audit, AFSC strengthened relationships with the Quaker community, redesigned publications, and unified its brand. In 2009, it reorganized staff, shifted resources to expand its online presence, and formed a national team of communications advisors who bring together the best practices from across the nation and serve as brand ambassadors.

Services:

Integrated planning

Challenge:

Ithaca College needed an integrated marketing plan to create a strong image within the College’s key markets and reflect the College’s rising prestige and its admissions and fundraising goals.

Approach:

Focus group research helped us to craft crisp messages. We worked collaboratively with faculty and administrators to identify marketing strategies and develop a plan, complete with recommendations on communications with key audiences, extensive redesign of the Web site, and an alternative staffing structure. We also included recommended actions for departments that had a major impact on the student experience, such as residential life and alumni affairs.

Results:

Ithaca created an executive director of marketing position, placed a renewed emphasis on media relations, and restructured the marketing communications office from a siloed group of highly talented specialists to an integrated, customer-focused team. Admissions have been increasing, and sharpened positioning has helped Ithaca successfully best its $145 million capital campaign goal by $30 million.

Services:

Brand identity, logo, graphic guidelines, annual report, and communications plan

Challenge:

The U.S. Dream Academy, a national afterschool and mentoring program serving children of incarcerated parents, needed a crisper image, a more effective online presence, and improved tools to take its messages to funders, families, volunteer mentors, and educators.

Approach:

SteegeThomson brought the Dream Academy brand into sharp focus with its first professional logo and mark, accompanied by a graphic identity system. A dynamic new website reflects this look and strengthened online marketing and communications; and we also designed the agency’s second-ever annual report. Finally, our planning work equipped Dream Academy leaders with a messaging platform and clear strategies to support stronger communications across all venues.

Results:

Today, better overall communications and an engaging new look are helping the Dream Academy leverage its powerful mission more effectively. Storytelling and authentic voices convey the difference the program makes for more than 1,000 young people. The website has created more interactive opportunities, including pages where Dream Academy Learning Centers in 10 cities across the nation can share more information with a range of constituents.

Related Links:

Visit the U.S Dream Academy website

Services:

Graphic identity, guidelines, and a series of training workshops for staff

Challenge:

The vast popularity of Temple University’s “T,” in widespread use since 1983, led many to drop the wordmark that went with it. By 2005, a surge in University popularity made it critical that potential students worldwide knew its full name. Temple needed a new graphic identity that enhanced, rather than replaced, its iconic “T.”

Approach:

After an extensive look at how Temple colleges and offices used the official logo, we redesigned the wordmark and created a brand identity for the entire University, including a comprehensive set of graphic standards. To help ensure that the logo and standards were properly understood, we conducted a series of University-wide workshops for Temple staff responsible for print and electronic communications.

Results:

As a result of clear and comprehensive guidelines, and the backing of top administrators, Temple University redesigned its Web site, advertising collateral, and key publications to reflect the new logo. Widespread implementation supported a strengthened brand.

We are currently setting up access to our FTP server.

We are proud that professional organizations have recognized our work and the strong relationships with our clients that make excellence possible. Some of the awards our work has earned include:

NEW!!! Interactive Media Awards

• Outstanding Achievement Award in the Medical category for website
• Outstanding Achievement Award in the Nonprofit category for website

Art Directors Club of New Jersey

• Certificate of Excellence for Promotional Brochure

Association of Educational Publishers

• Distinguished Award for Annual Report Writing

Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America

• Superior Publication

Communicator Award

• Award of Excellence for Fund-raising Brochure
• Awards of Distinction for Website, Media Kit Writing, Capabilities Brochure

Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)

• Gold and Bronze Medals for Fund-raising Publications
• Silver Medal for Most Improved Publication
• Silver Medal for Individual Student Recruitment Publication
• Bronze Medals for Fund-raising Publications Packages
• Bronze Medal for Individual Fund-raising Publications
• Bronze Medal for Publications Program Improvement

Healthcare Marketing Report

• Best Psychiatric Hospital Brochure
• Bronze Winner for Healthcare System Brochure

Horizon Interactive Award

• Bronze award for Public Service/Non Profit Website

Hospital Association of Pennsylvania

• Marketing Award

International Association of Business Communicators

• Best Corporate Writing in the Northeast Region
• Gold Award for Special Purpose Publications

MarCom Awards

• Platinum award for Cultural Non Profit Annual Report
• Gold award for Publications Package including Annual Report and brochures
• Gold award for Comprehensive Campaign Materials
• Gold award for Media Magazine Placement
• Honorable Mention for Public Service Website
• Honorable Mention for External Communications Program

National Association of Government Communicators

• First Place Publications Award

Neographics

• Gold Medal for Capabilities Brochure

Philadelphia Business Journal

• Best Places to Work Award

Philly Gold Award

• Finalist in Fleet Graphics Design

Printing Industry of America (PIA)

• Premier Print (“Benny”) Award for Service Booklets and Brochures

Public Relations Society of America, Philadelphia Chapter, Pepperpot Awards

• Ladle Award for Media Special Events: excellence in planning, execution and results

A classics major who loves popular culture, Luise excels at giving a human face to institutions and their issues. She uncovers stories that make them compelling to potential funders, stakeholders, and the media. In SteegeThomson’s work promoting public understanding of a vital change to the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, she placed articles in USA Today, the LA Times, and regional TV and radio outlets. Her intellectual strength and writing skills have served SteegeThomson clients ranging from Devereux and Research for Action to the Annenberg Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania.

Luise served as director of media relations for the Pennsylvania Ballet, public relations coordinator for the Franklin Institute Science Museum, and public information assistant for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Prior to joining SteegeThomson, Luise served as Director of Communications at Penn’s College of General Studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in classical studies, and a Master of Liberal Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Becky knows issues advocacy from the inside out. For more than 19 years, she has brought productive news coverage to issues in education and health care for clients such as the College Board, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the National Minority Quality Forum. She has placed strategic stories in outlets that include CNN, U.S. News & World Report, the_New York Times, and the Washington Post. Before her agency experience with DC-based GMMB, she was a broadcast and print journalist, a U.S. Senate press secretary, and a media director for the National Education Association and NeighborWorks America. She is the founder of Navigator Communications and a frequent member of the SteegeThomson team.

Becky holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing and Communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a Master of Arts in Media and Public Affairs from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

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Kim’s quiet efficiency, intuitive grasp of all things technical, and background in fine arts make her a natural for her role as SteegeThomson’s production assistant. She helps us meet and exceed client expectations by keeping complex projects on schedule and maintaining contact with all moving parts on SteegeThomson’s work involving design and production. Kim is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

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A Bryn Mawr College graduate, Katie brings a sharp mind and strong editorial skills to her SteegeThomson responsibilities. Often the last eye upon a piece of prose before it goes out for client review, Katie’s keen eye for detail helps ensure that lively text is both clear and correct. Her precise writing style and strong interest in science helped instill accuracy and energy into SteegeThomson’s materials for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

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Togo tells stories — stories that help our clients raise funds and friends, command attention, and compel emotions, stories that translate institutional messages into impact on people. Togo also develops communications plans for very complex institutions, connecting those stories to the audiences who need to hear them. He worked with the U.S. Dream Academy, a national program for at-risk youth, to translate its brand into an exciting communications program. From the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund in Chicago to the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, Togo’s clients praise his can-do spirit.

Togo earned his B.A. from Swarthmore College and began his career as a classroom teacher, a calling that continues to infuse his work.

Togo Has Worked with Such Clients As:

Annenberg Foundation, Community Mercy Health Partners, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, EARTH University, Ford Calumet Environmental Center, Sinai Health System, Smithsonian Institution, Penn Medicine’s Department of Surgery, U.S. Dream Academy, and Women’s Law Project

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Kim is often the reason our clients’ projects are done well on time and on budget. As Production Manager, she ensures that design and text work together, provides art direction and photography options, and manages all phases of production, from page proofs through printing. She keeps teams of photographers, printers, programmers, and videographers focused on project goals. The Smithsonian, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and National Quality Forum are just a few of the clients that have benefited from her talents. Before Kim joined SteegeThomson in 2005, her advanced computer skills and creative talents helped clients ranging from top pharmaceutical and Fortune 500 companies to small professional organizations. Kim holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond in Leadership Studies and Studio Arts.

Kim Has Worked with Such Clients As:

Institute for Research and Reform in Education, Monell Center, National Museum of Natural History, National Quality Forum, National Writing Project, Nazareth College, Smithsonian Institution, University of Pennsylvania, and U.S. Dream Academy

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Jill balances an astounding appetite for knowledge with an ability to reach the heart of the matter quickly. She served as project manager and creative lead in our work on pediatric asthma for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where her out-of-the-box thinking led to the development of continuing medical education content and an award-winning website. She showed the same innovative thinking in placing mobile marketing at the heart of a campaign we recently fashioned to reach low-income mothers for Philadelphia Reads. In our work for the National Quality Forum, Jill developed the microsite and video and worked with four healthcare systems to show quality at work.

Before joining SteegeThomson in 2004, Jill was a creative director for the Medical Broadcasting Company, where she excelled at creating loyalty among Web visitors for pharmaceutical clients. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jill Has Worked with Such Clients As:

Bradley University, Goodman Theatre, Indiana State University, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Philadelphia Reads, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rosenbach Museum & Library, Staten Island Academy, The Shipley School, and University of Pennsylvania

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Pat leads many of our most complex branding processes and creates some of our most compelling communications. Standouts range from her work on messages and materials for the Smithsonian Institution and Washington National Cathedral to her planning skills and long-time counsel to clients such as Ithaca College and the American Friends Service Committee, counsel which helped them to restructure their communications programs. Clients call on her repeatedly to navigate through conceptual thickets and delicate relationships. Pat brings energy and enthusiasm to every project and believes the secret to developing powerful creative and lyrical prose is the ability to fall in love easily.

Pat previously served as marketing vice president for the American Cancer Society in Pennsylvania. She holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Temple University and a Master of Science from Drexel University.

Patricia Has Worked with Such Clients As:

American Friends Service Committee, Harvard University Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, University of Georgia, University of Pennsylvania, Washington National Cathedral, and Wistar Institute

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As a founder and president of SteegeThomson, Carol has built a firm on the premise that strategy is king. Her ability to think clearly, plan realistically, and shape crisp messages has served scores of institutional leaders and, upon occasion, helped them avert a crisis. She has provided counsel for major fundraising and marketing campaigns. Her strong editorial skills are the foundation of SteegeThomson’s signature strengths in developing content, but she considers her greatest talent to be hiring really smart people and helping them excel.

In past positions, Carol was the director of communications at Public/Private Ventures, a national policy research firm, and served the University of Pennsylvania as a senior development writer. She received her A.B. cum laude and her Master of Arts degree in teaching from Brown University.

Carol Has Worked With Such Clients As:

Annie E. Casey Foundation, Central European University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute for Research and Reform in Education, National Board of Medical Examiners, National Quality Forum, University of Georgia, and University of Pennsylvania

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In Costa Rica, a unique university is educating dynamic young leaders from developing countries in order to change the world. Founded in 1990, EARTH conducts a rigorous search for students who can benefit from its unusual curriculum in sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship to become transformative change agents. Most of EARTH’s graduates return home to make an impact on their own communities.

SteegeThomson is honored to tell EARTH’s story in a case statement that will serve as a fundamental tool for its first comprehensive campaign. This case statement will convince donors they are investing in one of the most forward-thinking universities in the world.

SteegeThomson does not do cookie-cutter campaigns. We design distinctive campaigns that work across media platforms to clarify complicated issues and spread best practices for social good. We take advantage of conventional and new media, matching venue to audience to deliver targeted messages, and capturing attention with strategies that are sometimes unexpected but that get results.

Our Marketing Campaign Services:

• Issues
• Practices
• Institutions

Clients We Helped Target Their Marketing Campaigns:

Donors need to connect — to you, to the people you serve, to each other. SteegeThomson has been helping institutions engage donors since 1985. Our campaign communications plans integrate brands and existing communications with campaign messages and fill in the gaps where new outreach is needed. Our case statements build internal consensus around the fundamental questions: Why support us? Why now? What for? In videos, online, and in print collateral, we answer donors’ tough questions with stories of impact and changed lives.

Our Development Communications Services:

• Comprehensive Campaign Plans
• Annual Giving
• Case Statements
• Online and Print Collateral

Clients We Helped Craft Their Development Communications:

Know your audience. That imperative drives strong creative in any medium. With your audience firmly in mind, we develop a compelling concept that will drive the verbal and visual elements to achieve your goals. We help you stand out in the crowd with concise, strong language, and beautiful images and design. The communications we develop will look and sound like yours alone.

Our Creative Services:

• Graphic Identities
• Print
• Online
• Advertising

Clients We Helped Reach Their Creative Goals:

We start by listening hard to you and your stakeholders. We probe to discover who you are and what sets you apart. Our branding services help you close the gap between perceptions in the marketplace and your organization’s vision and reality. Our communications and marketing plans focus first on organizational goals and critical audiences, then match tailored strategies with available resources. Our audits look to strengthen what is already good — and help you let go of what may have seen its time.

Our Strategic Services:

• Branding
• Plans and Audits
• Consulting

Clients We Helped Reach Their Strategic Goals:

Services:

Brand identity, positioning strategies, logo, graphic guidelines, and annual report

Challenge:

As the venerable Washington National Cathedral celebrated its Centennial and defined its role in a new century, this unique institution needed a new logo and a new look, as well as a set of crisp messages that spoke to strengthened worship and service inside the Cathedral and across the globe.

Approach:

Our logo captured the Cathedral’s distinctive silhouette and modernized its classic wordmark.

Strong, clear positioning and messaging translated into powerful creative concepts, such as our annual report for the Centennial Year.

Our media strategies and placements positioned the Cathedral as an important Washington destination.

Results:

The Cathedral’s new logo and color palette is now the foundation of its creative platform. The well-received annual report earned kudos and positioned the institution for the future. Earned media placements in national outlets such as USA Today’s website reached 49 million readers and viewers.

At SteegeThomson, you hire a team, even when you see only the person in charge of your account. Our business model delivers services that are strategic, creative, and personalized, on time and within budget. We call on a diverse range of talent and tremendous esprit de corps. Like a good ensemble cast, we are made up of strong characters whose individual assets, when blended, create a seamless whole.

For 25 years, SteegeThomson has provided marketing and fundraising communications services to clients whose work educates and enlightens, promotes health, brings culture into our lives, and creates opportunity and hope. Their successes inspire us, and we are honored to tell their stories.

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Some clients ask SteegeThomson to develop a comprehensive communications program and consult with them as they carry it out.

Other clients engage us for a single project, such as a communications audit or plan, a branding campaign, a website, a case statement, or a media and publicity campaign.

Whatever the scope of your communications project, SteegeThomson can help.

How do you cut through the clutter? How do you compete for attention with organizations whose staff and budgets far exceed your own? How do you engage audiences so that they become a part of your organization’s strength? SteegeThomson offers a full range of strategic and communication services, tailored to the circumstances of your organization.

Founded in 1985, SteegeThomson Communications began when Michele Steege and Carol Thomson — colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania – combined their talents as marketing strategists with an expertise in development communications to create a communications firm focused solely on the needs of nonprofit institutions and organizations. Michele and Carol built the firm on the key principles that guide its work today: respect for the client, the belief that every solution starts with sound strategy tied to organizational goals, a passion for language, both verbal and visual, and the insistence that the first job of design is to communicate.

For nearly 25 years, SteegeThomson has provided marketing and fundraising communications services to clients whose work educates and enlightens, promotes health, brings culture into our lives, and creates opportunity and hope. Their successes inspire us, and we are honored to tell their stories.

Our clients successes inspire us, and we are honored to tell their stories. Select Our Work to learn their stories.

Smart Thinking

A fresh perspective. Deep knowledge of best practices.
Respect for what you know. A belief that strategy is king.
The knack for playing well with others. The ability to both think and do.

To learn more, just click here.