Overview:
In 2018 Biddeford, Maine was selected as one of 20 towns in the US to participate in the Partners in Preservation Main Streets campaign, which invites the public to vote to decide which of the 20 historic sites should receive a portion of $2 million in preservation funding from American Express.

The Challenge:
Heart of Biddeford needed an effective and cost effective strategy to not only reach the right people, but to move them to an external website where they would record their vote to save the town’s historic clocktower. We needed them to do this not just once, but every day of the promotion. And we needed a lot of people to do take action, as we were competing against much larger cities.

The Solution:
The clock tower, the historic landmark the campaign hoped to save, is a representation of Biddeford’s current, continuing momentum (2024 update, the clocktower has been fully restored). Our campaign had to convey that fixing the clock tower was about more than keeping time, but about the revitalization and diversity of the downtown. At the core of our message was a refrain: What Time Is It? It’s Our Time.

I was hired by Heart of Biddeford, the non-profit competing in the contest, to create a holistic creative idea brief, rooted in community insight, that would tie together offline and online activations, to develop an organic and a paid social media strategy, and to implement that strategy. As part of the briefing process I led, along with the Director of HoB, a brainstorm session with several community stakeholders. I worked closely with local filmmaker Andrew Dickinson to develop a short film that would become the focal point of our digital campaign.

We had four main goals for the campaign:

• Create awareness of Partners in Preservation Vote Your Main Street Program, especially Biddeford’s participation

• Drive people to the PiP website to register and vote for Biddeford’s clock tower project; encourage community to vote daily

• Grow community excitement about the project and increase community love for Biddeford and the revitalizing downtown

• Fuel community involvement and participation through the sharing of social media content, forwarding of e-blasts, sign-ups for SMS reminders, and attendance at our Open House Weekend event(s)

Results:
Over 84K votes cast for Biddeford

Came in third in overall rankings, beating out larger cities like New York, Boston, and Miami. The population of Biddeford, ME in 2018 was approximately 25K.

Winning campaign, securing a portion of the $2 million prize.

My Role:
Creative Idea Brief Development, Organic and Paid Social Media Strategy and Implementation

It's Our Time
Filmmaker and photographer Andrew Dickinson created the film at the center of our campaign.

Past & Present
We chose historic images, provided by the local library and historical society, as well as new shots from Boston-based Brian McWilliams to create the visual story for our It’s Our Time campaign.