Gracie Communications

When the Indiana AIDS Fund asked Gracie Communications to donate its services to market its annual fundraiser, Spotlight: One Night, One Stage, One Reason, we didn’t hesitate. Instead, we recruited other professionals from public television, the arts, design and marketing to create and implement an annual marketing plan that contributed to selling 1,200 tickets and raising approximately $350,000 in 2009.

Services Provided

• Strategic Communications Planning
• Media Relations
• Community Relations
• Stakeholder Relations
• Social Media
• Writing

With a background in both not-for-profit and government communications, Gracie Communications worked with The Children’s Museum to create an annual plan to reach legislators, agency heads and other state and city elected officials. Tactics include a quarterly report to legislators, the annual Statehouse Day, and hosting legislators and elected officials at Museum special events. In addition, Gracie Communications manages a periodic economic impact survey process, with the most recent study reporting $63.9 million in economic benefits for the state of Indiana.

Services Provided

• Strategic Communications Planning
• Community Relations
• Stakeholder Relations
• Media Relations
• Writing
• Event Management

Serving one of the fastest growing counties in the country with only a bare-bones staff, the Executive Director of the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau turned to Gracie Communications for assistance. In the past four years, we’ve helped the Bureau gain the attention of Midwest Living Magazine, Town Square Magazine, and The Today Show as well as visits from regional travel writers and newspaper editors. In addition, Gracie Communications has developed a marketing and communications workshop and offered public relations counsel for Bureau member organizations who want to improve their communications efforts.

Services Provided

• Media Relations
• Stakeholder Relations
• Communications Consulting
• Presentations
• Writing

Six weeks before hosting the first annual Blue Breakfast at the Colts Complex, Coburn Place found itself without a development and marketing director. That’s where Gracie Communications stepped in. Within days, we had written the script for the Blue Breakfast, recruited a recognized voice from the RCA Dome to record some audio, and prepared media relations efforts to drive attendance. Impressed by our willingness to help and ability to learn quickly, Coburn Place also asked us to write a direct mail fundraising solicitation. One recipient’s comment? “Your last direct mail piece really touched me. I am sending a donation!”

FitCity Indianapolis
Gracie Communications has been part of the team behind a social marketing and strategic communications plan to reduce youth obesity in Indianapolis since 2001. Under the leadership of the Learning Well Inc. and The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, Lisa Sirkin Vielee has served as interim program director, formed a steering committee, developed the business plan, and secured annual funding. Specific to communications efforts, Gracie Communications developed the FitCity Moms Blog , manages a social media campaign, and writes and edits e-newsletters, radio reader copy, and direct mail pieces. In addition, our team managed a multi-year advertising buy, consulted with various community groups to develop adolescent-focused health programming, and developed the new and improved FitCityIndy.org web site and subsequent content, including an updatable events listing. In other words, we’ve made reducing youth obesity in central Indiana our passion.

Services Provided

• Strategic Program Communications Planning
• Program Management
• Public Relations
• Community Relations
• Stakeholder Relations
• Presentations and Speech Writing
• Internal Communications
• Social Media