My second week at CXC and the Columbus Foundation proved to be a successful one. After finishing my survey redesign task in the first week, I shifted my efforts to focus more on the branding and marketing of CXC as a nonprofit as well as a major Columbus event. The majority of the week was spent researching what exactly creates a successful marketing campaign for a nonprofit specifically. I am familiar with marketing events, as I have done that for two of my past internships, but figuring out how to connect with donors was a new playing field for me.

Marketing research began with determining our desired target demographics, and turned towards brainstorming potential eye-grabbing and thought-provoking concepts for social media and in-person campaigns. The project is just getting started, so there are a lot of exciting possibilities where it could go. I’m so appreciative to be at CXC, where they value my interest in combining art with research as they push me to create marketing campaigns that reflect that. I’m hoping to potentially even collaborate with some of my peers during the Fellowship to create a project that reflects the interest of a diverse Columbus population.

Aside from my major projects, I have been spending a lot of time getting to know CXC and the work they do. I have been reading graphic novels by the artists featured at this year’s event so I can speak about their work with interested board members, donors and guests. Despite my lack of background knowledge in cartoon art, I have found some artists that I feel I connect with due to their beautiful styling. I’ve been sharing my newfound interest in the medium and advocate that everyone should try to digest new artistic styles (and attend any free arts festivals in their locale)!