Big Work

During my senior year at Virginia Commonwealth University, I was given the opportunity to work with a team of five to develop and execute an advertising strategy. We had to do so for a wonderful local nonprofit which was created as a part of Habitat for Humanity. The mission was to increase awareness about Restore, a non profit store chain that sells gently used home goods, then uses the money to build homes for people who cannot afford a place to live. Because Restore is a non profit, they do not use any of the proceeds to improve the appearance of the store. Everything they make goes toward building the homes, which leaves the store looking a little less than fabulous.
In the past, people who have tried to deal with this problem ignored the fact that people avoid Restore because of its appearance as well as its shady location. My team and I decided to face this problem head on, and built a strategy around the ugliness of Restore.

With me being the strategist on the team, I had to start with the manifesto. I wanted to portray Restore through the relational concept of a selfless mother who puts 100% into looking after her children and often neglects herself in the process. This was my way of making the ugly look good.

The manifesto read:
Everyone likes to help everyone else. Deep down in our hearts, we all want to better the world we live in and to make a positive difference before we leave. But everyone also likes to shop for their homes, everyone is looking for that unique piece that will set them apart from everyone else. We have all tried the generics, Lowe's, Home Depot, Goodwill, or Walmart, and while they satisfy our needs to a certain extent, we are always missing that sense of originiality and distinction, and most importantly; we are missing the sense of gratification we get from making a positive difference in someone's life.

Most companies are satisfied with making grandeous amounts of money off of their consumers and putting them right into their pockets. Habitat For Humanity with ReStore wants to change this. They don't want to spend a ton of money on merchandise and sell it to you for double or triple the price, they want you to donate your gently used everything so they can sell it for a fraction of the price to those trying to save, and to use the money they make to build a home for someone in need.

We need a home store that is selfless. A home store that is by the community, for the community. A place that takes everything given to it and putts it right back into the community where it belongs to improve people's lives and to make a positive difference in the world.



This manifesto then inspired me to film and edit an informational video about Restore, showing the humble reasons behind its less than perfect appearance.



The client loved all of the work and is using it all as a part of an active campaign to better their business.