Austin’s House: Boots and Bling Event Promotion

Situation: In 2024, Austin’s House launched a comprehensive awareness and fundraising campaign to increase visibility, deepen community engagement, and strengthen donor support. The centerpiece of this campaign was the reimagined Boots and Bling gala—formerly Denim and Diamonds—which was redesigned to reflect the organization’s mission and elevate its presence in Northern Nevada. Held July 20 at Twisting T-Bar Ranch in Gardnerville, NV, the event featured gourmet BBQ, live and silent auctions, a dessert auction, and entertainment by local artist Jake Jacobson.

In Plain Sight Marketing (IPSM) led the branding, marketing, and promotional strategy, using integrated media, digital outreach, and community engagement to drive campaign results. The gala became a powerful activation point for donor acquisition, awareness building, and fundraising—ultimately exceeding all core objectives.

Research and planning

Research: Research informed the overall campaign strategy, including messaging, timing, and audience targeting. IPSM reviewed past fundraising performance, donor and sponsor engagement, and gathered input from Austin’s House leadership to guide messaging and refine outreach. Audience segmentation shaped social media, email, and sponsorship strategies across all campaign phases

This research directly shaped campaign timing, messaging, media targeting, and content planning across digital, earned, and community outreach efforts.

Goal: Position Boots and Bling as the centerpiece of an integrated campaign to increase awareness of Austin’s House, engage new and existing donors, and raise critical funds to support children in crisis across Northern Nevada.

Event Objectives:

1. Sell 300+ tickets by July 10, 2024
2. Secure at least 5 more sponsors than the prior year by June 1, 2024
3. Reach 20,000+ people through integrated marketing by July 15, 2024
4. Acquire 50 new donors
5. Raise $140,000+ from ticket sales, auctions, and sponsorships

Timeline: February 2024 – July 2024
February–July 2024: Research, planning and rebrand alignment began in February. Creative development and sponsorship outreach followed in March–May. Ticket sales launched May 1, with digital and media promotion running through the July 20 event. Wrap-up concluded by July 25.

Key publics: Local residents of Douglas County, Nevada, local philanthropic families and individuals, regional and local businesses, corporate sponsors, and local and regional media.

Budget: The total promotional budget for this campaign included $300 for paid social media advertising. Printing and collateral costs were managed directly by the event planner and are not reflected in this budget. IPSM dedicated 60 hours of paid staff time under contract for strategy development, content creation, implementation, and media outreach. Austin’s House staff and volunteers supported sponsorships, auctions, ticketing, and logistics.

Execution

Strategies:

1. Build upon the client’s rebrand by integrating their new event name, look, and feel consistently across all marketing channels to enhance visibility and perceived value.
2. Execute a multi-channel marketing plan to drive ticket sales, attract new sponsors, and expand awareness throughout Northern Nevada.
3. Engage local media and community partners to build credibility and encourage community participation.
4. Activate community partnerships by providing flyers and announcements to civic organizations and local networks.
5. Use targeted email and social media campaigns to inform, remind, and convert past supporters and potential attendees.
6. Send personalized emails to our list of donors and supporters
7. Create branded collateral for the event

Tactics: Our tactics were executed as part of a fully integrated campaign that included digital media, earned press, civic outreach, email marketing, and community partnerships to ensure consistent engagement leading up to the event.

Activities: IPSM led strategy development, content creation, and media outreach, while Austin’s House staff and volunteers managed sponsorship outreach, auction procurement, ticketing, community distribution of materials, and day-of-event coordination.

Materials: Campaign materials included branded social media graphics and ad creatives, digital flyers and posters for community distribution, press releases, and customized sponsorship proposals. IPSM also developed email marketing templates, auction preview and countdown content, and provided promotional copy and assets for community partners, the Carson Valley Chamber, and media outlets. All materials were aligned with the refreshed Boots and Bling branding to ensure consistency across platforms.

Evaluation: The following results are evaluated against the campaign’s SMART objectives, which measured awareness, donor growth, sponsorship engagement, and overall fundraising success. Outcomes reflect the campaign’s performance across all platforms, not just the event itself.

1: Sell 300+ tickets by July 10, 2024. Result: We didn’t sell all 300 tickets; we hit 250 sold for our inaugural rebrand. While we didn’t sell out, we received incredibly positive feedback from attendees about how much they enjoyed the new event.

2: Secure at least 5 more sponsors than the previous year by June 1, 2024. Result: We surpassed our goal of 5 new sponsors and attracted 8, reflecting increased business community interest and improved sponsor messaging.

3: Reach 20,000 people in the Northern Nevada area with event marketing by July 1, 2024
Result: Combined organic and paid social media impressions, email marketing, and media coverage exceeded our total reach goal. Our Facebook ads reached over 22,000 people alone, and our total reach during the campaign time was over 32,000. The newspaper ads reached over 8,000 people, emails through the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce reached 300 businesses multiple times, and we had a TV interview that reached approximately 15,000 people. We are unsure how many people were reached during the radio interview. Overall, we reached over 85,000 people through our campaign.

4: Acquire 50 new donors from event interactions. Result: Post-event reporting showed more than 96 first-time donors contributed through ticket purchases, auction participation, or direct donations, including a generous donor who contributed $120,000 at the event.

5: Raise $140,000 from ticket sales, auctions, and donations. Result: The event exceeded its $140,000 goal; we brought in over $350,000 and netted $280,000, demonstrating the effectiveness of the integrated marketing and promotional efforts in converting community engagement into direct support.