Brand Strategy · Visual Identity · Website Development · Content Strategy · Paid Social · Email Campaigns ·
Tradeshow Materials · Collateral Design
Together Marathon County
Volunteering just got easier to say yes to.
Civic Initiative · Nonprofit · Volunteer Engagement · Marathon County, WI
The Situation
Marathon County has no shortage of people who want to give back. What it needed was a more centralized, accessible way for community members to discover volunteer opportunities and take action. Together Marathon County was created to help solve that problem by giving the community a clearer path to volunteer engagement while also supporting the volunteer coordinators and organizations working behind the scenes.
The initiative was created by the Greenheck Foundation as a way to strengthen volunteerism across Marathon County and make it easier for residents to connect with meaningful opportunities. But a mission like that needed more than a good idea. It needed a brand, a message, a public-facing website, and supporting materials that could clearly communicate the value of the initiative to both volunteers and partner organizations.
When 712 Creative came on board, the goal was to help shape that public-facing foundation so Together Marathon County could show up with clarity, credibility, and momentum.
What we Built
Brand Strategy / Brand Blueprint
We developed a full Brand Blueprint to create a strong strategic foundation for Together Marathon County. This included competitor and positioning research, complete brand messaging, a communications playbook defining the brand’s personality, voice, tone, and style, and a high-level execution and marketing strategy.
As part of the strategy work, we also developed buyer personas through a more in-depth research process that included focus groups with different types of volunteers in different stages of life. These conversations helped us better understand how people felt about volunteering, where they currently discovered opportunities, what motivated them to get involved, and what barriers stood in the way.
Visual Identity
We created a complete visual identity system for Together Marathon County, including logo, color palette, typography, and supporting visual language designed to feel welcoming, community-centered, and trustworthy.
Graphic Design
Social Media Launch Support
We are also supporting the social media launch to help introduce the initiative to the community and build early awareness.
Tradeshow and Outreach Materials
We created a range of supporting materials to help the initiative show up professionally in the community, including a banner, tablecloth, stickers, and a two-pager explaining what Together Marathon County does and why it matters.
Website Design and Development
We designed and are building the informational website for Together Marathon County — a public-facing site that explains the initiative, highlights the benefits and services, and connects users to the volunteer platform. While the volunteer hub itself is powered by Galaxy Digital, our role was to create the branded informational website that helps people understand the mission and navigate toward action.
Message Testing
We created and launched a message testing campaign to evaluate how different messaging concepts resonated with the target audience. This helped generate early insights into which ideas were most compelling and useful for future marketing efforts.
Content Strategy
We developed a content strategy to support launch and future growth, helping shape how Together Marathon County can continue communicating with the community in a consistent and meaningful way.
The Shift
Together Marathon County moved from a strong community initiative into a more clearly defined public-facing brand. It now has stronger positioning, a visual identity, a website presence, and supporting outreach materials that help explain both sides of its mission: making it easier for residents to find volunteer opportunities and supporting the coordinators and organizations who make those opportunities possible.
The work has helped turn an important community concept into something more tangible, visible, and easier to engage with.
"Highly recommend for brand strategy and anything else you would need to refresh or launch your company or vision!!"
