"This talented team has given the commission a professional and quality presence.
Their designs are eye-catching and appealing."
—KRISTEN MUSZYNSKI, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, MAINE DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
We’re getting Mainers—and visitors—excited about the State’s biggest celebration in 200 years.
The Situation
Maine may be a small state in population, but it’s got a rich history, a lot of current cachet, and a bright future. So with Maine’s 200th birthday looming on the horizon, the Maine Bicentennial Commission asked Burgess if we could help capture all this in a website—and all the other marketing tools available now that weren’t in 1920, the state’s last centennial!
It helps that our President, Meredith Strang Burgess, is a former legislator and intimately familiar with the nuances of state government. Working closely with the Bicentennial Commission, we planned a series of meetings to quickly identify key themes, constituencies and needs.
Our Strategy
The first priority, of course, was to solicit contributions from Maine companies and other organizations. We developed a suitably historic logo and theme, Leading the Way, for prospective patrons of the Bicentennial to aspire to. Then we created a preliminary website featuring this theme on the extremely usable and scalable Branch CMS with our web development partner, Aptuitiv.
As with all clients, we developed a set of graphic guidelines and a visual palette to inform a wide range of materials, including rack cars for various trade shows, merchandising materials, and giant banners for key visitor stops on the Maine Turnpike.
We are currently revamping the website to speak to the general public--in Maine and regionally—in anticipation of the first Bicentennial kick-off events later this summer, and look forward to continually refining the site as the nearly 20-month celebration progresses.
Results
Under extremely tight deadlines, we successfully launched Maine200.org at a much-publicized showcase event. We’ve met every other deadline since then, including materials for statewide conferences and quick turnarounds to reflect a changing roster of public officials. Project after project, we’ve received accolades from a diverse group of committee members, and are excited about our continuing role in this truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.