In Summer 2025 at EAB, I contributed to Utah State Universityâs Day of Giving campaign - one of higher edâs largest fundraising initiatives of the year. I was responsible for translating USUâs playful, tradition-rich personality across a wide range of digital touch points.
Mail as an anchor
Every strong campaign needs an anchor. For this DoG, it was a hidden-picture mailer designed by another AD, complete with a custom illustration of Big Blue. The piece was overflowing with Aggie spirit - mascot moments, campus landmarks, history, and layered Easter eggs. With the bar set high, this mailer became the north star for my digital designs.
ICE Cream, anyone?
First was the email campaign: 8 messages spanning the lead-up and the event itself. Like many higher-ed campaigns, this included multiple audience segments and copy variations. My challenge was building layouts flexible enough to accommodate changing content while still feeling cohesive and fun. The stars of this set were:
â˘Â Two emails signed by Big Blue, featuring playful hierarchy, a blue hoof-print âsignature,â and illustration elements pulled directly from the mailer. One used a faux-forward format to suggest Big Blue was personally passing along the message to fellow Aggies.
â˘Â The crown jewel of my contributions: the Aggie Ice Cream âGiving Flavorâ email. Real Aggie Ice Cream flavors were paired with punchy personality traits tied to different âflavorsâ of giving. When a true quiz wasnât possible, I pivoted to a âtag yourselfâ meme approach, giving a static email a lightweight interactive feel.
Digital ads? Inconceivable!
Next were the Meta ads: 4 campaign phases, 15 unique concepts, and 2 sizes each. This channel let me push the campaignâs personality even further. I leaned heavily on USU iconography and familiar locales to create scroll-stopping, instantly legible moments, while keeping designs flexible enough to support variable copy. Highlights included:
â˘Â Carousel ads extending the ice cream flavor concept into a swipeable experience.
â˘Â A custom graphic blending the True Aggie Night tradition with a pop-culture nod to The Princess Bride.
â˘Â Identity-driven ads using the Block A as both a core USU symbol and a wink to the A+ education trope.
â˘Â A short video journey following Big Blue through campus landmarks, ending with donor recognition as the payoff.