Publisher: Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM)
Client: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Circulation: 400,000
Audience: ACLU members

ACLU
Advocating individual rights by litigating, legislating, and educating the public on a broad array of issues affecting individual freedom.

Distribution Methods
Bi-annual branded magazine distributed to ACLU members.

Client Objectives
To deepen members’ passion for the ACLU, educate them on the civil liberties the ACLU defends, encourage them as they support the ACLU, and deliver on the ACLU’s reputation as “our nation’s guardian of liberty.”

Challenges
To provide ACLU members with more robust communications than the existing direct marketing channels of direct mail and email. The content within STAND can be complex and the current events stories we tell often evolve rapidly.

Solutions
STAND offers a balance of content that is empowering and eye-opening, including a careful mix of issues coverage, current events, opinion, donor perspectives and cultural reviews. To stay on top of evolving current events, MXM developed partnerships with contributors from The Atlantic, Al Jazeera and The New York Times, among others, who are intimate with the issues the ACLU defends. These writers, photographers and illustrators, working closely with ACLU staff, allow us to breakdown complex issues and accomplish our goals.

Our strategy was multi-phased and included periods of learning, planning, working and delivery.

The Learning
Our team of account executives, strategists, editors and designers immersed ourselves in the ACLU's organization, discovering their goals and vision, and gathering content ideas.

The Plan
We studied our research and developed content ideas—including news briefs, op-eds, features, and arts and culture reviews—organizing them into a content plan presented to the ACLU. Preliminary design treatments such as illustrations and photography were also presented to the ACLU.

The Work
With an approved content plan in hand, we began writing stories, assigning artwork and designing the magazine layouts. The ACLU reviewed the content and designs along the way and in the end we delivered a magazine that met our objectives.

The Delivery
STAND was printed and mailed to 400,000 ACLU members.

Results: STAND generated membership renewals with a higher average donation than previous targeted campaigns. Additionally, there were more than 90 requests for legacy information.