DESIGNER

Riley Newfield

PROFILE/DESCRIPTION

The Marshall Project is a national nonprofit news organization that specifically covers the US justice system - including police. This campaign is specifically focused on raising awareness of police brutality and unethical policing behavior in the US and bringing in readers who are interested in learning more about these issues. The Marshall Project also has a local network in Cleveland, Ohio that reports on Cleveland specific issues. The Marshall Project holds itself and its journalists accountable to a strong code of ethics, including seeking accurate information, minimizing harm, and acting independently. The Marshall is nonpartisan and does not accept government funding (besides an exception of a loan during the COVID-19 pandemic).

Target location: Cuyahoga County in Cleveland, Ohio (ZIP code 44104). This area is in a strip of primarily Black ZIP codes, which is important because Black people are often targeted in greater numbers and severity by police. This area also tends to be made up of lower income households, and Cuyahoga County saw a 6% jump in violent crime between 2013 and 2017 (while seeing a 14% dip in property crime). The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department’s mission statement dedicates themselves to “resolutely and aggressively enforcing the law.”

Brand advantages:

• Truthful reporting
• Ethical
• Local coverage (Cleveland)
• Free
• Accessible
•  

Brand attributes:

• Nonpartisan
• Nonprofit
• Online
•  

Brand experience:

• Informative
• Convincing
• Eye-opening
•  

GOALS

These posters have two main goals: to raise awareness about police brutality, and to direct new readers to the Marshall Project. To do the first, the posters should cause an emotional response in their audience, and target them specifically rather than showing a scene that a viewer could dissociate from. The posters should convey the danger and damages of unethical police behavior directly, without being confusing or having any elements that distract from the main point. To accomplish the second goal, the posters should prompt the viewer to explore the Marshall Project by encouraging them to learn more about the issue of police brutality and showing the benefit of the Marshall Project being ethical and nonpartisan.