The Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids

Refreshed a club through great storytelling

The 115-year-old Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, known to many as Downtown Rotary, approached Informatics with an interesting challenge as it struggled to boost recruitment: Capture the club’s long and notable history, while also appealing to a new generation of business leaders.

Informatics responded with a video and podcast campaign aimed at breaking out of Rotary’s own bubble via social media and YouTube. The agency organized interviews and tracked down archival footage to create a “mini-documentary” on the club’s history, as well as a condensed 90-second version aimed specifically at digital member recruitment.

Informatics and club members also collaborated on a mini-series podcast, called Rotary Roundtable, capturing both young and veteran cohorts from the club on historic topics of interest, such as international projects and the admittance of women into Rotary in 1987.

The final videos (including video versions of the club’s podcasts) have garnered more than 1,500 views in the first few months of release, while Rotary Roundtable attracted 150 listens in its first month, giving Downtown Rotary powerful new assets in a competitive recruiting space.