Strategy • Brand Strategy • Digital Experience

Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes Creates Magic for Kids in Wheelchairs and Walkers

The Mission

For families of children who use walkers or wheelchairs, Halloween can be a difficult holiday. Finding a costume that not only helps them express themselves, but also fits their mobility device, is typically challenging from a logistical perspective — not to mention, financially.

But Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes, a Kansas City-based nonprofit, set out to change that. Since its founding, the organization has designed and built more than 200 custom Halloween costumes for children with mobility needs, completely free to their families.

The Opportunity

The Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes story actually began back in 2008, when Lon Davis built his first wheelchair Halloween costume for his 3-year-old son, Reese. Together, Lon and Reese officially founded Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes in 2015, expanding their services to families all over the country.

Despite its incredible mission, Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes struggled to gain the press and recognition it deserved. Lon was wearing many hats — including handling all marketing efforts — and found himself stretched thin.

Additionally, the organization faced logistical challenges, such as finding a new location for its annual Reveal Party, its flagship Halloween event, after its previous partner venue shut down as a result of the pandemic.

Without additional support, the growth and survival of Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes was at risk.

$25K

Anonymous Donor Match

An anonymous donor agreed to match up to $25,000 in donations, but Walkin' & Rollin' had no ready-made way to raise that kind of money.

CNN

Press Outreach

The organization had been featured in local and regional press, but Walkin' & Rollin' has a national footprint and opportunities like a CNN profile had to be secured.

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Sponsors, Partners and Builders

For those who knew about the organization, they were committed to the mission, but it was clear more awareness would get people involved.

The Approach

In 2022, Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes partnered with Sparkcade Marketing to expand its reach and help overcome these challenges. Sparkcade implemented a comprehensive strategy designed to elevate the nonprofit's presence and maximize its impact.

A review of existing brand strategies, plans and research, and external secondary sources. We also conducted primary research to develop strategic insights for brand theme opportunities and concepts
Creating a high-level brand strategy based with refined visual identity and voice. The strategy included concepts and examples of integrated marketing approaches
Providing website requirements definition, facilitation and project management to define scope for the new website
Defining a new website information architecture, user experience and visual design
Creating select content and providing SEO consultation

Insight

While there was an intent to maintain the Institute's origins within the brand, interviews and research revealed a fierce competition for top-shelf scientist and support talent. The need for continued recruitment became a key point in decisions made in both project phases.

Based on the insight, we included additional competitors in the second phase of research, ensured inclusion in all elements of the revised brand strategy, and used as a criteria when evaluating the final website designs.

Finally, the key insight ensured focus on elements, such as mobile and certain marketing platforms, where the Institute historically had not seen a great deal of use, but better positioned them for the future.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Brand Strategy and Purpose

Research

Logo

Corporate and Brand Identity

Digital and Website Design

SEO

Content

Social

Campaign Development

Creative Execution

The Results

With Sparkcade's strategic support, Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes has reached new heights, expanding its impact and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

One of the biggest wins came with landing a major corporate sponsor. Along with a $25,000 donation and other financial support, the sponsor provided the opportunity for Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes to be featured at The Halal Guys College Basketball Showcase in Houston in December 2023.
In three Halloweens, the Superhero Sidekicks campaign has helped generate nearly $40,000. Even better, an anonymous donor matched the donations in 2022, which meant an additional $25,000. Overall, the total amount of donations reached nearly $150,000 over three years.
A spotlight by CNN as well as participation in high-profile charity campaigns such as "Everyday Heroes" and "Project For Awesome" has led to increased national exposure. As a result, Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes has been able to expand beyond Kansas City, launching new chapters in Wichita, Blue Ridge, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Arizona. These expansions bring the joy of custom wheelchair-friendly costumes to even more children and their families, making Halloween an inclusive celebration in new communities.

Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes has always had a powerful mission, but with Sparkcade Marketing's support, it has been able to reach new audiences, attract key sponsors, and build a sustainable future.

With a growing national presence and an ever-increasing network of supporters, Walkin' & Rollin' Costumes is poised to make an even bigger impact in the years to come.

Previous Logo

Redesigned Logo

Connect your story to the right audiences

In our initial meetings with Walkin' & Rollin', we discovered that corporate giving was critical but the traditional path working with foundations and corporate offices was taking too long to deliver results. We changed the approach to personal giving with influential business leaders that 1. not only delivered immediate financial results, but 2. opened doors to corporate sponsorship.

Optimize your results

But targeted financial asks is only part of the solution. Walkin' & Rollin' was designed to serve and press and social media outreach connected kids in need and volunteers with the organization.

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Brent Bowen

Founder and Chief Storyteller

(913) 785-3576