The challenge: Open marketing opportunities for a new events calendar web site.

The solution: Design collateral materials that encourage participation.

The skinny: Encouraging participation is relatively easy when you’re dealing with once specific audience. Life gets a little complicated when you need to address multiple audiences with one low-budget propaganda piece.

I had created a calendar of events web site. Now, with a single brochure, I had to ask event planners to list their events on the web site, invite potential viewers to visit the web site and peruse those events and solicit advertising dollars from local sponsors to keep the show going.

A six panel brochure handled this task with ease.

Here is the text targeted toward the event planner:

Planning and event?

Tell us about it and we’ll tell everyone else.

We're interested in the little things that make your community special - the pancake breakfast at the local church, the newcomer’s club, the volunteer firefighter’s parade, the play at the high school, the computer class at the senior center - that sort of stuff.

Oh sure, we’ll be telling everyone about the big amusement parks and all the tourist attractions too, but again, it’s the little things that count.

Some of this information, you have right at your fingertips. Would you pass it along to us? And would you also pass along our name to those you think might benefit from our services?

The cost to list your event is the price you charge for one adult admission. When you think of how many people are on the Internet today, that’s downright cheap advertising. If the event is free, we’ll list it for free - that simple.

Here is the text targeted toward the visitor:

Get out - have fun

So, what are you doing this weekend? or any day of the week. If you’re tired of reading about yesterday’s events in today’s newspaper, Things To Do In CT.com has what you’ve been looking for.

Scan our web site for events in every town in Connecticut. There you’ll find listings for kids, teens, parents, single adults, couples, seniors, guy stuff, girl stuff, @home, volunteer opportunities and religious events.

And that’s just for starters. We’re adding new categories to fit your lifestyle every month.

Here is the text targeted toward the advertiser:

Become a Sponsor

Internet viewers make loyal customers.

There are solid benefits to advertising on the World Wide Web and Things To Do In CT. com.

Our audience is upscale - they are well-educated and earn high incomes.

Your message can been seen 24 hours a day, every day.

Your message will be delivered to a targeted audience.

You can advertise in your home town or across the state.

Your potential audience are those in your home town and those planning to visit.

We can accurately tell you how many people see your ad each month and how many "click through" to your Web site.

If you don't have a Web site, we can build one for you.