Creative Day
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 (9:00 AM - 4:35 PM) (EDT)
Description
Creative Day 2025 is your opportunity to gain valuable insights, access bold ideas, and hear new perspectives – all designed to make your creative work engaging, persuasive, and response-generating. The day will feature some of our industry's top experts in interactive sessions on messaging, copy/design collaboration, AI-powered creative work, and integrated digital campaigning. This year's program will also feature roundtables on acquisition, influencer marketing, and retention. This is your chance to connect, collaborate, and gain actionable guidance from some of the best in the field.
Who Should Attend Creative Day?
Creative Day 2025 is designed for fundraising professionals, creative strategists, and nonprofit leaders eager to engage their audiences with compelling messaging, engaging design work, and strategies that keep pace with a fast-moving landscape. The day-long program is ideal for copywriters, designers, marketing experts, and others directly involved in creative work. And it's just as informative for broader development professional and organizational leaders who manage, support, and evaluate creative work.
Save the date and register now!
AGENDA
| 9:00 - 9:30 am | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 9:30 - 9:45 am | Welcome & Opening Remarks |
| Speaker: Leigh Corrigan-Owens, Creative Director, Mal Warwick Donordigital | |
| 9:45 - 10:45 am | Building a Messaging Foundation |
| Speaker: Frank O'Brien, OBrien On Message LLC Before we turn to copywriting and design, the creative process begins with developing a sound messaging platform. Join us in this interactive session as, relying on concrete nonprofit examples, we discuss the case for engagement, organizational voice and personality, emotional tone, and other ways to build a firm foundation for individual messages.
| |
| 10:45 - 11:00 am | Refresh & Connect Break |
| 11:00 - 11:45 am | Design First |
| Speaker: Robin Perry, Vice President & Corporate Marketing, Lautman Maska Neill & Co. Some projects are more complex (visually) than others, and in those cases, it's OK to let images and graphics be the "warp" to the "weft" of copy that weaves the narrative you want to convey to your audience. Join us for this informative session where you'll hear about how – sometimes – the process can run more smoothly if design is in the driver seat.
| |
| 11:45 am - 12:50 pm | Networking & Lunch |
| 12:50 - 2:15 pm | Roundtable Conversations: Acquisition, Influencer & Ads, and Retention |
| Moderator: Gavin Caster, Account Executive, Client Outreach, Telefund; Speaker: Steve Fleshman, Founder & Creative Partner, DR2 In this interactive roundtable session, the presenter for Acquisition, Influencer & Ads, and Retention will begin with a 5-minute overview of the entire group. Facilitators will then lead 20-minute small group discussions at assigned tables, exploring challenges, success, key insights, and strategies. The session will conclude with a 5-minute full-group conversation, allowing participants to share key takeaways and final thoughts. | |
| 2:15 - 3:15 pm | Copywriting with AI |
| Speakers: Mark Ruben, Partner, M+R; Johanna Olivas, Managing Director, Learning, Impact and Growth, Progressive Multiplier; Tareq Alani, Co-Founder, Chorus AI AI can be a valuable creative partner – helping creative teams work more efficiently, spark new ideas, and refine messaging. But getting the best results starts with knowing how to guide AI tools. In this hands-on session, we'll explore prompt engineering best practices that can support your creative process, while keeping human ingenuity at the center. Bring your questions, your ideas, and your prompts – let's work through them together!
| |
| 3:15 - 3:30 pm | Refresh & Connect Break |
| 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Integrated Digital Creative That Delivered Results |
| 4:30 - 4:35 pm | Closing Remarks & Thank You |
It's not too soon to secure your spot. Register today!
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
SESSION | SESSION | SESSION |
 |  |  |
SESSION | SESSION | LUNCH |
 |  |  |
Creative Day 2025 Rates
Corporate Member: $175
Corporate Nonmember: $225
Nonprofit Member: $150
Nonprofit Nonmember: $200
Interested in partnering with DMAW on Creative Day?
Click here to learn more!
CONSENT TO USE IMAGES AND RECORDINGS
Media Release: By registering, you grant the Direct Marketing Association of Washington permission to photograph, video/audio record, and use your image and likeness in DMAW publications, promotions, and other media. You understand that DMAW has exclusive rights to these visual and audio recordings.
Photographs, videos, and recordings may be taken at the event for use on the DMAW website, print collateral, press, future marketing materials, and social media. By attending this event, you consent to DMAW photographing, taking video, and using your image and likeness.
If you prefer not to have your information shared, please opt out by submitting a written request to programs@dmaw.org.
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036 United States
Education - Seminars, Workshops, Tutorials
15