Keeping Americans in the Know
In 2010, the Lawfare blog went live and the editor in chief, Benjamin Wittes, published the first blog. In it, he wrote, “The name Lawfare refers both to the use of law as a weapon of conflict and, perhaps more importantly, to the depressing reality that America remains at war with itself over the law governing its warfare with others.”
Since then, the blog has focused on national security topics like laws of war, covert action, cybersecurity, military commissions, security and surveillance (among many others) to provide insight on the political and military climates and happenings of the day. The Lawfare Institute is a not-for-profit educational organization that is responsible for the publication and maintenance of the Lawfare blog, and they rely heavily on the donations and contributions from outside supporters to continue their mission.
It is for this reason that members of the Lawfare blog started to consider making custom challenge coins as a means of generating more interest and support among their readers. What started as a simple idea soon grew into a hugely successful campaign for the organization. Benjamin Wittes made a post to his followers on twitter saying, “I’m completely overwhelmed by the literally hundreds of people who have signed up to give monthly donations or have made one time contributions in response to our challenge coin promotion.”
Spreading the Word With Signature Coins
Here at Signature Coins, we create unique designs and high-quality challenge coins for government agencies, businesses of every shape and size, and even non-profits like the Lawfare Institute for use in all sorts of different events and programs. But one of the main objectives that all of our customers have in common is a need to spread the word of their services or mission. Lawfare wanted a means of showing gratitude for their supporters while also generating interest in their organization.
Elizabeth Sablich was our contact on the project, and she initially ordered 300 coins. She and the rest of the Lawfare blog members were excited that the program was such a hit with their supporters but had no idea how far it would actually go. Within a week of the first order, Sablich contacted us about ordering another set of 300 coins, but even that would not be enough to meet the demands of their readers.
She sent us a quick email a few weeks later saying, “Well, it looks like we will need even more coins! Can you please send a quote/purchase link for 500 additional coins? Hopefully, that will tide us over for a while!” Within the space of a month, Sablich submitted four orders adding up to a total of 1,300 challenge coins. Not only did these coins generate more pledges to their organization, but they are also out in the world spreading their message and building more support.
Even with the steady increase in demand for the Lawfare coins, our production team kept all of Sablich’s reorders quick and easy. We keep all coin molds on file for at least two years, so ordering more of the same coins takes less time and is a great strategy for keeping the cost down on challenge coin orders since there is no additional mold and set up fees.
Making Custom Coins
Our company prides itself on the ability to create detailed and original designs for all of our clients. However, some people come forward with artwork already prepared. This was the case with the Lawfare challenge coins. Sablich sent over artwork for the Lawfare coins and inquired as to our ability to create 3D designs based off of the 2D artwork they had already prepared.
We said that it would be no trouble at all and set to work adapting the artwork for a 3D challenge coin design. Once everything was settled, Sablich said, “Thanks so much for all of your help! I really appreciate it, especially given my lack of familiarity with this process.”
Our team prepared detailed proofs of the final product for Sablich and the Lawfare team to view with different plating options and color options. Even when we create new artwork from scratch, all proofs and revisions are completely free, and Sablich was happy to see all of the different options that could be applied to their design. The final product exceeded their expectations, and upon receiving the first shipment, Benjamin Wittes took to Twitter again to show their supporters how the coins had turned out.
Challenge Coins For Rallying Support
Challenge coins are a perfect means of showing appreciation to supporters, co-workers, family or friends. We make custom designs for all sorts of different organizations, and we are happy to see that the Lawfare blog has experienced so much success with their challenge coin program. The intricate design of their coins captures the essence of the organization, and now they are spreading all across the country, rallying supporters and spreading the message of the organization.
Any group looking to convey gratitude to their supporters, staff or customers can benefit from working with Signature Coins. Check us out online and see what kind of challenge coins we can design for you!
