Special Olympics New Jersey

SONJ's annual Polar Bear Plunge in Seaside Heights, the organization's signature fundraising event, is a day-long affair. There's tailgating, costumes, comradery, and oh yeah, the jumping in the water part. For the plunge's 25th anniversary in 2018, SONJ rebranded the event with the specific goal of reaching the $2 million mark, having come up short in 2017. Redesigned marketing materials and digital media were given a "rugged challenge" makeover and a "Be Bold, Get Cold" dare to both new and seasoned plungers. A "parent" mark was also created along with corresponding branding for SONJ's younger and smaller Wildwood Plunge. Seaside's 7,100 plungers helped SONJ meet its fundraising goal...and surpass it by an additional $200k, coming in at a total of $2.2 million and setting a new organizational record.