Best use of e-media

Howard Lake | 24 May 2013 | Blogs

For the campaign that demonstrates the best use of either one single form of e-media fundraising or the successful application of a range of techniques.

The shortlisted entries are:

• 38 Degrees, Save our NHS
• Merlin, Plumpy Nut Challenge
• St John’s Ambulance, Zombie Revolution
• Shelter, Emergency Christmas Appeal 2012

38 Degrees, Save our NHS

In February 2012 38 Degrees launched a poster campaign across London in response to the government’s proposed changes to the NHS, to raise £60,000 on a budget of just £5,000. 38 Degrees has built a database of 1 million addresses from people who have taken actions such as signing a petition in past campaigns. Only 5000 of these are donors.

A second aim of the campaign was to see if some of this 1 million could be turned into donors. Supporters were emailed the creative artwork and asked to comment and donate. The creative also worked as a fundraising message to the supporters themselves, so the campaign integrated fundraising and campaigning very tightly, with both activities working in tandem to reinforce each other. As there were only three days to reach supporters, the medium had to be email, and supporters were also encouraged to forward it to their contacts.

The £60,000 target was reached six hours after the initial email and the total raised in three days was £300,000. 20,000 people donated with an average gift of £15. This funded 130 huge outdoor posters, not just in London, but outside the capital as well.
 

Merlin, Plumpy Nut Challenge

Merlin wanted to use an innovative campaign to penetrate the notoriously difficult 21-35 year olds sector. It aimed to prove that social media be used to raise money directly, and that cold fundraising can produce a high RoI. So targets were to raise £20,000 from cold donors and 200 new donors, both using Twitter, with an RoI of over 2.

The campaign used an interactive microsite (www.plumpynut.co.uk) and email to support it with very simple creative. Twitter was used as the main recruitment and outreach tool. Merlin made ‘cheeky’ approaches to influential tweeters and celebrities who loved being spoken to on a more human level. The email campaign used the same fun and informal tone.

Results were £40,000 in cold income with 400 new donors and an RoI of 7, plus five new celebrity ambassadors. In future this method will be used to spread the message beyond the UK and to involve more corporates.

St John Ambulance, Zombie Revolution

This campaign sees participants getting to play toe role of a zombie and take part in a story. It was aimed specifically at 18-35 year old Londoners and was to test the ability to teach the basic elements of first aid in a fun and memorable way, and to fundraise.

Participants dress up and download an MP3 file to a mobile device. They congregate as Zombies in a public place in London. At a predetermined time, everyone presses play and the Revolution begins. The story unfolds as Zombies carry out instructions relayed to their headphones, and members of the public try to work out what is happening.

Facebook advertising, Twitter and YouTube were used with a responsive microsite developed to keep the event separate from the St John Ambulance brand, to sell tickets, hold basic event data and act as a place to download MP3s.

The aim was to recruit 150 participants, identify marketing channels and identify the right fundraising mechanisms. Income was not a business objective in this pilot phase. Ultimately 220 people took part with 24% converted to DD. Although 57% were in the target age group, 30% were 35-44 and 13% 45+.

Shelter, Emergency Christmas Appeal 2012

This appeal highlighted the issue that 75,000 children would wake up homeless on Christmas day. It aimed to raise money for the helpline to provide advice and support to families in need.

A website homepage takeover for the appeal took place from November to December, with clear donate call-to-action and a real-time donation widget. Media used included Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, and emails were sent to all segments of the audience, ranging from regular giving to deeply lapsed supporters. E-media meant the campaign could reach the maximum number of people in the minimum time.

The online income target was £420,000, double what was raised in 2011, and the amount achieved was £598,116 – 36% over target. 7,755 new Twitter followers were recruited with the Cards for Cameron part of the campaign, asking supporters to highlight the issue of homeless children to David Cameron achieved 12,000 signatures.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.