Stephen Thomas: Marketing for a Better World

Background

Kids Help Phone's mission is to improve the well-being of children and youth in Canada by providing them with free, anonymous and confidential professional counseling, referrals and information. Last year, Kids Help Phone helped kids in Canada more than 2.2 million times. No ongoing funding from government is provided. So, Kids Help Phone relies on the financial support of individuals, corporate donors, corporate sponsors and foundations.

The Challenge

Kids Help Phone wanted to raise additional money and thought the holiday season would be a great time to start engaging supporters online. Kids Help Phone had a large database of email addresses from past supporters (with varying degrees of affinity toward the organization) and there had been only limited contact with them in the past. The challenge was to engage these relatively distant supporters online with a message that would inspire them to donate before the end of the year.

The ST Response

Strategy:

Unfortunately, the holiday season is not a joyous time for everyone. For some, suicide seems like the only way to deal with the loneliness and abuse they experience. So it's increasingly important to ensure that Kids Help Phone is there to answer their call - especially in the middle of the night. The strategy was to highlight the importance of time in a microsite that would bring the realities of the situation home for donors in an urgent and emotionally compelling way.

Execution:

Stephen Thomas Ltd (ST) designed an email marketing campaign called "Buy A Kid Some Time" for Kids Help Phone. It launched on December 1^st, 2009 and ran to December 31^st, 2009.

ST developed the campaign which consisted of a microsite with a compelling video to showcase the urgency of the need and to inspire action. 4 emails drove traffic to the "Buy a kid some time" campaign microsite and a customized Artez purchase template. It is emotional, real, and makes the kid who calls the centerpiece of the campaign, just as that kid is the centre piece of Kids Help Phone's work.

The primary call to action (after testing), was "Buy Time". Once clicked, the donor would be lead to a donation page. Here, prospective donors were able to choose how much time they wanted to give, and whether they wanted to donate on behalf of someone special. There were 5 purchase items to choose from including a monthly option.

Additional media supported the campaign - a full-page Globe and Mail ad, Out of Home digital ads (mini-versions of the video) in rotation on various Superboards across Toronto including Yonge & Dundas Square and Union Station, and social media mentions on Twitter and Facebook.

RESULTS:

Response exceeded expectations. By December 31^st, 2009 the campaign had generated more than 2.5 times the 2008 revenue during the same time period.

For more information please contact Taslim Somani or Adair Altimas-Keith.