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We’ve spent quite a bit of time this month talking about Giving Tuesday. So why have we been doing this? Because Giving Tuesday is one of the most important days of the year for non-profit organizations!
This annual day of giving is the driving catalyst for the season of giving that follows in December. It is a day where the spirit of generosity (and tax write-offs!) runs rampant, and people focus on charitable giving and donorship.
There are many strategies you should be considering for Giving Tuesday, including social media campaigns, email blasts, and a major revamp of your website donation page. Amid all of this is the importance of advertisement campaigns for Giving Tuesday.
To set yourself up for success this Giving Tuesday, it is wise to have a healthy mixture of organic marketing materials and targeted advertisements. We want to give you a few examples of past and present non-profit advertisements to spark some inspiration for your own Giving Tuesday campaign!
A non-profit organization that hit the nail on the head with shock factor guerilla advertising is the UNICEF Tap Project. This organization did a social experiment where they bottled dirty water, put it in a vending machine, and tried to sell it to the residents of NYC.
The experiment made a big statement. Obviously, no one wanted to drink the water. But this is the water millions of people in underdeveloped countries were obligated to drink. Then there was a call to action: donate $1 and provide clean water for someone for 40 days. They were also given the option to make a mobile donation.
What can we learn from this campaign?
That sometimes, the shock factor, sprinkled with the slightest bit of humor, can captivate an audience. Presenting the “need” the organization is striving to meet and then allowing the audience to partake in the solution is key.
Being a part of a community of people is one of the core values of most non-profit organizations. It is not just about raising money, but it is about building partnerships. The Movember Foundation has capitalized on this group mentality.
Movember is a month in which men are challenged to grow out their mustaches during the month of November. What you may not know about this trend is that it is rooted not just in showing off fancy facial hair but in raising money for men’s health. The foundation does work in suicide prevention and funds research for prostate and testicular cancer.
The advertising campaign of this foundation is simply an invitation to men to grow out their facial hair, get talking about real health issues that face men, and donate to the cause. Their advertising strategy is an invitation to join the cause in a meaningful way. Gearing your advertising campaigns towards being invitational can be a major benefit to your non-profit!
Speaking to people’s emotions is a great strategy of any non-profit organization advertising campaign, but this isn’t just the emotion of empathy or compassion – it can be a bit of humor too!
Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child initiative shared the funniest (and cutest) “how-to” video for their organization. This video’s purpose was to give simple step-by-step instructions on packing a gift shoebox for children for Christmastime. The video itself was hysterical, but it got to the heart of the organization’s mission: to spread the Gospel to children all over the world through generosity and care.
Humor is an excellent way to captivate your audience and get your mission embedded in the minds of your audience and supporters. You can take even the most serious mission and bring a bit of light to it through comedic advertising.
As with the Movember Foundation, another non-profit organization has honed in on the power of community involvement. Make-a-Wish Foundation held a social media challenge, #ArmWrestleChallenge, which called for participation on social media.
The challenge was simple: post a video of a friendly arm wrestle with a friend on social media. The winner donates to Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the loser doubles the winner’s donation. This addition of friendly competition took participants a step further and encouraged them to contribute more to the cause of the Foundation.
This campaign is effective because it sparks a spirit of generosity in all participants, not just the loser! Getting your audience actively involved, even through humorous means, is a trend that isn’t going away!
While advertisements of humor and participation are highly engaging and effective, utilizing ads that hit your audience hard with the truth (and the dire need) is just as effective.
The “Most Shocking Second A Day Video” went viral in 2014 as it married the “second a day” video trend with the realities of children in Syria. It had very few words, but the images spoke for themselves. The invitation at the end was simple: wake up to what’s happening and #SaveSyriasChildren (a play-off of their organization’s name).
The shock factor can seem very intense, but there is something immensely powerful about this type of emotive experience. It awakens something deep within us that, if you are a Christ-follower, is in line with God’s heart. God’s heart breaks for those who suffer injustice. He weeps for the poor, oppressed, and downtrodden. These types of gut-wrenching videos touch our hearts, overwhelm us with empathy, and move us to act.
Herein lies the key to a successful non-profit organization advertising campaign: speaking to the part of our audience that propels them to take action. Whether it is through an invitation to participate, humorous moments, or heart-wrenching realities, touching the souls of our audience is of immense importance.
As you dive deep into the biggest season of non-profit giving, the goal remains the same: partnership over profit. Building relationships with your audience through speaking to their compassionate hearts is a wonderful way to build life-long relationships!
Do you need a bit of help crafting your non-profit advertising campaign for Giving Tuesday? Our team at Pro MediaFire is fully equipped to help you plan and execute an impactful campaign. Contact us today to get started!
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