The challenge

In June 2021 we worked with Foodbank NSW & ACT to launch an emergency appeal in response to the economic impact of Sydney’s evolving COVID lockdown which caused widespread job losses and financial hardship.

Our approach

We developed a digital campaign (paid social, EDM & SMS) that focused on the increased financial pressures that the COVID lockdown had created on families across NSW & ACT, and asked individuals to give a $35 donation to provide an emergency food hamper for a struggling family.

The team were committed to responding quickly to breaking news, and met regularly with Foodbank so they could capitalise on any opportunities to communicate with their supporters about the developing situation.

We knew that the biggest risk to this ongoing emergency campaign was donor fatigue and ensured there was a balance between ask and impact comms.

The results

Donors across NSW & ACT responded generously to Foodbank’s call for help!

• More than $2.2 million raised in 15 weeks via EDM, SMS & paid social
• Exceptional paid social results with a cost per acquisition of $9.28 and a return on ad spend of 841%
• A tailored, hyper-responsive journey consisting of 12 EDMs raised $400k

Our client

Foodbank is the largest hunger relief charity in Australia. They are the pantry to the charity sector, linking surplus food and groceries to people in need. In 2020, Foodbank sourced 88 million meals for their charity partners.

Learnings

The success of this campaign depended on a combination of clever digital marketing strategies and foundational fundraising principles such as demonstrating genuine need, high levels of urgency, showing tangible impact, and employing a strong call to action.