The Challenge

In 2015, our agency was engaged by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – a national US charity based in Los Angeles – to work on developing their brand, communication and fundraising efforts during an ambitious period of growth.

Our first step was creating a brand identity based on elemental foundational research including:

  • Deep data analysis to identify trends and opportunities from past supporter behaviour
  • Robust supporter research including both mail-in and in-person surveys
  • Staff, volunteer and board interviews
  • Leveraging the data to develop donor journeys to understand who their supporters are, what they are interested in, and how we could use that information to find new audiences through brand positioning and tactical executions

A key project was the strategy, content and tactical execution of their 2016 November Awareness campaign, corresponding with Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. They challenged us to raise more funds, increase leads, and engage and steward their current donor base.

The Solution

We focused the messaging and online tools on key actions. By asking one specific act of their audience every week, we aligned their brand position to the word “action” in their name. At the same time, this offered supporters clear direction that helped cut through messaging from the competition.

We rolled out this campaign across multiple channels using various vehicles for content delivery, with a heavy focus on digital.

The November Awareness campaign consisted of:

  • A new landing page and donation form built on Luminate Online
  • Digital advertising, including video
  • Weekly segmented emails
  • Downloadable action kits for out of home and community engagement activation
  • A robust social media plan including a contest
  • A user-generated content wall displayed on a Luminate Online page
  • A public relations campaign
  • Matching donation fundraising ask
  • A DIY fundraising push
  • A large volunteer community engagement activation including lobbying to light up buildings and secure local proclamations

The Results

The campaign achieved significant increases over the previous year in every metric measured over the five-week campaign and won two PR awards for best integrated campaign.

  • Direct Donations up by 430% ($96.5k vs $18.2k in 2015)
  • 100+ Wage Hope My Way Peer-to-Peer fundraising events
  • 6,863 new email subscribers (1,863 organic, 5k from Care2)
  • 2 times more buildings lighted purple (63 vs. 30)
  • Number of gifts up by 204% (439 vs 144 the previous year)
  • Average gift amount increase ($129 vs $126.50 the previous year)

GO HOME ›