E-mail Campaigns of the Year: Trust for Public Land and People for the American Way

GOLD AWARD
The Trust for Public Land
Vote for Your Membership Card Image
Submitted by Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey

The Numbers
Number of Recipients: 143,646
Response Rate: 0.12 percent
Total Cost: $1,500
Income Generated: $8,208
Average Gift: $48.86
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.18

Our judges were impressed with the creative engagement device used in this campaign. The objective of the campaign was to increase the response rate of the renewal series and track how an engagement incentive worked to increase the number of renewed donors. To make it different from the regular messages in the renewal series, it offered early renewal donors the incentive of voting for the image on the membership card for 2012.

“Once people filled out the donation form with their renewal contribution,” CCAH’s Lon Chapman wrote, “they were redirected to a separate page with four choices for a member card where they could cast a vote.”

This was a creative approach that really paid off. The addition of the campaign increased October 2011’s online renewal gifts and revenue by four times the previous year’s donations, Chapman explained, adding that October was the highest grossing month for online renewal contributions.

“The 2011 online renewal revenue totaled $55,356, a 40 percent increase over 2010,” he wrote, “which is extremely encouraging when looking at the overall health of the online renewal program.”

Judge Joe Boland commented: “This package really encourages response and opens up participation in the card design; it’s a great renewal effort.”

GOLD AWARD
People for the American Way
Recall the Right and Re-Engage Your File
Submitted by Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey

The Numbers
Number of Recipients: 2,849,668
Response Rate: 0.17 percent
Total Cost: $1,750
Income Generated: $165,798.64
Average Gift: $34.78
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.01

Our judges agreed the copy of this e-mail seems a bit on the long side, but it’s hard to argue with the results. A controversial budget-repair proposal in Wisconsin was the perfect catalyst for PFAW to re-engage its entire e-file on a hot-button issue. The two-month-long, 17-e-mail series fueled a sense of urgency by counting down the days to a recall election that would determine the political fate of the Wisconsin governor.

“The campaign proved to be extremely successful,” CCAH’s Lon Chapman wrote, “raising $165,798.64 from e-mail alone. The appeal accounted for an impressive 76 percent of total online income during the two months the campaign was active.”

In total, PFAW raised $227,807.55 online from the time the first e-mail launched to the last — June 10 to Aug. 10, 2011. This was 197 percent higher than revenue raised during the summer months of 2010 and an increase of 216 percent over 2009 he said, adding, “Surprisingly, PFAW’s file did not experience fatigue at all, with an overall unsubscribe rate of a low 0.09 percent, which is normal.”

Despite the amount of copy involved in the e-mails — or perhaps because of it — this campaign was straightforward and hard-hitting, and proved to be a winner for PFAW.

SILVER AWARD
Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County
Income-Triggered E-mail Campaign for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Submitted by TurnKey Promotions

The Numbers
Number of Recipients: 3,324 (ITEC)
Response Rate: 410 percent
Total Cost: $3,000 (ITEC)
Income Generated: $102,337
Average Gift: $58
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.03

The purpose of the walk is, of course, to raise money. And beyond that, the purpose of the campaign was to bypass the direct-to-donor ask strategy and turn event participants into fundraising machines. “The goal was to motivate the fundraisers to higher fundraising levels and increase donation activity,” wrote TurnKey’s Tracy Hale.

Many events use the grassroots, peer-to-peer fundraising model. But key to the success of the event was the income-triggered e-mail campaign (ITEC) within the fundraising strategy, which used specially crafted and timed e-mail messages to motivate event participants to raise more money and offered recipients a mission-appropriate gift as incentive to raise more funds.

According to Hale, the event “realized a daily donation activity increase of more than 370 percent, and its daily donation dollar amount increased more than 410 percent.

“The open and clickthrough rates signal fundraiser interest in the message,” Hale continued. “A significant increase of donation activity occurred on both the day of and the day after the ITEC message was deployed. In fact, donation transaction activity increased an average of 290 percent on the day the ITEC was deployed; on the day after, average transaction activity increased 374 percent compared to days where an ITEC message was not delivered.”

Dollar amount was also positively affected: Average total daily donation dollars increased by 261 percent the day the ITEC was deployed, and total daily donations increased by 410 percent the day after the ITEC was sent. Overall, event income increased by 12 percent in 2011 (with ITEC) over 2011, when no ITEC was used.

Clearly, the ITEC e-mails — which served as reminders of the importance of keeping the peer-to-peer fundraising going and offered tips on how to do that, as well as the premium incentive — were successful in prodding walk participants to raise more money. Judge Joe Boland commented: “A great grassroots campaign.”

SILVER AWARD
Environmental Defense Fund
Year-End Campaign
Submitted by Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey

The Numbers
Number of Recipients: 5,435,986
Response Rate: 0.12 percent
Total Cost: $1,750
Income Generated: $256,038.37
Average Gift: $68
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.01

Our judges were really impressed with this campaign’s strategy of using a challenge grant that effectively used current donors to help in acquisition. “Your challenge grant gift will be used to match the gift of a new supporter — $1 for $1.”

The year-end campaign was a stunning success for EDF. According to CCAH’s Lon Chapman, it raised more money online than in any previous year with a 9 percent increase over 2011, which was the previous record for most revenue raised in a campaign.

“Also, by increasing segmentation and timing of messages, we raised more money with less messaging (launched 3 million fewer e-mails than in December 2011) — thereby improving response rate and fatigue of the file,” he wrote.

Furthermore, the campaign also included an effort to reach more sustainers and recent donors by personalizing the message and acknowledging their recent gifts, resulting in 6 percent more gifts from multi-givers than in 2011.

“The campaign not only converted nondonors and engaged current supporters, but it engaged them repeatedly, and the boost in revenue broke records for EDF’s online program,” Chapman wrote.

Judge Pamela Grow liked the highly personalized and donor-focused feel of the e-mails, while judge Joe Boland wrote, “I love having donors involved in acquisition. It makes them a part of the grant. It’s innovative and brings a sense of community. Really engaging.”