Background and Context:
Australia's Biggest Morning Tea was in its 19th year and the previous year raised $11 million. An opportunity was sought to engage online communities in an engaging activity to raise funds and get more people talking about beating cancer.
Aim:
Objectives were to acquire a new group of people to participate in a Morning Tea and increase our digital presence to promote the campaign.
Strategy/Tactics:
Virtual Morning Tea was created to provide busy people the opportunity to engage online. It was a Facebook application that ran in the lead up to the campaign. Participants could make donations directly to Cancer Council. A virtual morning tea created new media angles, sponsor engagement opportunities, new celebrities participation and a lot of fun stories to share on our own digital tools.
Programme Process:
Cancer Council regularly invests time in exploring new digital acquisition strategies. The business problem was briefed to our digital agency. The agency response delivered a selection of ideas from which virtual morning tea was selected. The creative was deliberately different to create a distinction between a virtual and an actual morning tea. The campaign was run in the build up to Australia's Biggest Morning Tea and was leveraged throughout the campaign.
Costs and returns:
Funds raised online increased 34% and online registrations grew 24%. 30% increase in site traffic and there was an 82% growth in referrals from Facebook indicating success in driving participates back to the site.
Outcomes/What was learned:
840 Virtual teas were created which attracted 17,035 participants sharing over 800 stories. The campaign was run for a second year with almost no participation. A lesson to keep campaigns fresh when engaging digitally. Cancer Council continually strives to develop our digital footprint to enhance the relevance and reach of our fundraising activities.