Nationwide Integrated Strategy Boosts Results at Year End

The Challenge
Operating in Canada since 1882, The Salvation Army is widely respected and recognized, consistently receiving generous public support. However, Canada has grown increasingly diverse ethnically and culturally, and many newer Canadians are not as familiar with The Salvation Army.  It had also become increasingly difficult to maintain revenue from a direct mail-only program in a difficult economic environment.

The Solution
Grizzard developed an integrated marketing strategy to layer over the direct mail program, using multiple media channels to share a consistent fundraising message. Media included transit/bus shelter ads, movie screen ads, radio traffic sponsorships, newspaper space ads, freestanding inserts (FSIs) and online ads – all designed to achieve a broad reach and desired 7X repetition frequency among the target audience.

The imagery in the ads reflected the ethnic diversity in the four metropolitan cities where the campaign ran.  The creative featured a triad of words  – “Food, warmth, dignity” – followed by a call-to-action: “Put them within reach this Christmas.”

TSA Toronto from Grizzard Communications on Vimeo.

The Results
Grizzard’s integrated strategy strengthened fundraising results from the previous year, yielding a 16 percent increase in new donor revenue across the four metro areas. In Calgary and Vancouver – two areas that had not previously used an integrated approach – the results showed a 31 percent increase in revenue from new donors (all sources) paired with a 7.55 percent increase in the number of new donors (all sources). The average gift from new donors jumped from $111 to $135 – a 22 percent increase.

This campaign proved that adding an integrated marketing strategy to an existing direct mail program can dramatically boost results – especially where it matters most, the acquisition of new donors.