CreateAThon 2005
Using Viral Marketing to Build Support of a Nonprofit Organization
CreateAThon™ is a 24-hour design blitz offering graphic design and public relations services to nonprofits based in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area that urgently need but can't afford to pay for such creative services. The annual 24-hour marathon of creative activity lets design and nonprofit experts give back to their local communities by providing their professional expertise to worthy causes and organizations. Mediastudio, an agency that specializes in cause-related branding and design, hosts CreateAThon™ each year at its Falls Church , VA , office.
Tuvel was great to work with, responsive, full of great ideas, and produced terrific results. They researched and contacted online sources for us in record time, and were very good about reporting back excellent response to their online outreach efforts on our behalf.
As our viral marketing consultant for this campaign, Mitch was a key member of the team to place a carefully crafted message from Mediastudio from us about CreateAThon™. Our message went out to more than 25 DC-based electronic discussion lists, online postings and blogs, which was terrific exposure. "
— Catherine Shaw: President, Mediastudio
Goals
Mediastudio wished to increase the number of non-profit organizations that submit applications for CreateAThon™ ( http://www.mediastudio.com/ createathon ) by 10 percent, and to grow its existing database of groups that distribute CreateAThon 2005 information by an ambitious 100 percent.
Strategy
Tuvel Communications identified audiences and marketing channels that CreateAThon™ applicants were likely to use and trust for information and
advice, and tailored outbound program messaging for each group. Each carefully selected group was designed to compel others to spread the word to
members, colleagues, friends and family. Tuvel located and engaged new audiences, created communications, executed a word-of-mouth campaign,
and managed campaign feedback.
Tactics
Tuvel worked with Mediastudio to identify more than 100 groups and individuals to target, and created and disseminated half-a-dozen different messages to 10,000 ideal applicants. Through marketing channels that included newsletters, websites, e-mail lists, online calendars, web forums and blogs, nonprofit — 501(c)(3) — organizations were invited to download and submit applications to CreateAThon™. From this effort, Tuvel selected 10–12 organizations to work with the CreateAThon™ team on creating a graphic product for each organization.
Results
Thanks to this campaign, CreateAThon™ gained exposure in mainstream nonprofit and business print publications, online communities, and national volunteer networks. The viral marketing efforts produced a 25-percent response rate. The pass-along rate increased by 300 percent, and application downloads increased from 70 in the previous year to 130 in 2005 — a nearly 100-percent increase!
ACHIEVING SIMILAR SUCCESS
For information on how you can put a Tuvel Communications Program to work for your company or organization, please contact us.