2004 Public Service Campaign- The Salvation Army of Dane County

Salvation Army Logo After several years of decreased funding, The Salvation Army of Dane County had been forced to lay off seven employees, completely adjust its budgets and cut back on the services it provides to the thousands in need. The Red Kettle campaign brings in approximately one-third of the annual budget, making it the single most important fund-raising effort for the organization.

Objectives

Our objectives in creating this cohesive campaign were twofold. The first objective was to increase total donations for the campaign. After working with The Salvation Army through the initial planning phases, it became apparent that the most effective way to increase donations would be to increase the number of manned kettles. The second objective was to increase overall awareness of The Salvation Army and the services it provides to the thousands of Dane County’s less fortunate. By educating the general public about who the donated money helps (and how), we hoped to enhance the positive feeling behind giving to The Salvation Army and encourage people to ring bells and ring bells more often.

No matter the message, we quickly realized that the first opportunity to build some buzz behind the campaign was in rounding up donated media. This was an important step both in building a strong media schedule, but also in increasing the awareness of The Salvation Army in the eyes of the local media. By the time the campaign was ready to launch, we had received $55,207, in donated media, three times what The Salvation Army received in previous years.

The Campaign

The communications campaign consisted of two phases. Phase one would begin two weeks before the first kettles were to open. Signs, small ads, fliers, television and radio spots were to run stating that “The Kettle is Coming,” helping to build anticipation and curiosity before the kettles were even open for donations. (This phase was cut short due to the unexpected announcement that Target would no longer allow kettles at their locations. However, we were able to quickly adjust and launch the second phase nearly a full two weeks early).

The second phase was carried with the headline “The Kettle is Here,” and depicted area residents who had rung bells in the past. Messaging focused on the feelings of ringing bells, and informed the audience of the services The Salvation Army provides locally. All communiqué included encouragement to visit www.ringbells.org to sign up to ring bells.

Results

By the time the campaign was ready to launch, we received over $55,000 in media and scheduled three times the exposure The Salvation Army had received in previous years.
The kettle campaign raised more than $450,000 ($150,000 more than the last two years).
On the day of Christmas Eve, the ring times were 100% booked for the first time in the history of The Salvation Army of Dane County.
On the day of Christmas Eve, the ring times were 100% booked for the first time in the history of The Salvation Army of Dane County.
According to The Salvation Army, the general sentiment of bell-ringers was much more positive this year. More people were excited about ringing bells, the general public was more thankful to ringers and there were a higher percentage of cash and check donations than in past years (versus change).
By using local residents in the marketing pieces, the campaign built an underground buzz. The people in the ads were excited and helped to spread the anticipation about the red kettle campaign. In fact, one of the ads (featuring employees of WPS) built up such enthusiasm and competition that the company made it a point grab the spot as the single kettle with the most donations (just under $21,000 at their sponsored Shopko location).
The Salvation Army described the feeling in the office as, “Everybody is walking about 4 inches off the ground.” The success of the campaign will let The Salvation Army provide more to those in need, and has already helped to increase the internal morale of the volunteers and employees.
Ad2 Madison was awarded the G.D. Crain Jr. Memorial Award for Public Service and the Jim Fish National Public Service Award for our work with The Salvation Army of Dane County’s “I am the Kettle” campaign. We also received 2nd place for our presentation at the American Advertising Federation’s national convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

2004 Portfolio

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