The Challenge
Mission? Creatively inspire both new and existing audiences to donate or volunteer
The Greater Twin Cities chapter of United Way is a nonprofit organization that provides resources, assistance and advocacy for underserved communities in the Twin Cities metro area. Following the launch of a rebrand and the introduction of a new philanthropic mission, United Way wanted to raise awareness of their new initiatives and brand engagement. To elevate United Way’s effort, Collective Measures needed to develop a paid media strategy that clearly communicated United Way’s value proposition and inspired both new and existing audiences to join the movement by donating or volunteering.
The Solution
Video ad units + an audience-first approach = recipe for success
A core component of Collective Measures’ strategy was leveraging ad units that could both educate and inform about the rebrand, explaining the evolution of the brand and the details of its new initiative. Or in other words: video was the key.
But, to really drive this home, we knew an audience-first approach was crucial when it came to the media plan. To reach new audiences across the web, programmatic video was selected and used to target users who index high for charitable donations, volunteering, and corporate leadership. We also turned to YouTube to educate lower-funnel audiences and remarketing audiences, including site visitors and branded searchers, to reach those who are familiar with the brand but unaware of the new changes.
The Results
Our efforts amplified users’ awareness of both the brand name itself and its new brand initiatives
Collective Measures’ skillful use of video in United Way’s paid media efforts amplified users’ awareness of both the brand name itself and its new brand initiatives. The two video platforms worked together to balance efficiency and effectiveness to both new and existing audiences, with YouTube providing 79% more efficient reach to low-funnel audiences, and programmatic video providing 1.53x higher video completion rates and 9% lower cost per onsite engagement from new users.
Additionally, CM completed a correlation analysis which showed that increased spend on video ads resulted in increased search volume and impressions for the brand name. While the campaign ramp-up took 3-4 weeks before search was impacted, when video was paused, branded search impressions immediately dropped off. This demonstrated that video was an effective channel that influenced users to learn more about the brand.
