08/16/17
Volunteer Numbers Soar for CASA After OBI Creative Campaign
“Silence isn’t always golden; especially for children who have suffered abuse and neglect. You can help give them a voice by becoming a CASA volunteer – a court appointed special advocate. Right now in Nebraska more than 2,000 children are in need of a dedicated, caring adult like you who can listen to them and speak up for them. Just some of your time can impact their lifetime. Be the voice of a child. Become a CASA. Find out how at casaforthekids.org”
That appeal formed the backbone of a multi-channel media campaign that OBI Creative designed and executed for Nebraska CASA. It was so effective that it generated more than 6 million impressions, nearly 7,000 clicks to the campaign landing page and 120 volunteer signups.
Before the awareness campaign, Nebraska CASA experienced 4 – 5 volunteer signups per month. After the five-month media blitz, that number jumped to 7 – 8 per week.
One of those volunteer signups belonged to our very own Account Director, Paul Berger. His story is the most complete, authentic and perhaps serendipitous experience a full service ad agency can offer a nonprofit organization.
You can read his story here.
BACKGROUND
“CASA” stands for “Court Appointed Special Advocate.” A CASA is a trained citizen volunteer who advocates on behalf of abused and neglected children in the state of Nebraska. CASAs receive 30 hours of training and invest 10 hours per month on their case. Today, there are more than 2,000 children in the Nebraska court system without a CASA. Therefore, Nebraska CASA obtained funding for a media campaign to raise awareness of the need for CASAs, educate the public on what a CASA does and recruit prospective CASA volunteers.
THE CAMPAIGN
OBI Creative designed a multimedia campaign utilizing digital media (behavioral targeting) and traditional radio to reach target geography across rural and metro regions in Nebraska. Campaign tactics included digital display advertising, pre-roll video, Pandora digital radio and traditional radio. Advertising pointed to a campaign landing page where prospects could:
- Watch a brief video
- Check out “CASA facts”
- Read about what a CASA does
- Complete and submit a form to begin the process of becoming a CASA
RESULTS
The media campaign ran for five months from Nov. 1, 2016 through Mar. 31, 2017 and delivered:
- More than 6 million impressions
- 6,937 clicks to the campaign landing page
- 4,756 actions* taken on the landing page
- Up to 700% increase in volunteer submissions
*An “action” is any activity that can be measured on a website including page visits, video plays and form submissions.
Prior to the campaign, CASA experienced 4–5 volunteer signups per month. By the end of the five-month campaign, signups climbed to 7–8 per week!
The campaign also had a significant effect on the organization’s main website. Even though advertising did not point directly to the main website, visits to and activity on the website increased dramatically during the five-month period as the campaign created interest and people went online to learn more about Nebraska CASA.
These positive results encouraged the Nebraska CASA Association to renew the campaign for a second run from August 2017 through January 2018.
We’re thankful to have the privilege of helping nonprofit organizations like Nebraska CASA spread the word about the important work they do for our communities, which makes achieving results like this all the more satisfying. Those results and Paul’s story inspire all of us at OBI Creative to keep working, both at our day jobs for the agency, and in our free time, to make our community a better place to live for everyone in them.
Learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer or how OBI Creative can help your nonprofit generate awareness and interest in your cause.
