RSP­CA New South Wales: project Guardian Angel

Exhibited by
RSPCA NSW (Australia)
Added
August 19, 2009
Medium of Communication
Direct mail, online, radio.
Target Audience
Individuals, single gift.
Type of Charity
Environmental/animals.
Country of Origin
Australia.
Date of first appearance
November, 2008.

SOFII’s view

This is a charming appeal with wonderful photography and a great one-off proposition. Milo (that’s him opposite) could have been adopted several times over just by the SOFII office alone! While the success of this initiative speaks for itself, going back to donors later with a second stage request to consider regular monthly giving, or an annual gift at Christmas time would seem a natural development for this strong campaign.

Creator / originator

RSPCA NSW briefed ad agency The Campaign Palace about the concept. Campaign Palace came up with the creative and the guardian angel concept.

Summary / objectives

To raise AUS$300,000 to help pay the costs of the extra animals that we take into our shelters over the Christmas period.

Background

Our Christmas appeal is traditionally our biggest of the year. However, we are competing with hundreds of other charities for the same dollar and space. We wanted to find a campaign that was emotional, had a call to action and, most importantly, had a happy ending. Project Guardian Angel encouraged supporters to become a guardian angel to a shelter animal over Christmas. After Christmas, guardian angels could log back into the donation website to see the animal they supported.

Special characteristics

The campaign included a direct mail component, a website, mass media support and a radio community service announcement. It featured nine shelter dogs.

Influence / impact

Thanks to mass media support, donated by media buyers Mediacom, this campaign was highly publicised in the lead up to Christmas. It featured in numerous magazines, on radio and in the press.

Costs

$40,000

Results

$750,000 profit

Merits

Though the message was not groundbreaking, the money raised showed that this campaign stood out amongst the very many appeals taking place at Christmas time and even though the economy is in a downturn.

Other relevant information

This was a New South Wales state based campaign. It did not extend to other states. We hope to increase the success of this project by making it our annual Christmas appeal.

View original image
When the RSPCA New South Wales needed a miracle at Christmastime, who better to turn to than its supporters?
View original image
Find a good way to give a donor the chance to be a guardian angel and he or she will almost invariably not let you down.