The brief
ActionAid chose Yorkshire for this ground-breaking initiative after research revealed that Leeds was home to more child sponsors than any other UK city.
The charity asked us to create a campaign with three objectives; to thank the people of Yorkshire for their past support, to encourage new child sponsors, and to demonstrate that child sponsorship helps the wider community in the developing world.
The approach
We wanted our campaign to leave the people of Yorkshire in no doubt about the differences they had made to the lives of young people in Africa, India and South America - and the differences they could continue to make.
Taking "Yorkshire Means The World" as our creative theme, we developed a powerful unified message across a broad range of media to prick as many consciences as possible.
Outdoor posters in prime commuter locations, local press adverts, radio commercials on regional stations, bus-sides and targeted direct mail packs were just some of our traditional media methods.
Online, we ran a two-week concentrated display campaign directing people to a bespoke microsite showcasing case studies and how people could get involved. We also produced a downloadable recipe booklet as a gift for visitors, featuring dishes from around the developing world.
We went on a public relations drive too - enlisting Coronation Street star and existing child sponsor Helen Worth to visit ActionAid projects in Sierra Leone and present daily reports on Yorkshire TV's Calendar news for a week during the campaign. And we organised the ActionAid Festival in Leeds' busiest shopping district, with music, dance and food from around the world. We even held Leeds' largest ever video projection on the façade of the city's leading Queens Hotel, showing thank you messages from children in Africa supported by Yorkshire sponsors.
The result
The response from Yorkshire was truly heart-warming. The campaign generated
over 630 new child sponsors with a further 687 enquires, 2,200 prospects from cash donations at the events and approximately 82,000 visitors to ActionAid's websites - their busiest ever month. The new sponsors will be worth £114,480 in the first year of sponsorship.
ActionAid was delighted with these results and now plans to roll out more region specific campaigns across the UK.