How do do you raise $200,000 in the middle of a pandemic?
Peacemakers 2021 - Video + Social Media Campaign
Who doesn’t want peace—right?
Peacemakers is an annual fundraising campaign to raise money in support of peacebuilding projects in Ontario and around the world.
The BIG problem: thanks to COVID this would feel nothing like the last four campaigns.
Although we had about a year of navigating communication during the pandemic, this proved to be a whole new beast. Typically, our Peacemakers campaign included a lot of in-person events to get the community involved. Not so this year.
We also had to navigate the sensitive issue of fundraising during a time when finances and work are uncertain for many. How do we encourage generosity without sounding tone deaf? How can our community be excited about getting their neighbours and co-workers involved?
Then there’s the main communication problem: peacebuiding is a difficult concept to quantify. Connecting donations to tangible impact isn’t obvious at first.
We want to raise $200K to make NOTHING happen.
Sound ridiculous, but you stopped scrolling for 5 seconds.
Now let’s unpack that idea and connect it to peacebuilding.
The Thinking
Inspiration: Peace is a difficult concept to run a fundraising campaign for. There isn’t a physical thing you can point to, and there isn’t a clear end date for the work. It takes lots of time and energy, and at its core it’s deeply relational. Also, it’s nearly impossible to see because stories of peace don’t seem to be that newsworthy. So let’s play that up. If peace is the absence of violence, and violence is “a thing”, then let’s raise money to make “nothing” happen.
Ideation: Simplify the messaging and distill this grandiose concept of peacebuilding into a specific plan that includes our three key partnerships. We’ll tackle all the objections, barriers, and problems about fundraising for peace straight on, and not beat around the bush when it comes to donations. In a time where everything feels crappy, this is your chance to do something good by donating any little bit you can. Why? Because this is on us. You and me.
Implementation: Instead of creating multiple videos or talking points, we focused on one video that we wanted to play as many times as possible. The framing, editing, and copy all designed with an Instagram story as top of mind. Our goal was to grab your attention in 10 seconds, then share the simplified key message in narrative form in 100 seconds, and close with a CTA to participate by donating and sharing the video.
The Process
FIRST: Include Compassion Manager (key stakeholder) in the inspiration and ideation process. Analyze the data we have about our donors, volunteers, and community to build empathy and understanding. Focus on divergent thinking and get as many ideas on the table as possible. Write creative brief and find pull images for inspo board.
SECOND: Synthesize our findings and feelings, find meaningful patterns, and create a semi-cohesive narrative. Converge on the strongest ideas, and mock up a quick narrative using the StoryBrand framework. Share the big idea with select opinion leaders in our community and measure their response.
THIRD: Finalize key messaging and deliverables. Develop a comms plan and promo strategy. Figure out budget for ads, plan schedule for social, emails, and livestream announcements. Connect with camera operator, sound tech, video talent, confirm shooting location—and figure out how to make it all safe in light of changing COVID guidelines.
FOURTH: Write, re-write, and re-write script again and again. Once script is locked, storyboard the entire video. Meet with lighting and camera to finalize framing and lighting. Meet with talent to figure out pacing and performance. Film, edit, colour, audio mix, and export all the variations for different media and platforms.
FINAL: Release video during Sunday livestream, begin running Facebook and Instagram ads, share on socials, include in targeted email campaign, and make video accessible to volunteers running virtual fundraising events. Work with the wonderful people in finance to figure out the donation mechanism and launch the Peacemakers microsite.
Concept board I used to generate an outline of the story.
Storyboard with script, visual direction, and motion.
A sample of the vertical video edit we used for Instagram and Facebook ads.
My Responsibilities
Audience and key stakeholder research and analysis
Team lead on brainstorming, problem analysis, and creative brief
Creative direction
Concept development
Script writing and storyboarding
Director and producer
Feedback and direction for video editor
Facebook and Instagram ad campaign
Microsite UX writing, layout, and media
The generous response of our community blew our expectations.
We surpassed our goal and raised $271,844
100% of the funds went directly to our partners supporting Indigenous and Settler Reconciliation projects, Restorative Justice, and peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa.