A critical moment in time.
Children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, had never sent supporters a mass appeal by direct mail before. But October 2020 was a pivotal moment in time when the mental health and wellbeing of the nation’s children was at threat.
Following the first wave of coronavirus, many children were returning to school after months at home. Those who had needed support before were having to adjust to some big changes. And some were facing mental health issues for the very first time.
A recent report found that the coronavirus pandemic could exacerbate inequalities in mental health for a generation unless concerted action was taken. This was the major theme of the appeal – giving children the right support was critical at this stage to minimise the impact of coronavirus on their mental health throughout adulthood.
The time was right… so we got to work.
Due to the changing situation of the pandemic, we had to act fast to help Place2Be deliver a powerful campaign at the most impactful point. We pulled out all the stops: squeezing the schedule, absorbing the brand and using all our in-house expertise to deliver a compelling and targeted campaign in just 4 weeks from briefing to mailout.
It was all in the technique.
As this was Place2Be’s first ever mass mailing, we wanted to ensure all our tried and tested techniques were used to maximum effect. Anchoring, personalisation, information chunking, copy variables for medium value supporters… to lift this campaign off the doormat and into the hearts of supporters.
An engaging involvement device helped supporters to connect with beneficiaries and with the cause, as well as providing an incentive to make a donation. To further boost exposure we also ran a Facebook campaign in tandem, adapting it to both warm and cold audiences.
Experience, technique and agency passion.
Results exceeded the client’s expectations, with a target-beating amount raised and strong uptake on Facebook ads. What was even more uplifting, they told us, was the feedback they received from their supporters:
The appeal did really well for us, raising double the predicted income and engaging our supporters with the mental health challenges faced by children and young people at this time. It was the first appeal we’ve run and Bethel Finance were brilliant at helping us narrow down the ask and making sure the process went smoothly. It was great to receive messages from supporters like ‘keep up the good work’ and how they are happy to support Place2Be and children’s mental health.”
Kat Heath, Individual Giving Manager
For a first venture into Direct Mail for Place2Be, we’d say that this campaign was a resounding success.