Top 10 Successful NPO Marketing Campaigns

Whether you work for a small or large organization, creativity is essential in a Charity Marketing campaign. Any marketing campaign with a large budget and mediocre ideas will not get you very far, so as an NPO with a stringent budget, you can't risk it with some ordinary ideas. You have to be extraordinarily creative and sharp to strike the right note when you present it before your audience.

So when asked, 'What are some of the most effective ways to spread the word?' we've got you.

Here is a list of Top 10 nonprofit marketing campaigns across many platforms that have been successful and gained a wide reach for the organization. Continue reading to be inspired!

Content Writing Marketing Campaign: Invisible Dogs Campaign

The Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit organization that assists in finding loving homes for dogs and cats that are considered "unadoptable." Since 1984, the organization has been doing excellent work and has been able to stay true to its objective thanks to the Invisible Dogs Campaign.

The purpose of this content marketing and nonprofit marketing campaign is to find a home for every pet.

To accomplish so, Best Friends Animal Society used the power of user-generated content, which can be readily created using an iPhone or Android mobile app. My Dog ID lets you take photos of yourself and then uses face recognition to connect you with a dog. Users are encouraged to post their photo matches on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as on Best Friend's user-generated Dog Wall.

Social Media Marketing Campaign: September Campaign

Charity Water's "September Campaign" demonstrates the viability of charitable social media marketing. In 2015, program participants raised more than 1.8 million dollars.

The September Campaign encourages persons born in September (founder Scott Harrison's birthday month) to promote their friends and family to donate to Charity: Water instead of buying gifts to show off on your social media platforms.

YouTube Marketing Campaign: Red Nose Day

Comic Relief is a charity based in the United Kingdom that alleviates poverty, and the charity's most significant fundraising effort is Red Nose Day. In 2017, they released a short sequel to Richard Curti's romantic comedy Love as a part of Red Nose Day.

This short sequel gained nostalgia and the best reach for their campaign marketing effort. Although not every nonprofit has the resources to enlist the help of celebrities, citing or recreating a classic piece of pop culture. But still, it is a terrific approach to engage supporters.

Graphic Marketing Campaign: Fatty Cigarettes

This attractive visual ad isn't the most appealing to the eye, but it will stay with you for a long time – especially if you're a smoker. Visual imagery such as posters and internet advertisements depicting a cigarette as a blocked artery full of fatty, as well as a very ugly TV commercial showing fat oozing out of smokes as a bunch of pals sat around smoking.

It was a huge success in January: the charity had 12,000 calls to its smoking helpline and 65,000 visits to a smoking awareness website. Fourteen thousand people are said to have given up as a direct result of the marketing initiatives - what a success.

Text Marketing Campaign: Would You Rather?

DoSomething.org is one of the largest charity organizations dedicated to social change and young people. DoSomething.org chose to undertake a message-focused campaign to educate these kids in personal finance because their target group was engaged in SMS.

The organization ran an interactive SMS game modeled on the popular concept "Would you rather?". Participants were given to pick between two options in a succession of funny money-saving and money-making scenarios.

DoSomething.org had reached out to over a million teenagers in just a few days. Over 102,748 participants played this message game, and around 95,000 money-saving recommendations were sent out.

Poster Marketing Campaign: Get Over It!

To combat homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, Stonewall launched the groundbreaking 'Get Over It!' campaign in 2007.

Their short, attention-getting ads were visible across the UK in classrooms, billboards, bus stations, and train carriages. The placards stated, 'Some People Are Gay.' 'Get Over It!' was a campaign geared specifically at combating bullying in the classroom.

The initiative was a big success, sparking conversations on how LGBT students are treated in schools and LGBT sex education and bullying.

Ad Marketing Campaign: EndangeredEmoji

The World Wildlife Fund designed 17 emojis based on endangered animals for a 2015 campaign. Every time a user tweeted one of the emoticons, the foundation received a donation of ten cents. In a single year, these emoticons were used over 200 million times. This campaign was proved to be the most successful nonprofit marketing practice of the year.

Fundraising Campaign: Year-End Fundraising

December is a difficult month for animal shelters due to the harsh weather and low adoption rates. Stray Rescue of St. Louis focused its year-end fundraising drive on all of the ways supporters may demonstrate their love for homeless pets throughout the Christmas season. Though the campaign was heavily focused on Instagram, it also included emails and blog postings, emphasizing donating before the end of the year.

YouTube Marketing Campaign: The Movember Foundation Campaign

The Movember Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving men's health. To raise awareness of the cause, they encouraged people to grow a mustache during November.

The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness and create a discussion. It's a terrific approach to get people talking if you encourage your supporters to do something unique and shareable. THANKS TO THIS METHOD; the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a huge success!

Annual Marketing Campaign: A Dog Is For Life

Clarissa Baldwin, the then-Chief Executive of Dogs Trust, coined the famous tagline "A dog is for life, not only for Christmas" in 1978.

Since then, it's been used as an annual marketing campaign in the run-up to Christmas to promote responsible dog ownership and educate people about the importance of dog protection.

The beauty of this marketing strategy is that it's distinctive, readily recognizable, and can be tweaked year after year to give it a new spin.

Final Thoughts

The secret behind the best nonprofit marketing campaign is always a combination of clarity in your ideas, a well-designed strategy and the best platform chosen to promote your cause. A well-thought-out and well-planned campaign can work miracles, and the above-mentioned use cases are some examples to endorse these facts. Create a plan that works for your organization and your target audience, including elements from each to give your campaign its unique flavor.