END7 is a nonprofit organization that’s working hard to see the end of seven diseases by the year 2020. This movement hopes to stop the suffering of over half a billion children in the developing world. But here’s the problem. When people are presented with charity ads that display gruesome images, such as medical diseases, it’s easy for them to turn away before getting the information they need to help make a difference.
So how did END7 get around this dilemma? They showed celebrities footage that displayed the morbid effects of these diseases and filmed their reactions. Using social media, a YouTube video was created to challenge viewers to watch the same video that the celebrities were watching. Instead of turning away, this campaign incited a curiosity that held people’s attention. And it worked.
The video went viral and received over 300,000 views in just the first week of its release. It was ranked #5 on YouTube’s “Most Popular on the Web” list. The video also generated £60,000 of donations in the first week, which went toward treating and protecting over 120,000 children from all seven diseases for an entire year.
Did this marketing campaign make you curious? To see more nonprofits making a difference, check out the rest of my series, 10 Nonprofit Marketing Campaigns That Effectively Use Social Media.
Definitely made me curious!
Definitely made me curious! And in the end, a very compelling campaign.