The Dallas Morning News Charities

By telling real stories, this campaign triggered a 51% bump in donations. For real.

THE CHALLENGE

The Dallas Morning News Charities raises money annually from its readers for 23 charitable organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With challenges in the economy and a political climate that included an increase in conversations about “handouts”, I knew that our campaign had to reach both the head and the heart.

THE SOLUTION

I reached out to the 23 organizations to find true stories of locals who were homeless, hungry — and able to rehabilitate. Print, digital, email, social and broadcast showcased the faces of need in the North Texas community with strong visuals and emotional stories that pulled viewers in.

Additionally, I highlighted the message that every penny donated goes to the charities. It was an emotional and rational one-two punch that rallied supporters during our major push.

THE RESULT

Donations poured in to push the total to $1.7 million; that’s a nice number to help make a difference in D-FW. It was the first time the initiative reached the $1 million milestone by December and Charities received the largest single donation in the program’s 28-year history.  Despite a tough economy, our focused message and targeted marketing mix helped Charities achieve a whopping 51% increase over the prior year. 

To make sure our donors are continually engaged, our team created and distributed a print and digital special section. This “annual report “shared final numbers, profiled the work of the recipient charitable organizations and thanked readers who contributed to this effort. 

AWARDS

This campaign was the 2014 and 2017 national winner of the prestigious INMA Award, which recognizes breakthrough results, strong creativity, innovative thinking and winning synergies across platforms.