Increasing monthly donations during the cost-of-living crisis
How we approached a fundraising campaign that drove donations with a 1242% return on ad spend.
The backstory
Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (EDCH) are a small but dedicated team who have been caring for animals since 1884. They give every dog and cat the best level of care possible, from food and healthcare to toys and training – all to get them ready for their future family.
Like many organisations, they were struggling with the cost of living crisis. Their home was becoming far more expensive to run, heat, and care for, and many longstanding donors were no longer able to afford a monthly donation.
They needed to attract new donors, reengage old ones and ultimately, increase their regular giving donations to offset the rising costs.
They’d run some paid advertising campaigns in the past, but without a clear strategy, and with murky results; they were unclear if their activity was converting to donations.
How it went down
Campaigns we deliver typically begin with a testing phase, followed by implementing learnings and then scaling at the most profitable point. In this case, our testing opportunities were constrained by a tight budget. So we focused on the core elements:
Audience testing
Creative testing
Testing different audiences
We analysed their past campaigns to understand what audiences they have previously targeted and how these performed in terms of cost per click. We used these learnings and our findings to create our audiences, review the size of each audience and allocate the budget accordingly.
We finalised four key audiences and went live with the campaign. From month two, we could see which audience generated the most donations at the highest value and which had the cheapest CPC.
Testing different creatives
We knew from a previous campaign we delivered for EDCH, what formats outperformed others, so we wasted no time with testing formats. We went straight in testing a variety of copy with different messages so we could discover what resonated with our audiences. We focused on three different messages and analysed what generated the highest CTR, cheapest CPC and the most engagement.
Reacting to the data
To create a profitable paid campaign, you need to gain a full understanding of what is, and what isn’t working on a week-by-week basis. The data changes every day, so we had to be adaptive and respond quickly and effectively.
The results
We saw a significant spike in both traffic and donations during the campaign period which resulted in 9,000 new traffic users to their site and a 1242.2% return on ad spend.
1242.2% return on ad spend
Average CPC of £0.18
1.8 million impressions
Demographic and campaign learnings that can be used for future campaigns
We were thrilled to deliver a successful campaign for EDCH which increased their monthly donations and helped to keep the home running. This campaign was a prime example of how effective a small budget can be when paired with a focused strategy and an understanding of what makes your audience tick.
Here's what they said
“It was a pleasure to work with Ophelia and Callum on our Regular Giving campaigns in 2022. Not only are they masters in their field, they are genuinely lovely people!
During the time that we worked with them on our paid adverts, we recruited more than 200 new monthly supporters which we are thrilled about!
This additional regular support will enable us to continue to protect loving homes, find loving homes and run our loving Home.”
- Ailsa Stevenson, Senior Individual Giving Officer