Case StudyHow a 3 Week Social Media Campaign Gained 2 Million Pageviews and Raised $100K for Charity

SummaryAs a way to celebrate their 20th year in business, CU Direct, the nation’s leading provider of lending, automotive and strategic solutions to the credit union industry, created the 20 for 20 Giveback Campaign.

This online voting contest was held from December 2 – 22, 2014 and invited credit unions and the public to vote once daily for a Children’s Miracle Network hospital they wanted to receive a $20,000 donation.

Results• 2.1 Million Pageviews • 350K Votes cast • 3.5K YouTube views • 774K Mention reach on Twitter • 282k Reach on Facebook • Press coverage online, in print

and on ABC & NBC affiliates • $100K donated to Children's

Hospitals• Countless happy hospitals and

kids

Website Traffic

PurposeRaise awareness of CU Direct and build goodwill amongst customers, prospects and the media.

AudienceCustomers and prospects in the Credit Union and automotive markets.

PartnershipsCredit Unions for Kids and CMN Hospitals.

Media• Earned - Direct outreach to reporters

• Owned - Blog posts and Press Releases

• Shared - Posting to our social accounts using #CUDirect20

• Paid - Facebook ads targeting CU members and employees

Channels• Website/Mobile

• Email

• Social (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

Challenges• Short time to launch (3 weeks)

• No voting system available

• Early leader removed voting incentive

• Hosting company was attacked

Challenges/Solutions• Short time to launch (3 weeks)/

Had to do things differrently

• No voting system available/Great development team was able to build a solution

• Early leader removed voting incentive/Added additional monetary rewards to runners-up to incent continued participation

• Hosting company was attacked/Effected final day voting so both first and second place were awarded the grand prize

What WorkedBe Integrated and ConsistentUsed website, mobile, social and email to communicate. At times, some tools were working better than others.

Be Bigger than YouThis type of campaign was for the public good and provided resources for a worthy charity. Of course the company benefits from creating a positive reputation. We also put a lot of trust in the community to make this bigger than us - and they responded.

Be FlexibleThis is not a set it and forget it type of campaign. Challenges arose and we had to be quick to respond and at times change course.

What I Would do DifferentlyUse a more established tool like Twitter for votingEncourage people to tweet or post and we will donate or match each time. Better tracking as well as potential exposure.

Be more careful about financial riskWe were responsible for all of the funds. If it were not for the generosity of my company which ultimately tripled the amount to 60K, we would have had a lot of upset people.

Make the reward more equitableWe ended up contributing to hospitals that had a larger and/or more vocal community. By doing a matching campaign or focusing on just CMN we could spread out the contributions.

Prepare for a strong follow up post eventThe campaign is not over when the voting stops. Still had a lot of follow up and press coverage with the winners.

Math QuestionWhere did the $100K come from?

Math QuestionWhere did the $100K come from?$20K Original donation$20K to runner up added$20K to next 4 runners-up added ($5K to each)$40K Matching funds from private parties to each winner---------------------------------------------------------------------------$100K

Your Turn• Summary• Purpose/goals• Audience• Partnerships• Media relations• Channels• Potential challenges• Follow up post event

Learn MoreCU Direct 20 Giveback Campaign

ContactMichael Daehn, MBA330.33DAEHN (32346)MichaelDaehn.comBooks | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+ | Instagram

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