In today’s issue of PR Vibes™, we’re sharing the story of how Calysto helped one client turn an unexpected crisis into an opportunity to do some good – and raise its visibility.
The story surrounding this award-winning Calysto PR campaign is the first in a new series of case studies we’re doing in PR Vibes. We hope these case studies spark some great ideas for your company!
You never know when a crisis will strike. When it does, public relations – both social and traditional PR – can be an invaluable tool in turning that crisis into an opportunity.
That’s what one Calysto Communications client, The mGive Foundation, discovered last year when the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
When it got word of the disaster, The mGive Foundation – the leading 501(c)(3) public charity enabling and processing mobile donation campaigns in the U.S. – immediately took action and began working with several of its nonprofit clients (including one of the largest fundraising organizations in the world) to process donations for the victims.
Calysto’s job: To get the word out to possible donors to maximize the total amount raised – and to build visibility for the mobile donation industry and The mGive Foundation itself.
What’s the Golden Rule in a Crisis? Act Quickly
The biggest challenge facing Calysto was the need to act quickly, given that donations can increase as much as 10X in the days after a disaster, according to a study of online giving by Network for Good.
The Calysto team worked practically around the clock – and was in constant communication with its client – to ensure that the fundraising efforts by The mGive Foundation and its nonprofit partners got the attention it deserved. Tactics included:
- Get the Word Out Quickly to Maximize Coverage – and Thus Donations. Calysto wrote and distributed a press release informing media of the mobile donations campaigns managed by The mGive Foundation on the day the earthquake hit – just hours after The mGive Foundation had successfully helped its nonprofit partners set up mobile donation campaigns. Calysto began pitching the news immediately.
- Bridge Back to Key Messages. Calysto worked closely with its client to ensure the messages delivered during interviews covered not only how to donate to the current fundraising campaign but also covered the effectiveness of mobile donations in general – and The mGive Foundation’s role in that area.
- Reach the Client’s Target Audience. Calysto made sure that The mGive Foundation’s efforts were featured not only in mainstream publications but also in leading wireless and nonprofit publications and blog sites – those read by the organization’s target partners and customers.
- Use the News Story to Spark New Interest in The mGive Foundation. Calysto leveraged the news coverage surrounding the Japan disaster to try to spark new interest in stories on The mGive Foundation and the concept of donating via mobile, particularly among media that had previously turned down a briefing or shown no interest in talking with The mGive Foundation.
- Raise Visibility and Funds Through Industry Events. Calysto also worked with CTIA to publicize donating via mobile through the strategic use of banners and keynote announcements at International CTIA Wireless, which took place less than two weeks after the disaster. This helped raise additional funds for disaster victims and also raised The mGive Foundation’s visibility among potential partners.
- Educate the Public. Calysto worked with The mGive Foundation to create an informational portal on The mGive Foundation’s website that would serve as a source of news and information and also would drive traffic to the site.
Results: Reached 705 Million Eyeballs in Just 4 Days
The campaign was successful both in raising money for Japan and in raising visibility for Calysto’s client, The mGive Foundation. Take a look at the results:
- Calysto secured coverage on websites and in publications reaching more than 705 million unique visitors within four days after the disaster hit – including coverage in Forbes, MSNBC and Inside Dateline. The campaign’s cost came in well under 1 cent per every thousand names reached.
- Around one week after the disaster, more than $2.6 million was raised for victims of the Japan disaster via text donations raised through just one partner of The mGive Foundation. Ten days after the disaster, that total reached $3.7 million.
- Many stories that ran focused on the growing popularity of mobile fundraising campaigns and The mGive Foundation’s role in this area. This was in large part due to Calysto’s emphasis on communicating The mGive Foundation’s key messages and focusing on the growth of the mobile donation market in general throughout the campaign.
- Calysto’s quick action helped maximize coverage of The mGive Foundation’s fundraising efforts in both mainstream and trade publications. Calysto secured coverage in many leading wireless and nonprofit trade publications, including RCR Wireless, 4G Trends, Wireless & Mobile News and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
- By leveraging the breaking news on Japan, Calysto secured stories or interviews with 35 publications that had not previously been interested in The mGive Foundation.
- Thanks in part to Calysto’s public relations efforts at the CTIA industry trade show, The mGive Foundation collected an additional $350,480 in text donations during the days when the CTIA show was held.
- Website traffic at www.mgivefoundation.org surged after March 11, jumping from just a few hits a day to sometimes more than 2,000 visits per day, with a total of 28,314 visits in March 2011. This compares to just 2,906 total visits in February 2011. Nearly 89% of website visits in March were from first-time visitors.
The campaign for The mGive Foundation is just one of several Calysto PR campaigns that have been recognized by the Stevie Awards due to their outstanding results. Winning a Stevie is considered one of the highest praises a company can receive. The Stevie Awards are known as the premier “Best in Business” awards, and Calysto’s work has been recognized alongside that of many other leading businesses – industry giants like Apple and Oracle.