Komen Global Race for the Cure & Event 360 Recognized with Two MarketingSherpa Awards

Author: Jono Smith on 26 January 2011 | 0 Comments

The Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure & Event 360 have been recognized with two awards--including “Best in Show”--at MarketingSherpa’s sixth-annual Email Marketing Summit in Las Vegas. In addition to “Best in Show,” the campaign was also recognized with a Gold Award for Best Email Personalization & Segmentation Strategy.

"Of all the submissions, this entry demonstrated the best overall personalization and segmentation strategy," noted Lead Judge Justin Bridegan, Marketing Manager, MECLABS Primary Research. "By using data analysis from previous years they gained a keen understanding of their audience which helped them segment messages based on affiliation, attitude and behavior. The results were astounding, even with fewer participants from the previous year, Susan G. Komen was able to raise more money. This challenges the old adage that more participants should lead to higher fundraising dollars.”

Susan G. Komen for the Cure joins Kodak as Best in Show award winner. In addition, MarketingSherpa selected 15 campaigns as Gold, Silver or Honorable Mention award winners. We are honored to be in the company of Marriott, Microsoft Bing, HP, IBM, Olympus, IDG, University of Notre Dame, ATP World Tour, The Center for American Progress, ESC Boston, Nürburgring Automotive, Lumension, Dingo Brands, Avis/ATOUT FRANCE, and Railey Mountain Lake Vacations.

Visit the MarketingSherpa website to download your copy of the MarketingSherpa Email Awards 2011 Special Report, which includes a description of why each campaign won and samples of the creative used.

From the nomination form:

The goal of the email campaign was to motivate the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® participants to solicit donations on behalf of Komen for the Cure. While Komen Global Race participants pay a nominal registration fee, they have no fundraising minimum for participation. Therefore, one of the main functions of the email campaign is not only to remind participants that it is a fundraising event, but also to demonstrate how their fundraising will literally “make an impact” in the National Capital area and around the world. The overall fundraising goal for the event was $3.5 million.

What makes the email campaign for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® special is that the segmentation and personalization reflect a thorough understanding of the audience, which was informed by a deliberative and exhaustive analysis of past years’ fundraising data. As mentioned above, the large audience of event participants was segmented according to team affiliation, attitude (responses to questions regarding a willingness to fund-raise), behavior (interaction with the website) and current fundraising performance.

Remarkably, the 2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® raised more money with fewer total participants than in 2009. This outcome challenges the assumption that the total number of event participants is the most important predictor of fundraising success.

Segmentation: Fundraising Performance

The examination of the previous years’ fundraising performance led to the discovery of a plateau or clustering of individual fundraising performance at around $275, which supported the tiered segmentation based on fundraising performance: those who have raised between $1 and $274 and those so-called “Power Fundraisers” who have raised over $275. There was a third fundraising group that comprised participants who had yet to start their fundraising. The messaging to each of the groups was, therefore, tailored to acknowledge their fundraising efforts and motivate them to raise more money for the cause.

Segmentation: Behavior

The prior year’s data also told us that participants who utilized their online Participant Centers raised more funds than their counterparts who did not. Consequently, we created content for this campaign that was conditional based on whether or not participants had made use of their Participant Center. Those that had not used their Participant Centers received messaging that gently encouraged them to make use of the Participant Center. For those that had used the Participant Center, they received messaging that acknowledged their active use of the Participant Center and highlighted certain fundraising tools that could further enhance their fundraising performance.

Segmentation: Attitude

The very simple question on the registration form asked registrants if they were willing to fundraise for the event. They were give three choices: yes, no and maybe. By using the segments based on these responses, we were able to create blended groups, such as those who said “yes” to fundraising, but had a zero or low fundraising balance. Such a group would receive messaging that was calibrated to reflect their willingness to fundraise, but also their reluctance on how to go about it. Such a group would be offered simpler, more achievable steps or methods than someone who has already had some fundraising success.

Segmentation: Team Affiliation

One of the things that we look for in fundraising data is the indicator or predictor of fundraising performance. Through our data analysis, we found a strong correlation between team membership and increased fundraising. We found an even greater correlation between team captains and fundraising. Thus, we created a completely separate track of email communication catering just to team captains. Captains received their own team captain updates that gave them the motivation and tools necessary to create a cohesive fundraising unit. This communication also acknowledged and recognized their enthusiasm and willingness to take on a leadership role.

Results:

Remarkably, the 2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® raised more money with fewer total participants than in 2009. This outcome challenges the assumption that the total number of event participants is the most important predictor of fundraising success.