Email Fundraising

In February of 2011, Event 360 and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, were recognized with two email marketing awards -- including "Best in Show" -- at MarketingSherpa's sixth-annual Email Marketing Summit in Las Vegas. The winning email 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 for the Cure was able to raise more money. This challenges the old adage that more participants should lead to higher fundraising dollars."

The goal of the email campaign was to motivate event participants in the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® to fundraise on behalf of Komen for the Cure. While Komen Global Race for the Cure participants pay a nominal registration fee, they have no fundraising minimum for participation. Therefore, one of the main functions of the email campaign was 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.

"What makes the event fundraising strategy we developed for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure special," notes Jeff Shuck, President and CEO of Event 360, "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. In addition, the technology integration we implemented between Facebook, Convio TeamRaiser™ and Boundless Fundraising™ from Charity Dynamics allowed the event participants to take advantage of their social networks for increased fundraising results."

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 from organizations including 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.

The 2011 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure will mark the 22nd running of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series in Washington, D.C. Event 360 has managed fundraising, recruitment, volunteers and event planning and production for the event since 2009.