17 Comments

  1. It’s too bad that Unicef seems to not have been utilizing the power of social media well. Thanks for an informative article.

  2. It’s too bad that Unicef seems to not have been utilizing the power of social media well. Thanks for an informative article.

  3. Interesting article, but as someone who has worked on a lot of successful donation campaigns, both online and off, a few points need clarification.

    1. Just Giving’s sums are misleading, as what really matters in terms of Likes to dollars is what is termed in the industry “donor care.” Theyare using the Texas Sharpshooter routine for their numbers.

    2. The UNICEF campaign is very smart for a one off tactic. I think you will find they aren’t dismissing likes (they even explicitly state this), they are simply tapping a sentiment that does exist, whether true or not. You may have confused who the target market is – it isn’t actually aimed at the people who signal Likes on Facebook, it is aimed at the people who think Likes on Facebook are worthless, which is rightly or wrongly the majority of the population. Appealing to simple tribalism, and it works. They well get people nodding their head, and these people will have a greater likelihood of donating.

    3. What really matters as proof of online fundraising success is to show that the income is supplementary income, where it is derived from people who would otherwise not donate, rather than digita being the source of donation – 2 very different things.

    Cheers,
    Peter Bray

  4. Interesting article, but as someone who has worked on a lot of successful donation campaigns, both online and off, a few points need clarification.

    1. Just Giving’s sums are misleading, as what really matters in terms of Likes to dollars is what is termed in the industry “donor care.” Theyare using the Texas Sharpshooter routine for their numbers.

    2. The UNICEF campaign is very smart for a one off tactic. I think you will find they aren’t dismissing likes (they even explicitly state this), they are simply tapping a sentiment that does exist, whether true or not. You may have confused who the target market is – it isn’t actually aimed at the people who signal Likes on Facebook, it is aimed at the people who think Likes on Facebook are worthless, which is rightly or wrongly the majority of the population. Appealing to simple tribalism, and it works. They well get people nodding their head, and these people will have a greater likelihood of donating.

    3. What really matters as proof of online fundraising success is to show that the income is supplementary income, where it is derived from people who would otherwise not donate, rather than digita being the source of donation – 2 very different things.

    Cheers,
    Peter Bray

  5. “And don’t tell me it’s just Sweden – they need a unified brand in a global Village.” – *facepalm* You do understand that different market need different approach right? A unified brand doesn’t mean unified campaigns.. Perhaps it’s time to brush up on your international marketing and communication knowledge 😛

  6. “And don’t tell me it’s just Sweden – they need a unified brand in a global Village.” – *facepalm* You do understand that different market need different approach right? A unified brand doesn’t mean unified campaigns.. Perhaps it’s time to brush up on your international marketing and communication knowledge 😛

    1. Oops, missed this. Yes, I worked in Asia etc for 10 years. International marketing has always been poor because they do local badly and internationally not at all. Everything ends up being colour by numbers from head office, yet the customer is left with messages like “we’re a global brand but you have to send that o/s for help”. When we are talking digital/social we ARE talking global village, not local tho. And Sweden is not into dissing their family and friends on Facebook anymore than Australia US or UK are… no?

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  8. Umm, only created the most successful social media campaign in SWE that went viral around the world? I wouldn’t call that not understanding social media…

    UNICEF’s aim is to help in a concrete way, I think this campaign was fantastic in getting people to think about slactivism and definitely raised UNICEF’s profile internationally.

    PS. They never asked not to ‘Like’, but merely pointed out that ‘Liking’ in itself doesn’t actually help anyone in need. UNICEF’s Likes are safe 🙂

    1. Sunny, more successful than NoMakeUpSelfie? or Icebucket Challenge both of which would be trivial under the UNICEF ambit? I doubt it 😉

      1. Haha, all three are great using social media. Funnily enough, I had to google the no make-up challenge, as none of my friends nor myself shared that at the time (or is it still happening?). It’s all about target groups 🙂

        The two examples you mentioned happened after the Unicef one, and I am sure there will be better ones yet to come. The point was, the Unicef flicks were successful, it WAS the most successful social media campaign in SWE at the time (perhaps still?), and the message does stay in people’s minds. There is heaps of articles and studies done on the success of the unicef campaign now that demonstrate that quite well 🙂

        i wonder how many people actually remember many facts about cancer or whatever the disease was that the ice bucket challenge was about (i participated and have forgotten), as all they did was take photos and vids of themselves, rather that really thought about something behind it?

  9. I think you missed the part where the whole campaign was meant to elicit humor in the country of Sweden. I feel your view on this topic is very singular (American) because most Swedes would’ve laughed because they simply get the joke. In addition to culture, you missed the part that this was only meant for Swedes and the Swedish consumer market. You also forgot to add the number of children that were saved from this campaign from Polio. You make some great points and it would be valid if this campaign was launched in the US where humor has a different face but this was one of UNICEF Sweden’s most successful marketing blitz.

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