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Targeted and custom radio, TV spots and online display ads will run throughout the Christmas season.
This Christmas season, the Western Territory is launching a substantial media initiative to supplement the national media campaign using radio, TV spots and online display ads.
“Advertising smartly is a proven strategy to get a message out,” said Commissioner James Knaggs, territorial commander in the West. “For us this Christmas season, the increased presence in the media becomes an investment in an area that has proven to be particularly effective.”
The West’s first-ever territory-wide campaign aims to: increase donations to The Salvation Army in the territory during the Christmas season; increase donations and participation in the Online Red Kettle in the territory; and increase awareness of The Salvation Army brand promise, “‘Doing the Most Good.”
“This advertising is intended to support and increase our Christmas appeal, which accounts for a major percentage of our overall income,” Knaggs said. “In times like these where more people are coming to us than ever before in our history, we need to meet that need with a strategic approach to raise our resources to meet the challenge.”
The Richards Group, the Army’s national advertising agency since 2005, worked closely with each divisional development department team to formulate custom broadcast media buys for each headquarter’s city.
The radio packages consist of Online Red Kettle competitions between select DJs at select stations, plus on-air endorsements, calls to action, and interviews. The TV packages place localized versions of the 30-second “Thank you” TV ad in local network news programming, and are supplemented by online video placements. The online display ads and search text listings will be geo-targeted to every zip code in the territory.
To track and report performance, The Richards Group will use a variety of methods, based on the media and the tactics being measured. For example, it will use a third party to track and report online impressions served, traffic (clicks), donation amount, and return on ad spending. Optimizations will be made on a weekly basis to increase click-through rate and donations. The company will also track each competing radio DJ’s Online Red Kettle income, and will conduct and analyze pre- and post-campaign waves of the ongoing brand tracking study, which measures awareness over the course of time.
Following the conclusion of the campaign, The Richards Group will provide a comprehensive report describing all metrics and outcomes.
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