CBM Australia

Overview

CBM Australia is one of the largest and oldest Christian charities in Australia, and they work to improve the lives of people with disabilities in developing countries. 

They have an aging donor base that they engage with mainly through offline channels. 

CBM recognised the need to explore new fundraising channels to expand their donor base. In June 2020, they asked us to help them develop a scalable digital acquisition strategy that they could use to build an online donor base. 

We developed a ‘test and learn’ campaign to test new digital channels for CBM and determine what worked, what didn’t, and which audiences were most likely to give. 

This agile approach allowed us to optimise the campaign at every phase of the seven-week campaign, and develop  an effective digital acquisition strategy that CBM can rely on in future.

Problem

CBM recognised the need to explore new fundraising channels to expand their donor base

Solution

We developed a rapid ‘test and learn’ approach for the seven-week campaign that allowed CBM to explore different audiences, channels, messaging and creative executions.

Results

By the end of the campaign, we were able to recommend a strategy for CBM’s future digital acquisition.

The Challenge

CBM wasn’t new to cold acquisition campaigns. But they were new to cold digital acquisition campaigns. 

We had a good idea of who CBM’s best online donors were likely to be based on their web analytics. But we needed to test these assumptions as part of the campaign.

We also had to test every aspect of the creative execution – including ad copy, image choice, timing of ads, and landing pages, on the different channels – to find what worked best for CBM.

The Solution

Juggling all the unknowns, we developed a rapid ‘test and learn’ approach for the seven-week campaign that allowed CBM to explore different audiences, channels, messaging and creative executions.

We also built a unique landing page for every ad set within our social, search and display campaigns that was tailored to suit each test. 

And because we tracked every digital interaction that took place, we were able to keep testing and optimising the campaign. 

By the time we were halfway through, we were able to determine which ad sets and channels should be retained or switched off, and allocate the rest of CBM’s budget to the ones that were working best.

The Results

By the end of the campaign, we were able to recommend a strategy for CBM’s future digital acquisition, including:

• Audiences to target by age, interests and location
• When and where to place targeted ads to reach these audiences
• The most effective creative executions, messaging and calls to action.

Cold acquisition campaigns are always challenging. But with the right approach and investment, we can help you develop a strategy that works. 

If you’d like to build an effective digital acquisition strategy and an online donor base you can rely on, talk to us. We can work with you to explore or enhance this area of your fundraising.