Amnesty International Australia (AIA)

Overview

Amnesty International Australia (AIA) and Marlin have been working together for over 6 years on crafting compelling and effective appeals. The award-winning “Relentless” Tax Appeal of 2022 sought to raise funds to advance human rights for refugees by increasing resettlement, releasing the incarcerated, and building safe pathways for refugees into Australia.

Refugees are people from all walks of life – parents, siblings, cousins and grandparents – who have had no choice but to flee their homes because of war, persecution or violence. Over 1.19 million adults and children need to be resettled in a safe country, yet only 30 countries offer just over 100,000 annual resettlement places.

This appeal came at a crucial time. With the war in Ukraine, the looming Australian Federal Election, and with World Refugee Day on 20 June, this was a critical opportunity to shine a light on the injustice experienced by refugees and people seeking asylum, both in Australia and globally.

AIA were able to use this vital moment to build people power and support for refugees.
The creative concept was brought to life by focusing on the two-fold meaning of the word ‘relentless’.

The relentless, heartbreaking experience of a refugee and the relentless determination of Amnesty’s incredible supporters in their fight against injustice.

Problem

It was clear from the moving stories and case studies that the safety of refugees and people seeking asylum is constantly compromised wherever they go, including in Australia.

Solution

Strategically, we needed a framework for communicating these stories and a succinct proposition so that donors understand very quickly and clearly what is being asked of them.

Results

The proposition for the appeal was: The relentless rejection, fear and abuse refugees and people seeking asylum face can end with you. Mid-value income increased by 113% from 2021 to 2022

The Challenge

It was clear from the moving stories and case studies that the safety of refugees and people seeking asylum is constantly compromised wherever they go, including in Australia. If not turned away when seeking safety and asylum, they are subjected to unlawful, indefinite detention, and face forms of torture, such as isolation, confinement, little access to sunlight, no contact with the outside world, unhygienic living conditions and denial of medical treatment. We set out to move Amnesty supporters to take relentless action to combat these relentless human rights abuses.

Strategically, we needed a framework for communicating these stories and a succinct proposition so that donors understand very quickly and clearly what is being asked of them.

AIA had four key objectives for their 2022 appeal:

• Meet and exceed fundraising target of $675,000
• Maximise this opportune time of year (EOFY) when donors are most likely to give – lean on tax deductibility angle, timeliness of appeal to achieve the best results
• Raise awareness of the topic area (REFUGEE RIGHTS) and increase our human rights impact
• Effectively communicate our place in this saturated market and our point of difference in the field of Human Rights

The Solution

Professor Russell James’s research reveals that an effective donor experience involves revealing the compelling victory that a supporter can achieve through the act of giving. He asserts that for the victory to be appealing, the donor must be able to see how their identity is enhanced by working towards that victory.

In this case, the victory is ending the rejection, fear and danger that refugees and people seeking asylum face at every corner.

The strategic positioning of the appeal offered a way to say to a refugee or asylum seeker, who is asking the question “Will I ever be safe?”, “Yes, you can be”. This is because of the reach and scale of Amnesty’s work.

From an audience perspective we of course looked at what values and tensions can we trigger in order to get them to act. We know that on an empathetic level, Amnesty’s supporters care that someone, somewhere is not safe. They can comprehend the type of fear they are experiencing, although they may not have felt it themselves. They will know just how traumatising the experience is.

From the outset of this campaign, there was one word that stood out from the rest ‘Relentless’. This was the word that encapsulated the experience of refugees across the world. The relentless struggle, the relentless heartbreak and the relentless pain of leaving one’s home and entering into the unknown.

The proposition for the appeal was: The relentless rejection, fear and abuse refugees and people seeking asylum face can end with you. But only when you are relentless in your belief in doing what is right.

Mostafa ‘Moz’ Azimitabar really embodied the meaning of ‘relentless’ encountering so many challenges, so much pain and indescribable heartbreak, in his pursuit of freedom. Across direct mail, social and eDMs, first-person storytelling using Moz’s story as the primary case study built a compelling case for support. Through the use of first person narrative, the appeal was able to give the audience an insight into Moz’s life and what he had to go through.

A specialised extension lift was created for MV donors to offer a deeper dive into the problem and solution.

Marketing channels for the AIA “Relentless” Tax Appeal included:

• Direct Mail
• Digital – paid and organic social and SEM
• eDMs
• SMS

The Results

• Mid-value income increased by 113% from 2021 to 2022
• The power of Moz’s story shone through to the digital channels, with social ads featuring Moz bringing in the highest average gift ($382)
• AIA launched a Matched Giving campaign on the 20 June with two generous Major Donors contributing a total of $100k. Due to the strong response to the campaign, we reached the Matched Giving Target on 28 June, 2 days ahead of schedule.
• The Tax Appeal acquired 404 new cash donors and 50 Regular Givers, with an average gift of $31.66
• AIA broke their team record for the most money earned from a single email ($54k), previously it was the Afghanistan crisis eDM at $49k.

Wrapping up

AIA’s social ads featuring Moz brought in the highest average gift ($382), and a Matched Giving campaign with two Major Donors reached the Matched Giving Target 2 days ahead of schedule.

We love building these sort of solutions as we know the end result is something beautiful both for the charity and to advance human rights for refugees by increasing resettlement, releasing the incarcerated, and building safe pathways for refugees into Australia.