United Way?s new campaign, handled by Baltimore-based advertising and marketing agency Euro RSCG 4D, relies on donor empathy to bring in more funds for the charity.
Euro?s campaign is roughly titled, “What It?s Like.” The purpose is to convey the United Way?s four focus areas for grantmaking and programs: basic needs, family safety, youth achieving potential and school readiness.
The television spots show actors portraying each of the four areas while local statistics are read in the voiceover.
“There are a lot of prospective donors out there who are well-fed and can?t relate to people who are working poor or abused,” creative director Jeff Wygant said. “We wanted to generate some empathy and understanding so people could know what life is like for these people.”
“United Way typically does a campaign around this time every year to meet their fundraising goals overall,” account supervisor Liz Hester said. “This year they wanted to do something new and creative.”
The campaign, which launched Sept. 11, willcontinue to run through the end of the year. It includes television, print, some outdoor and some mail advertising components.
“By focusing on the four areas, United Way is trying to bring in more results,” said Steve DeSantis, director of client services at Euro. “It?s less about fundraising and more about fixing the problems.”
The campaign?s target audience was Gen-Xers, he said.
“A lot of the donors now are older, and we were trying to touch the younger audience,” DeSantis said.
The last two of the three United Way campaigns created by Euro annually have won multiple Addy and Tely awards. When asked about the campaign?s effectiveness, Wygant was optimistic.
“One of things we?re trying to get across is that these are people who are trying to help themselves, these are people who are looking for jobs, not people who are looking for charity,” he said.
“We also brought in some statistics specific to central Maryland,” Hester added. “Realizing those statistics will help in bringing more donations to United Way of Central Maryland.”
CONTACT EURO RSCG 4D
» 111 S. Calvert St., Baltimore
» 410-230-3700
» www.eurorscg4d.com
