< Back to Results From crisis to consistency: Sustaining media success beyond the pandemic peak The Challenge When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on U.S. shores, New York City was hit hard. By March 29, 2020, it was the worst affected area in the nation with more than 30,000 confirmed cases. At the same time, global lockdowns had put hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers out of work. Food Bank For New York City (FBNYC) saw the need for its services grow exponentially. Thankfully, so did the generosity from donors. In order to capture this moment, FBNYC needed a quick plan to spread the word. They turned to digital media. Our Role Digital Acquisition Media The Strategy Prior to the pandemic, FBNYC had already started investing in digital media, and the food bank was seeing strong results. When the pandemic arrived, RKD and FBNYC developed a plan to nearly quadruple the investment in digital media. The strategy was a huge success, with the number of donations increasing by 887% from FY19 to FY20. Over the next two years, the return on the investment was also huge—for every dollar spent on media in FY20 and FY21, they received $18.97. However, as the immediacy of the pandemic began to fade, a new challenge emerged: How could FBNYC continue to engage this new group of younger, digitally savvy donors? Could they retain a large enough percentage of these donors who came in during an emergency? And how should they invest in new donor acquisition in this new post-pandemic era? Once again, RKD and FBNYC leaned into digital media, relying on a mix of evergreen ads and timely campaigns. From FY21 to FY22, they tripled their digital media investment, bringing in more donations in FY22 than in FY21. Media was used both in acquisition and as “surround sound” for their digital efforts to engage current donors. The Result 21% growth in media investment from FY22 to FY24 9% increase in unique online donors in FY24, compared to FY20 264% growth in media revenue in FY24, compared to FY19 In the last five years, FBNYC has gone from a small investment in digital media to a cutting-edge channel that reaches new audiences and engages current donors year round. The revenue results will likely never match the unprecedented highs during the peak of the pandemic, but FBNYC can now rely on media as a steady driver of revenue and new donors. Media investment growth continued another 21.1% from FY22 to FY24. FBNYC has also continued to add in new tactics, tests and optimizations, including: Instagram reminders Abandoned cart ads Evergreen sustainer ads In FY24, FBNYC had 8.6% more unique online donors than it did in the peak of the pandemic in FY20—a truly remarkable number. Revenue that can be directly attributed to media was also up 264% in FY24 compared to pre-pandemic numbers in FY19. In the months ahead, FBNYC is making a shift from campaign-focused strategies to prioritizing relationships, accommodating varied support preferences and transitioning from channel-centric messaging to strategic audience investments. Click or drag to explore More Results View allView all Increased spend, ad grant optimizations help disaster relief effortsRead more > Disaster relief optimizations increased spend, help lift conversionsRead more > Record-breaking email donations on GivingTuesdayRead more > Multiyear strategic planning leads to incredible growth across channelsRead more >
