Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a leader in virtually every area of medicine and has been the site of pioneering breakthroughs that improve lives everywhere. A major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, BWH has a legacy of excellence that continues to grow year after year.
Our multichannel emergency response led to:
407%
increase in revenue generated from DM emergency appeal
779%
lift in net generated from DM emergency appeal
2,897%
year-over-year increase in digital revenue between March and April
407%
increase in revenue generated from DM emergency appeal
779%
lift in net generated from DM emergency appeal
2,897%
year-over-year increase in digital revenue between March and April
The Challenge
Fighting on the front lines
As one of the leading hospitals in the country, with a top-notch epidemiology team, Brigham and Women’s Hospital took the lead in the fight against COVID-19 once the pandemic began to spread throughout the U.S. With a dedicated Incident Command Team, BWH was on the front lines from the outset. In order to support their response efforts, BWH needed to generate funds for their COVID-19 response funds as fast as possible.
The Solution
Multichannel approach focused on front-line efforts
RKD and BWH quickly developed a digital response using email, website and digital media, with simple, urgent messaging that updated donors and called for donations. On March 16, just a few days after WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the first COVID-19 email was deployed followed by a resend one week later. A lightbox was also launched as well as update digital media creative that focused efforts on funding COVID-19 response.
Meanwhile, RKD and BWH made the strategic decision to add an emergency mailing based on BWH’s primary role in the fight against COVID-19. RKD quickly designed and wrote an appeal focused on their front-line efforts that mailed on April 3. Based on the urgency of the offer, we chose to expand the audience to include deeper-lapsed donors and patients. Due to the timing, the previously planned March mailing was canceled to avoid interference with the new emergency mailing
Breakthrough
Successful emergency response campaign
The joint approach between direct mail and digital helped provide much-needed donations in BWH’s fight against the pandemic. Direct mail revenue increased by 407% and net rose by 779% compared to the budget. The digital channels also performed well. The email campaign alone generated 585% more than their regular emails. Overall digital revenue between March and April was up 2,897% year-over-year.
