By analysing their existing audience and target markets, we identified five key groups to which we would spread the word of Shoebox Online. To achieve maximum uptake, we built a persona for each group and tailored our messaging accordingly.

For example, a review of the charity’s existing support base revealed a core religious demographic, and so our messaging to this segment focused upon Christian beliefs and faith-based content.

Meanwhile, messages targeting a time-poor, more secular demographic emphasised the time-saving nature of the Shoebox Online service. Here, our message changed to demonstrate how quickly and easily people could perform a good deed, summed up by our #5minutemiracle hashtag.

We promoted Shoebox Online through Instagram, YouTube and Facebook advertising, social media content and digital display advertising. Again, our display ad copy flexed depending on the audience we were aiming at: from those with firmer religious beliefs to busy professionals short on time.

We were proud to support Samaritan’s Purse in their major, multi-channel ‘When life gives you lemons’ digital marketing campaign, providing strategic input and adding a digital dimension to extend reach. The campaign's aim was to dramatically convey ‘the bitter taste of poverty’ by encouraging participants to bite into a raw lemon, take and share a selfie of their reaction, and gain a visceral sense of the bitterness of living under such conditions.

The idea sprang from the real-life story of Emelienne, from Rwanda, a recent beneficiary of support from Samaritan’s Purse. Spurred on by this small kindness, Emelienne built a thriving business providing lemons to support both her own family and the local community. The campaign eventually utilised a range of media including on- and offline channels and events to maximise reach and impact.