Echo Awards Winners

Gold Award

World Vision US
34834 Weyerhaeuser Way South
Federal Way, Wash. 98001

Title of program: Water of Life
Agency: Russ Reid Company, Pasadena, Calif.
Objective: Raise $1-million to match a Hilton Foundation grant to provide clean water to children and families in Africa.
Budget: $56,739
Lists: Approximately 9,500 donors who had given at least $1,000 in the past two years. Just over half (55 percent) of these donors had made a single gift, while 45 percent were “child sponsors” who had made multiple gifts.
Media: Two-part mailing aimed at motivating donors to make a “stretch gift.” The mailing included pictures depicting the problems caused by a lack of clean water for children, as well as the benefits of long-term solutions.
Results: Nearly 21 percent of those who received the mailing donated; the average donation was $755.

Philippine Animal Welfare Society

87 Small Horseshoe Drive
New Manila, Quezon City
1112 Philippines

Title of program: Dos por dos
Agency: BCD Pinpoint Direct Marketing, Makati City, Philippines
Objective: Raise operating funds
Budget: $12
Lists: Nine companies that were identified as having an interest in animal welfare.
Media: Hand-delivered packages containing items, such as burlap bags or sticks, which are commonly used in cases of animal abuse in the Philippines.
Results: Five of the companies that received the packages donated; $3,220 in donations were received.

Silver Award

Wilderness Society
1615 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

Title of program: Bush Wilderness Threats Prospect
Agency: Adams Hussey & Associates, Washington
Objective: Increase the percentage of prospective donors who respond, in part by lowering the suggested size of the mininum donation
Budget: $23,507
Lists: Rented and exchanged lists
Media: Blank envelope containing a letter with statements about the environment policies of the Bush administration. The letter was designed to raise objections to President Bush’s policies, while not deriding Mr. Bush, who at the time was doing well in public-opinion polls.
Results: Package yielded an average gift of $3.74 per donor; 2.15 percent of donors responded to the package, 15 percent more than people who got a mailing that had been previously tried.

Defenders of Wildlife

1101 14th Street, N.W., Room 1400
Washington, D.C. 20005

Title of program: Humor Can Work Prospect
Agency: Adams Hussey & Associates, Washington
Objective: Attract a new type of donor to the organization
Budget: $42,000
Lists: Nationwide conservation donors who had not previously supported the organization
Media: The mailing used humor to appeal to a cynical and frustrated “activist” audience. The envelope, for example, showed a caricature of Interior Secretary Gale Norton declaring, “I want to take wolves off of the endangered species list…I need a new coat.” The mailing described the actions the federal government had taken recently affecting wildlife and urged recipients to sign a petition calling for the resignation of Ms. Norton.
Results: 1.94 percent of those who received the mail made a gift, compared with 1.35 percent who gave in response to mailing that had been used previously.

UNICEF UK

Africa House, 64-78 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NB

Title of program: UNICEFOMO Water Project
Agency: TBWA/GGT, London
Objective: Enlist donors to sponsor a clean-water campaign for the village of Omo, in Ethiopia
Budget: $4.63 per mailing; 18,300 packages sent
Lists: Previous donors who had given $150 or more
Media: Mailing was designed as a personal plea from the hydrologist who works with the organization on the project; included pictures and technical information.
Results: Raised $860,000, which was $480,000 above the organization’s goal.

Bronze Award

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
332 North Lauderdale
Memphis, Tenn. 38105

Title of program: Danny Thomas Vintage Print Appeal
Agency: Lisa Selner Creative, Ashburn, Va.
Objective: Raise money to support the hospital’s charitable activities
Budget: Between $50,000 and $100,000
Lists: Donors who had previously given $250 or more to the organization
Media: Mailing included a vintage picture of the hospital’s founder, the entertainer Danny Thomas, and a letter from his daughter, Marlo Thomas, that explained the history of the hospital.
Results: $1.5-million in net revenue; 10 percent of those who received the mailing made a gift ; average donation received was $500.

World Relief

7 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Md. 21202

Title of program: Major Donor “Coffee” Mailing
Agency: Bennett Kuhn Varner, Atlanta, Ga.
Objective: Raise money for the organization’s humanitarian programs
Budget: $7,660
Lists: The organization’s major donors
Media: Mailing contained a coffee sample from one of the organization’s agricultural projects in Latin America. It also included letters from organization leaders and an insert that outlined various aspects of the organization’s work.
Results: Average donation was $878.70; 5 percent of those who received the mailing made a gift.

World Jewish Congress

501 Madison Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10022

Title of program: Anti-Semitism in the United Nations Appeal
Agency: Adams Hussey & Associates, Washington
Objective: Get members to petition the United Nations to take action against anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions in the U.N.
Budget: Under $50,000
Lists: The organization’s current members
Media: Personalized mailing requested that the recipient sign his or her name next to that of the organization’s president on an enclosed petition; also included an appeal to make a contribution to support the organization’s efforts.
Results: Raised $242,171 in revenue; average contribution was $31.30.

World Vision US

34834 Weyerhaeuser Way South
Federal Way, Wash. 98001

Title of program: Birthday Bounceback (English and Spanish)
Agency: Russ Reid Company, Pasadena, Calif.
Objective: Raise money for the organization’s child-sponsorship program
Budget: $364,047
Lists: Previous donors who met specific criteria, including having sponsored a child whose birthday fell in the quarter after the mailing was received
Media: Mailing included a birthday card from the donor to the sponsored child. Donors were encouraged to sign and return the card — with an additional donation — to the organization, which would deliver the signed card to the sponsored child.
Results: Generated $3.1-million in net revenue; average contribution was $12.05.

American Cancer Society

2200 Lake Boulevard
Atlanta, Ga. 30319

Title of program: Boler
Agency: Epsilon, Wakefield, Mass.
Objective: Raise money to match a grant promised by a big donor
Budget: Between $50,000 and $100,000
Lists: Donors who contributed less than $25 over the past year but who the organization predicted had the ability to give more
Media: Personalized mailing explained the matching grant and included a note from a cancer survivor. An insert also included an explanation of how the donation would be matched.
Results: Average donation was $181.65.

Royal Horticultural Society

80 Vincent Square
London SW1P 2PE

Title of program: Wild Wood Campaign
Agency: Whitewater, London
Objective: Raise money for one of the organization’s wildlife projects
Budget: $16,389
Lists: Existing members
Media: Mailing included a letter from a spokesman for the organization’s project that described the benefits of the program and told recipients the cost to plant a single tree.
Results: Raised $117,981; average donation was $48.36.

Gold Award

AIDS Help Association
Mariahilfer Gurtel 4
Vienna 1060
Austria

Title of program: Don’t Lie At Yourself!
Agency: Palla, Koblinger_Proximity, Vienna
Objective: Promote the organization’s new HIV tests to gay people in Vienna
Budget: Approximately $21,000
Lists: Restaurants and bars in Vienna
Media: Initial mailing invited business owners to order promotional materials, such as matches, posters, and drink coasters, to be used in their businesses as a way to encourage people to be tested for HIV and AIDS.
Results: Sixteen percent of the businesses contacted ordered promotional materials; HIV and AIDS testing increased by 12 percent in the city.

Silver Award

World Vision Canada
1 World Drive
Mississauga, Ontario L5T 2Y4

Title of program: Harvest of Hope Middle Donor Campaign
Agency: Russ Reid Company, Pasadena, Calif.
Objective: Raise funds for the organization’s agricultural programs
Budget: $223,000
Lists: Individuals who had donated more than $100 to the organization in the past 12 months
Media: A letter, brochure, and video package tailored to donors based on the amounts they had previously donated. All included a narrative of one child’s plight in Africa.
Results: Twenty-three percent of those who received the mailing responded; average donation was $225.

Bronze Award

Indianhead Council of the Boy Scouts of America
393 Marshall Avenue
St. Paul, Minn. 55102

Title of program: Join Cubs Recruitment Campaign
Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis
Objective: Recruit Cub Scouts
Budget: $7,115 for design-related costs; $29,900 for production
Lists: Parents and boys of scouting age within the council’s territory
Media: Campaign included direct mail, in-school fliers, community posters, bus and yard signs, trading cards, and radio and print advertising.
Results: Increased registration by 23 percent.

Bronze Award

Sydney Dogs’ Home
77 Edward Street
Carlton, NSW 2218 Australia

Title of program: Stick
Agency: M&C Saatchi, Sydney, Australia
Objective: Encourage individuals to adopt dogs from the shelter
Budget: $0 (services and materials were donated)
Lists: Areas with high dog ownership, as determined by public records
Media: Cards with a description of the shelter’s programs were attached to sticks and delivered by volunteers to homes, as well as placed in parks and along sidewalks.
Results: Before the campaign, only 25 percent of dogs were adopted, compared with a 75-percent adoption rate after the campaign.