Social Media Spotlight: Thousands of ‘likes’ lead to meals in Hope Mission #feedakid campaign

www.feedakid.ca

Hope Mission’s digital campaign #FeedaKid asked for a ‘like’ in exchange for a meal.

Thousands of ‘likes’ lead to meals in Hope Mission #feedakid campaign

By Linda Hoang

They aimed to get 2,000 ‘likes’ in three days. They ended up with 3,000 in just a day and a half.

Hope Mission‘s latest digital campaign #feedakid, aimed at raising awareness and providing meals for children in need, proved far more successful than the organization expected.

“It went really fast,” says Hope Mission’s Devin Komarniski. “The idea was really shareable.”

The #feedakid campaign launched on Nov. 13. Visitors to the website were asked to ‘like’ one of four brown paper bag characters – each symbolizing the lunch bags Hope Mission gives to at-risk children from low-income families.

“Most people know us for helping the homeless but we have been working with kids for many years and we’re committed to working towards preventing homelessness as well as ending it,” Komarniski says.

“The cycle of poverty starts young.”

#feedakid lived online and was primarily shared online. Those who ‘liked’ a digital lunch bag (the cat was my favourite) were prompted to spread the word, share their like and a link to the campaign website to their social networks.

For each ‘like,’ campaign sponsor Northern Weldarc Ltd. agreed to purchase one meal, at a cost of $2.70 per meal, up to a total of 2,000 meals.

The campaign was meant to run over a three-day period, but the 2,000-meal goal was reached within 12 hours.

Two more companies – EECOL Electric Group and Degner Construction – then came forward to sponsor an additional 1,000 meals. That goal was reached by 6 p.m. the next day.

“I think it’s a testament to our online community,” says Komarniski. “I think it shows they do care about causes in their community and they really get behind it when it’s presented in an inspiring way.”

#feedakid By the numbers

  • 1.2 million estimated social impressions
  • 2,500 Facebook interactions
  • 492 Twitter mentions
  • 267 users who tweeted about the campaign
  • 3,000 likes (meals) in total
  • “… and a whole whack load of awareness.”
Hope Mission serves 720 meals per week across Alberta.

Hope Mission serves 720 meals per week to 180+ kids in the Edmonton area.

While a cause is critical in the success of such campaigns, Komarniski says it’s a combination of things – good photography, design, and concept, that have led to Hope Mission’s success.

“There’s a lot of things coming at you on social media so to get a campaign to take off nowadays you really got to break through the noise,” he says. “We really believe that you can have fun and be creative and inspire people to get behind serious causes.”

The success of #feedakid follows the success of the organization’s Share Hope campaign, which ran last year, and asked users to share a photo of what ‘hope’ meant to them. Share Hope resulted in more than 1,000 donated meals.

“But this (#feedakid) turned out to be way more shareable,” Komarniski says.

“It was super easy for people to do it and it felt good and with a single click they could provide a meal and engage with these cute characters.”

#FeedaKid received 2,000 likes in its first 12 hours on Nov. 13. An additional 1,000 likes / meals were reached the following day.

#feedakid received 2,000 likes in its first 12 hours on Nov. 13. An additional 1,000 likes / meals were reached the following day.

Hope Mission serves 1,000 meals per day to the city’s homeless community.

Along with providing meals and mentoring for kids, they also send hundreds of them to camp each summer.

#feedakid proved to be an easy and effective way to raise awareness for the organization’s kids’ programs, and help kids in need. Its success also means you can expect more unique, digital campaigns from Hope Mission in the future.

“We are going to meet our supporters, potential supporters, and advocates where they are, and they tend to be online,” Komarniski says.

“It happens to be a really powerful way to connect with the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time. That’s time well spent. That’s energy well spent. And we hope that it makes a difference and makes Edmonton stronger.”

Hope Mission partnered with creative agency DDB Edmonton and Overhaul Media for the #feedakid campaign.

If you missed the campaign, there are other ways to help those in need. Hope Mission is currently struggling to keep up with demand for warm winter clothing. Click here for information on how to donate winter clothing. Click here for general information on donations to Hope Mission or find out how you can volunteer your time.


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