University of Hartford: Giving Day Engagement with Sticker Postcards

Project Stories

University of Hartford: Giving Day Engagement with Sticker Postcards

Challenge

One day, 2,021 gifts. To hit its goal for the 6th Annual Day of Giving, the University of Hartford needed to find new and creative ways to engage donors and urge them to support an undeniably great cause.

The Solution

Building on previous years’ successes, the university smartly targeted its donors who gave during last year’s day of giving. Hartford looked to this group to both encourage them to give again, but also to deepen engagement and promote more organically through social media shares.

Working with Magellan Promotions, the university developed a comprehensive, integrated marketing and promotional solution–sticker postcards. Taking full advantage of both sides of the postcard canvas, Hartford combined strong branded iconography for stickers, presented with important dates and details, and incentives woven into both stickers and messaging.

The sticker postcard is a simple, affordable and (obviously) easy to mail solution
Strong university logos and mascot stickers spark immediate pride and interest in the postcard, making it stand out in the mailbox.
The postcard front clearly announces the day of giving and date, encouraging recipients to flip the piece to find out more.
Giving donors a variety of styles and sizes for stickers gives them more ways and places to use stickers and share their participation. The day of giving is clearly the most important, and stickers help bring that energy to life.
The back of the card reinforces the simple, straightforward messaging and shares more info about upcoming giving day activities and opportunities.

Part promotional item, part save-the-date, part info piece and part marketing piece, the sticker postcard enabled the University of Hartford to reach and engage its donors in a meaningful, fun, and comprehensive way. Recognizing the potential of the approach, Hartford ultimately decided to expand its final mailing list to a broader audience.

The Outcome

The University of Hartford’s 6th Annual Day of Giving was a record-breaking initiative, blowing past dollars raised in the previous year, and exceeding its goal for donors engaged.

2,204 donors
$410,417 given

In the process, Hartford also discovered an unexpected, but important use for the postcards—handing them out at on campus events as an easy way to catch the attention of passers by and get them to the giving website, thanks to the included QR code.

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