Jules Brown

Thought I'd start a series of posts featuring the kind of fundraising campaigns that made me go: "Damn, I wish I'd thought of that!"

This one - Gothenburg Homeless Aid's "Return-to-sender" campaign from Christmas 2007 -  is without doubt one of my all time favourites.

Why?

Well, anything that can beat previous response rates by a whopping 60%, gets my attention, naturally. (Click on the image link to check out the pack, the vid & get the full story). But there are two things that had to happen long before that success was achieved. And they're what impress me most...

Reason 1. The creative team behind the idea were prepared to think outside the box

As a result, they came up with a brilliantly simple idea that deserves a place on Chip & Dan Heath's MadeToStickBlog. The magic is in the way the envelope presents the recipient with the beautifully irresistible puzzle: "Why is this letter addressed to some guy in a tunnel, and why has it been sent to me?"

On flipping it over, she discovers that she is the return addressee! At this stage, it's impossible not to open the letter. And you can just picture the cogs of realisation turning in her head as she reads the Christmas card inside. Brilliant!

But let's not forget the other reason it was so successful...

Reason 2. The client had the guts to do it

This is no small deal. Would you have the guts to put 20,000 intentionally misaddressed letters in the post, and trust your postal service to get them to the return address on the back successfully?

Gothenburg Homeless Aid did. They trusted their agency. They trusted the idea. They trusted their donors. And I salute them for their courage. It certainly paid off for the homeless people of Gothenburg.