Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Meals for Children "SMS for Lunch"

‘Meals for Children’, a part of MEIR PANIM charity organization, delivers hot lunches to 10,000 needy children, daily. The brief was to carry their message to broader audience, encourage people to an immediate action and cover the cost of at least one meal. They looked for a way to demonstrate the value of one meal to one child. The idea was to set up a ‘meeting’ between the giver and the recipient. Providing an immediate reward to the action would change the whole experience, and with it the motivation. A unique platform, integrating web and mobile technologies enabled such one-on-one meeting: a boy is seen, facing an empty plate, looking like waiting for something to happen. The copy invites you to donate through SMS. The moment the system receives your SMS – the banner changes immediately: the plate fills and the boy smiles. Watching it change before your eyes, realizing your SMS has actually done it, made the difference. The idea was a success even before the launch. Major websites agreed to host our banner for free and all cellular operators provided their service pro bono. Early results have exceeded client's expectation. (campaign launched in April) The client, still adapting to the new techy flavor of his campaign, is overwhelmed by the opportunity to utilize digital media for raising funds. Furthermore, this idea has successfully removed a classic obstacle from the way: the confirmation SMS, along with the full plate and the boy's smile is somewhat reassuring, as for where your money really goes.

Agency: Shimoni Finkelstein DraftFCB, Israël.