Urgent Christmas Appeal

Background

Raystede believe that all animals deserve to be understood and cared for with respect, compassion and kindness. Established in 1952, they remain committed to help, rehabilitate, rehome and give sanctuary to animals that need them. As one of the most diverse rescue centres in the UK, they currently care for around 400 vulnerable animals at any one time on a 43-acre site in East Sussex. It’s not a zoo, a farm, or a fun park – but a place where animals can feel safe.

The brief

Raystede approached us to support on their Christmas 2024 campaign. They send out a DM pack every year to their supporters but wanted an agency to take it to the next level. Raystede also wanted to use their social channels to acquire new supporters alongside this.

The work

We began with an exciting visit to Raystede! It was important for us to get a feel for what the charity do first hand and see their amazing work in person.

We then analysed Raystede’s core audience, defining both our warm audience plus prospects for donor acquisition.

With the audience identified, a proposition was developed which focused on keeping animals warm and safe this winter. This concept tied directly to the problem the charity was facing with their heating and energy bills rising exponentially over the past few years.

From this, we moved into the creative development phase. The concepts focused in on the animals and made sure that whilst it looked wintery and slightly festive, we didn’t go overboard on the Christmas aesthetic.

This creative was rolled out to the DM pack along with imagery of the real animals that Raystede care for. This was also rolled out in socials ads and email banners for Raystede to use organically. A specific ask was used for the CTA to ensure it was easy to say yes to, alongside a shopping list to give a tangible example of the donor’s contributions.

The results

This campaign performed amazingly! Raystede achieved a 64.8% increase on income from 2023, a response rate of 11.47% to the DM pack (target of 9%) and 358 members to their database (target of 200).