Well, here we are at the halfway point of an already very testing year. We’ve seen natural disasters wreak havoc, a pandemic that has stopped the world in its tracks—and we’ve still got another 6 months to go!
These campaigns that we hand-picked from over the last two months have shown great initiative and perseverance to achieve great results and continue on with the show, despite everything else going on in the world around them.
We’re here to show you some of the ways in which you too can run a successful campaign, by making a plan, working to complete key milestones and a few other handy tips you can apply.
Read on to see some great campaigns from a range of different categories, including Food & Beverage, Music, Publishing & Social Good.
$12,600 from 110 supporters
A spot-on brand that encapsulated the sun-drenched Australian summer vibe and brought an exciting new product to their supporters. FELLR was launched by two mates from the beaches of Sydney, who saw a need for a new and refreshing beverage that could shake up the pre-mixed drink category. Taking inspiration from the successful craft beer revolution in Australia, they carefully tested and researched flavours and brew methods that resulted in an all-natural beverage with under 1G of sugar per can and natural fruit flavours.
The FELLR campaign took over social media with their carefully curated brand palette, their Instagram page acting as their main brand mood board and place for their new customers and supporters to learn more about their products and what they value most. With regular updates here and a constant theme to their content, they were able to effectively grow their following and appeal to their target audience in launching their hard seltzer.
$77,169 from 535 supporters
Cherry Bar is an iconic Melbourne institution; a fixture of the Melbourne dive bar and live music scene with some iconic bands and musicians gracing their stages. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place they had to shut their doors like so many other restaurants, pubs and venues across Australia during the first lockdown. When they launched their campaign to appeal to their large following of fans and patrons, they offered some exclusive rewards to entice loyal customers to make a contribution in return for future value. It was this timely launch and appeal to fans missing their live music that enabled this campaign to obliterate their initial target of $15K, and go on to raise a total of $77K in just a short two-week campaign!
Their rewards included free entry to future gigs at Cherry, names of supporters immortalised on a lightning-bolt shaped plaque on the wall and even a custom Cherry Bar branded tea towel. The huge response to this campaign was a result of the loyal following they have built over the years, and the willingness of their fans to chip in and support the local business. Their message was direct and to the point, with a clear Pitch Video from owner James Young talking directly to supporters.
Before you launch a crowdfunding campaign, you need to have a solid understanding of your target audience and how to communicate your story through images & video, unique rewards and ultimate campaign goals.
$24,312 from 657 supporters
A traditionally live theatre performance needs to adapt when patrons can no longer come to see their show. If you’re not too sure what a Uni Revue is, look no further than this fantastic video that showcases some of their past performances and projects while giving some background on the theatre company…
They managed to think up some pretty great rewards, including the experience of being a part of the show and their main reward of receiving an early-bird copy of the full show on completion. As this was their first time trying to direct-to-video model, they achieved this successfully by clearly explaining to their loyal followers (and anyone else interested) how they could access and participate in this campaign.
$11,550 from 124 supporters
The campaign from Melbourne-based boutique gifting agency Bindle, showed everyone the power of compassion when offered the opportunity to give a gift to a deserving nurse. The result was a carefully-curated, Australian sourced and designed gift package filled with treats and items to pamper the nurses, that Bindle donated to nurses that could be nominated through an online form.
The campaign achieved some great coverage in the media, with coverage from Australian business publication Smart Company and also featured in Employsure’s Pivot Stories highlighting the new initiative.
$10,125 from 111 supporters
An in-depth memoir from Greg Appel, one of the original members of the cult-favourite band The Lighthouse Keepers from the mid-eighties, was able to raise the funds to publish this book. The level of detail they went to in describing the book is seen on their campaign page; with a chapter breakdown, a list of all the featured interviews that would be included in the book and even a visual mockup of what the pages would look like in the final version.
This campaign used their supporters’ previous knowledge of the band and their history, along with the pull of some other notable names from the Australian music industry that were interviewed in the book, including John Paul Young. A great accompanying reward to the book was the option to receive some of the band’s greatest hits on CD and even some previously unreleased tracks that were exclusively available through the campaign.
$14,435 from 41 supporters
The Geelong Gallery are no strangers to crowdfunding, with their previous campaign to Fund something you can’t see raising over $20k in March 2019! This time around they were to raising funds to revamp their outdated gallery lighting system and switch to a more sustainable and efficient way. By clearly stating their campaign budget and funding goals, they could set their audience’s expectations from the outset and be transparent about what exactly these funds would allow them to do. Clear objectives were given that aligned with the gallery’s five-year plan to bring new works and exhibitions to their patrons as a result of the enhanced capabilities thanks to a more sophisticated lighting system.
Their main rewards were that of recognition for supporters, in the form of putting the names of key supporters up under the new lights and displaying the other supporters on a recognition board in a prominent location within the gallery’s foyer. The campaign employed a consistent social media schedule to address their fans and followers across all the channels they are on.
What do all these campaigns have in common? A well-planned strategy to communicate with their target audience and the ability to tell their unique story in a way that resonates and engages with the community!
We had too many great campaigns to choose from, if you’re looking for even more inspiration, check out these below:
