Hopeless to Hopeful: Activating Support for Lung Cancer

Through paid advertising, conversion rate optimization, and search engine optimization, Whole Whale developed drumbeat campaigns and strategies to help LCFA achieve several goals. Most importantly, securing more donations to put towards live-saving lung cancer research and getting their vast array of lung cancer resources in front of those who need them the most.

Big Wins

6X+ ROAS using Facebook Fundraising
+460% YoY increase in email sign-ups

What we did

Uniting Cancers Against Lung Cancer on Facebook

LCFA was looking to run a timely campaign to address the fundraising lull they see during the spring and summer months. We developed and launched a creative “Cancers Against Lung Cancer” campaign to help LCFA leverage the power of Facebook Birthday Fundraisers. The goal was simple: reach LCFA supporters with birthdays between June 22 – July 22 (the dates for the zodiac sign, Cancer), and ask them to dedicate their birthday towards helping fund more lung cancer research. Through strategically targeting Facebook ads with timely copy and creative, Cancers Against Lung Cancer ads achieved impressive results, including a 6X return on ad spend (ROAS).

Following the success of “Cancers Against Lung Cancer,” Whole Whale developed a strategy to increase Facebook Fundraiser creation and donations for Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November. Leveraging higher search volume and lower competition before the busy holiday season, we began advertising to target audiences in October through early November. The campaign achieved a ROAS of 6.5.

Pop-ups For Hope

By regularly optimizing email subscription pop-ups to reflect trends, seasons, and other LCFA campaigns, we increased email list growth on the website by 462% from the previous year. This explosive growth of LCFA’s community means the organization has that many more interested and engaged members who are receiving the latest news and updates in lung cancer research and funding.

“30 Days, 30 Ways” Fundraising Campaign

In 2015, LCFA had an ambitious fundraising goal: 30 days of fundraising for national Lung Cancer Awareness Month. They needed a clear vision for the campaign, the technical infrastructure to roll it out on their website, and support marketing and advertising to important audiences. Whole Whale designed and implemented a custom “30 Days, 30 Ways” campaign page that synced with LCFA’s eTapestry donation platform, including a calendar feature and integration with personal fundraising pages. We were able to quickly design and build this page in a tight timeline in time for the campaign launch.

The small but mighty LCFA team knew that converting their existing fans and supporters would be crucial to hitting their fundraising goals. Whole Whale worked closely with their team to design an email series to drive daily donations. We ensured every email was campaign tagged to measure the success of each email, and trained the team along the way so they can use this strategy in the future. We also worked on social media strategy including a rollout plan for Facebook and Twitter.

Google Ad Grant

We help LCFA take full advantage of free search advertising via the Google Ad grant. We optimize and create advertising strategies for new campaigns, which includes keyword research, audience targeting, copy/messaging, and ongoing testing. For example, ads we created during the 30 Days, 30 Ways campaign helped LCFA increase donations by 7% and build an engaged audience for future fundraising campaigns. After campaigns end, we perform analysis to find insights and recommendations for LCFA to use in future campaigns. We also train the team on Google Ads and Google Analytics to build team capacity.

Data to Donors

In 2017, we analyzed LCFA’s donor database and historical donor behavior. We segmented their donor audience by past giving behavior, including number of lifetime donations, last gift amount, retained donors, lapsed donors, and downgraded donors. We then developed a targeted email communication strategy for each donor segment. We worked with the LCFA team to develop email copy and campaign tag all traffic to see how different donor segments behaved on-site.

The data allowed us to compare conversion rates for each donor segment. For example, one group in particular far outperformed the others, with a conversion rate 4x that of the next best performing group. Segmenting LCFA’s donors in this way provided the team with insight into who their donors are and what kind of messaging works best for each. These takeaways inform LCFA’s decisions for future marketing and fundraising campaigns.

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Lung Cancer Foundation of America

LCFA’s mission is the dramatic improvement in survivorship of lung cancer patients through the funding of transformative science, with the ultimate goal of curing the disease.