Pay it forward with a GOLD COIN! See how this guerrilla marketing tactic persuaded others to donate! [Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Have you ever wondered how you can interact with your target market in a meaningful and creative way?
If you haven’t yet, maybe you should take a look at guerrilla marketing.
According to Jay Conrad Levinson, this marketing tactic is unconventional, engaging, impactful, and easy to execute. Campaigns of this type create a lasting impression that enables consumers to actively interact with a brand.
Today, we’re excited to talk about how guerrilla marketing was used to encourage people to help those in need.
Check out the article below to know how one advertising agency used a gold coin to capture the attention of its target audience.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing
Not everyone is fortunate enough to live a comfortable life. Some struggle to make ends meet because of the hardships they face in their daily lives.
Thankfully, there are those who do their best to help the less fortunate. They also inspire countless others to provide aid to those in need.
However, convincing someone else to support the less fortunate is challenging. The Royal Australian Mint, Australia’s sole producer of coins, recognized this when creating an initiative to promote charitable behavior.
To address this challenge, the Mint partnered with advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi Australia in 2020 to come up with a way to encourage participation in charitable activities.
What did they come up with?
The Donation Dollar!
Photo courtesy of Creative Review
This unique AUD 1 coin, clad in green and gold, was designed for donating to those in need. This intent can be seen on the the call-to-action inscribed on the coin:
“Give to Help Others.”
The Mint officially released the Donation Dollar on September 5, 2020, and the coins are still in circulation today.
In a press release, the government agency said the Donation Dollar “is a vehicle for all Australians to engage in a moment of generosity, prompted by a simple $1 coin. The intention behind the program is twofold: to promote charitable behavior and to provide a tangible, accessible way for people—who have the means to—to enjoy the benefit of giving a small amount more frequently.”
Moreover, the coin-making agency claimed the Donation Dollar has the potential to raise AUD 300 million annually if every Australian donated at least AUD 1 a month.
Aside from urging others to donate, the Mint’s long-term goal is to release a total of 25 million Donation Dollar coins into circulation in Australia.
While the coin can be used for any financial transaction, the government agency highly encourages individuals to donate the coin to their charity of choice, a local business, or anyone in need.
So, what are the results of this guerrilla marketing campaign?
2 years after the Donation Dollar’s release, almost AUD 2 million has been donated to charities, struggling businesses, and people in need. Moreover, over 2.5 million Australians have reported finding these coins in their change, with over half of them using these coins for charitable purposes.
What else?
Around 6 million Donation Dollar coins have been released into circulation as of 2022, a noticeable increase from the 4.5 million released in 2020.
Saatchi & Saatchi Australia and the Mint also won the following accolades:
- Agency and Advertiser of the Year Award (Saatchi & Saatchi Australia) at ADFEST’s 2022 Lotus Awards.
- 3 Yellow Pencils under the Innovation, Media, and Community categories at the D&AD’s 2021 awards.
- 8 Gold Pencils under the Direct Innovation, Creative Use of Media, PR-Led Campaign, Product Launch, Ambient & Special Build, Product Innovation, Use of Ambient Media, and Service and Innovation Design categories at the Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association’s (AWARD) 2020 awards.
- 4 Gold Pencils under the Direct Marketing: Non-traditional & Guerrilla Marketing, Print: Promotional Items/Physical Products, Direct Marketing: Physical Items, and Direct Marketing: Integrated Campaign categories at The One Show’s 2021 awards.
By coming up with a clever way to encourage charitable behavior, the Mint and Saatchi & Saatchi Australia are able to raise a significant amount of donations for people in need.
A Tangible Reminder for Others to Give
While this guerrilla marketing campaign may seem a little complicated at first glance, it’s actually simple.
Instead of coming up with a stunt, or a public event to encourage others to donate, the Mint and Saatchi & Saatchi Australia created a physical object that was deliberately designed to engage its holders in charitable activities.
By using a coin as the medium to convey a call-to-action, the minds behind the Donation Dollar are able to interact with their target audience in a meaningful way.
We hope this campaign inspired you to come up with creative and unconventional ways in attracting customers towards your offerings too!
…and if you haven’t yet, consider using a unique medium to promote your products or services and engage with your target market (while even helping others in the process)!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers, and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Thursday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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