Operation: Grant a Wish
When COVID-19 halted social gatherings in the spring of 2020, Make-A-Wish Nebraska was forced to come up with a plan B for the largest fundraiser of the year. So, instead of hosting their annual Blue Jean Ball gala, complete with a sit-down dinner and hundreds of attendees, we helped create a virtual event that would engage the audience and encourage donations.
Insights
Bozell works with Make-A-Wish Nebraska annually to establish a theme for the Blue Jean Ball and develop marketing materials, including event branding, save-the-dates, invites, programs, on-site signage and more. Lucky for us, the theme of “Mission: Possible” was established in late 2019. This laid the groundwork for all materials and played nicely into a virtual event.
Execution
In order to meet the audience (older, more affluent patrons) where they are, we chose to host the live event on Facebook and YouTube. This gave them options and didn’t require additional logins. We also decided to open the auction items online the week before the event to give people plenty of time to browse, as they wouldn’t be able to see the items in person this year. And finally, Make-A-Wish Nebraska wanted to ensure no one had to actually speak live the night of the event. They preferred a pre-recorded video with live chatting via the comment function to ensure technology didn’t get in the way of the message.
So, using the Mission: Possible theme, we created postcards, emails and social media posts that were shared to drive awareness of the event. Meanwhile, we developed a storyboard and script and produced a 30-minute video that included wish kids as spies, real Nebraska wish stories and plenty of calls for donations and bids. We recorded everyone via Zoom and then animated and edited it all together in-house. And at 7 p.m. on August 8, the video went live on Facebook and YouTube.
Results
For a year with so much uncertainty, no one really knew what to expect. But the video had hundreds of viewers night-of and even more since. Plus, all silent auction items were purchased.
With all efforts combined, Make-A-Wish Nebraska was able to surpass its 2020 virtual Blue Jean Ball goal. Enough money was raised to grant more than 60 wishes!
