U.K.-based creative agency develops creative solution to raise funds for New York homeless

Stein IAS, a B2B marketing company based in the U.K., undertakes an annual Christmas charity project. In 2018, the focus was New York’s homeless, too many of whom are children. The approach the company took has won top prize in the “Fundraising and Philanthropic Initiative” category of PR Daily’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

The company’s research identified an ideal recipient for the funds the project raised: Women in Need (WIN), which supports homeless families, helping them into permanent homes while also providing short-term shelter. To convince the rest of the company to adopt the charity, the New York-based team spent time volunteering at a WIN shelter and produced a video to share with the rest of the organization.

The team developed the idea of a children’s book in which Santa receives a letter from a homeless girl, sending him on a journey to find her. Once the book was written and designed, a three-minute video version was produced; it served as the centerpiece of a microsite, where visitors could also make a donation in exchange for a printed copy of the book.

Employing its marketing know-how, the team initiated a media outreach campaign along with digital marketing and a social media effort. The press releases Stein IAS distributed, along with calls to media partners, resulted in more than 100 individual pieces of coverage. The social media strategy employed a carefully planned algorithm that, combined with real-time responses, produced more than 400,000 impressions.

Ultimately, 1,754 donations were made and 600 books purchased. WIN received $27,000 from Stein IAS, while Stein’s employees absorbed new skills through the training the company provides during each of its holiday programs. A creative director, for example, learned to write a children’s book.

Congratulations to the entire Stein IAS team.