In such times of uncertainty, nonprofits need financial support now more than ever before. Though COVID-19 put the world on pause, True North has plowed ahead to produce rapid response marketing to meet our clients’ needs. The ability to quickly pivot strategy and messaging is critical, particularly for organizations who serve populations at high risk for serious coronavirus complications. The faster we’re able to reframe the pandemic’s urgency and highlight the need to protect vulnerable groups, the greater chance there is to make up for the cancelled fundraising events that these nonprofits depend on.

For the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), we quickly launched a series of static ads as well as videos from MDA Ambassadors living with neuromuscular disease to make an urgent case for support during the global pandemic.

Our rapid response message was empowering—so empowering that it resulted in a 380% lift in donation volume. The selfie videos from Tana, Faith, Justin, Reagan, and Ethan made a huge impact. Some of the participants were able to record their compelling stories in less than 24 hours for us to use in the campaign. Our target audience responded positively to their new videos, which acquired more donors through digital than any previous campaign we’ve launched for MDA to date.

Our rapid response approach is outpacing the 2019 year-end fundraising campaign for MDA, which historically brought in the most contributions. While this excites us, we’re not letting up on our efforts to continue producing powerful advertising as fast as possible. However long this virus threatens us, True North will do our part by working from home, always ready, motivated, and hopeful. We will continue to help our clients reach those who need them the most.