N.C. State 5k Run ‘n Plunge
The largest source of donations for Special Olympics North Carolina comes from the small, independently run fundraisers organized by local chapters of the Law Enforcement Torch Run.The NC State Chapter, which includes campus police, Central Prison guards and NCDENR officers, uses a polar plunge as its primary annual fundraising event. The fourth year for the plunge, organizers decided to add a run to the event to increase awareness, boost participation and increase donations.
Activation
To complement the Special Olympics North Carolina public relations efforts for this event, Articulon activated an online campaign to drive traffic to the Web site in support of the event. Articulon implemented a three-tiered plan that included social media, e-mail marketing and online advertising. Articulon created MySpace and Facebook pages in promotion of the event, sent messages to 21 online running groups, distributed e-blasts to nearly 2,100 SONC and Articulon contacts, posted the event on web-based event calendars and community sites and placed banner advertising on News & Observer’s online sports page and WRAL’s online sports page.
Results
Overall, more than 500,000 messaging impressions were delivered. Of those, traceable impressions equaled 208,529—generating 1,531 click responses or a .73% response rate. Applying the click response rate across overall impressions, Articulon efforts generated more than 3,600 responses. The 2009 NC State 5k Run ‘N Plunge was hugely successful. More than 200 people participated in the 5k race, and 75 people took the polar plunge to help raise $36,000—more than double the total raised in 2008.
