How the right message affects donor conversion
The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
Experiment Summary
Timeframe: 08/03/2015 - 08/14/2015
As part of a capital campaign to raise funds for a new building, The Heritage Foundation wanted to be sure they were utilizing the most powerful value proposition available to them. Historically, fundraising messages had always been about what Heritage does each day to research and promote conservative values in Washington. This building campaign offered an opportunity to try a different tactic that might be even more appealing to donors.
We created a treatment that promoted the benefits of the new building. This approach allowed us to talk about more tangible aspects such as proximity to the Capital and having a larger foot print. We then launched the campaign and split traffic between the two options.
Research Question
Which messaging approach will produce the greatest number of donors?
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Conservative Principles | 9.0% | ||
| T1: | Building | 11.0% | 21.2% | 93.0% |
This experiment has a required sample size of 1,879 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 3,212, and the level of confidence is not above 95% the experiment results are not valid.
Key Learnings
By talking about the specific benefits of the building, we were able to increase donor conversion by 21.2%. This is what is known as product-level value proposition. The control talks about The Heritage Foundation at a high level but this specific appeal had tangible elements that were appealing to the donors. The already understand the primary value proposition of Heritage so the treatment just reinforced this specific need.
By taking this approach, we were able to validate the messaging approach before the final days of the campaign. This allowed us to find the ideal message before the bulk of the gifts would come in.