Buckner International

How digital brand reinforcement impacts overall donor conversion

Experiment ID: #9163

Buckner International

Buckner International is a global ministry dedicated to the transformation and restoration of the lives we serve. We are a Christ-centered organization that delivers redemptive ministry to the most vulnerable from the beginning to the ending of life.

Experiment Summary

Timeframe: 03/01/2018 - 03/31/2018

Buckner International has recently made a significant effort to align their messaging across their various communication channels. What this means at a practical level is that the topic discussed in the direct mail letter will align with have several blog posts and what is being discussed on social media. The idea is that the more a constituent hears about a problem, the more likely they will be to response with a gift.

However, not all donors to Buckner follow them on social media or visit their website. In an effort to boost their brand reach, we decided to test showing brand ads that aligned to the current month’s message to those receiving direct mail pieces. We split the direct mail audience in half and showed 50% of their donors their brand ads via Facebook. By splitting their audience in half, we will then be able to analyze the impact of these ads

Research Question

Will showing brand ads to the direct mail audience have a positive impact on donor conversion?

Design

C: No Brand Ads
T1: FB Brand Ads Shown

Results

 Treatment NameConv. RateRelative DifferenceConfidence
C: No Brand Ads 2.8%
T1: FB Brand Ads Shown 3.5%23.1% 92.2%

This experiment has a required sample size of 5,508 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 8,886, and the level of confidence is not above 95% the experiment results are not valid.

Key Learnings

While we did not reach a 95% level of confidence, we did see a directional boost of 23% in donor conversion for those that were shown the brand ads. However, since these brand ads have a cost associated with them and we did not achieve statistically significant results, this is a test we will want to repeat with a new data set to further validate the concept.


Experiment Documented by NextAfter

Question about experiment #9163

If you have any questions about this experiment or would like additional details not discussed above, please feel free to contact them directly.