The 2014 PR Week Awards have been announced.

Our congratulations to a profound purpose-driven client, the March of Dimes. We are honored to have worked with this iconic institution in creating the ImBornTo® brand asset, which has been honored with the Nonprofit Campaign of the Year Award.

We are privileged to have played our role in this March of Dimes success.

Here's the story.

Beginning with a focus on eradicating polio, for 75 years March of Dimes has led efforts to ensure all babies are born strong and healthy.

While latent awareness of the group is high, research indicated a considerable gap in public understanding of the organization's mission, offering a large opportunity audience in need of a reintroduce to March of Dimes and its mission. The organization also understood the need to broaden its fundraising properties beyond signature events, as more corporate partners and unrestricted dollars were necessary to achieve its objectives.

Enter ImBornTo, created by WHISPER to highlight that "every baby is born to do something great." The initiative was developed to be executed by companies through cobranded consumer fundraising promotions. However, in 2013, the nonprofit had only three returning corporate partners. Further research revealed Americans annually spend $27 billion from Mother's Day to Father's Day, while 94% of consumers are likely to switch brands if associated with a good cause.

Armed with this intelligence, ImBornTo was created to capitalize on this data as "The official partner of Mother's Day & Father's Day" by creating content that drove point-of-sale promotions and social media engagement during the window between Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Equipped with this new brand asset, and as eloquently described by one judge for PRWeek Awards, MSL GROUP crafted a campaign producing:

"Ten new corporate sponsors signed on, doubling the initial goal. Overall corporate support soared 63% year over year and the nonprofit saw a 312% increase in year-over-year fundraising donations, while select sponsors saw 20%-plus growth in sales when tied to the effort. Talk about a win-win for everyone. Excellent outcomes for an historic nonprofit."

For more about March of Dimes and their ImBornTo brand — now their growth asset — enjoy this sharing of the thinking behind ImBornTo.

Ambition

Beginning with a focus on eradicating polio, for 75 years March of Dimes has led the fight to ensure all babies are born strong and healthy. The organization needed a new way to tap into the collective hopes and dreams we all have for our babies and ourselves, seeking a strategy to increase awareness of the Foundation's mission and to widen its relevance to a greater number of individuals as well as help fund the organization's vital research and programs.

Action

Retained by the organization's lead agency, WHISPER identified a competitive gap the client could utilize to create a new engagement platform. The period from Mother's Day to Father's Day in the U.S. – May to June – is a natural time for families to be thinking about the love between parents and children. Yet no cause had claimed and harnessed this emotional time of year.

A new cause-marketing platform, ImBornTo, and an annual campaign construct was created, based on the premise "every baby is born to do something great" positioning March of Dimes as "official partner" of Mother's Day and Father's Day with creative including digital and analog/traditional media, with ambitious corporate sponsorship goals.

Own The Conversation® Results

Quickly a March of Dimes growth asset, ImBornTo created a 312% increase in year-over-year donations, while sponsors saw 20%-plus growth in sales when tied to the brand. Site visits increased over 600%.

With launch in 2013, the new official sponsor of Mother's Day brand soon attracted sponsorship from 10 new corporate sponsors, doubling the initial goal, with companies such as Martha Stewart Living, HSN/Home Shopping Network, Farmers Insurance, Famous Footwear / Crocs, and ProFlowers, and media partners USA Today, People, Real Simple, Titan Outdoor and Everyday Health.

ImBornTo honored as the 2014 Nonprofit Campaign of the Year by PR Week.