Rockville, MD — As many Americans continue to search for employment, Goodwill and the Ad Council have launched new public service advertisements (PSAs) that encourage donations to Goodwill by showing the direct link between the donation of used clothing and household items to job creation in local communities. The new digital-first campaign is an extension of the successful “Donate Stuff. Create Jobs.” PSA campaign that launched in September 2013.
Every 23 seconds of every business day, Goodwill helps someone find employment. Through its 164 local, autonomous organizations in the United States and Canada, Goodwill works to provide job placement and training opportunities, and other community-based services such as career counseling, financial education and résumé preparation to people with disabilities and disadvantages, and anyone facing challenges to finding employment. Based on a media mix analysis conducted by Millward Brown between September 2013 and April 2015, the PSA campaign, in conjunction with local Goodwill efforts, resulted in more than 363 million pounds of donations to Goodwill organizations, half of which can be attributed to digital media. In addition to driving donations, the return on investment of digital was 10 times more than other media types. Given the outsized effect of digital media on campaign donations, the new PSA campaign focuses efforts on making greater use of digital, social and mobile platforms.
“By raising awareness of Goodwill’s mission and the much-needed services local Goodwill organizations provide to assist people in achieving employment, a digital-first campaign will further spread our message that, by donating, you can make a difference in helping someone in your neighborhood,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.
Created pro bono by leading ad agency VML, the new English-and Spanish-language digital-first PSA campaign metaphorically depicts the many jobs that can be found in donated objects. The imagery shows miniature figurines in action, performing a variety of skilled jobs, alongside life-size donated objects that can lead to job training and placement opportunities. All PSAs conclude with the tagline, “Donate Stuff. Create Jobs.,” and direct audiences to visit Goodwill.org to find their nearest Goodwill donation center. In addition to digital and social assets at the forefront of this activation, the campaign will include television, print and outdoor, to be distributed in early 2017.
As part of this effort, Goodwill and Ad Council are partnering with YouTube creators, including Jenn Im, Hayley Williams, KaileeMann, Ambrosia Malbrough and Symphani Soto, who will serve as ambassadors for the campaign and extend campaign messaging. Each creator will kick off the partnership with a new video on her channel discussing the impact of donating to Goodwill and encourage her followers to donate and become job creators.