Shock marketing, guerrilla marketing, and extreme marketing are among the terms used to describe this provocative approach to raising awareness. Whichever is used, the principle is the same: the goal is to create impact by quickly demanding the public’s attention through the use of words or images that are shocking, or even disturbing.
It’s a form of marketing that’s gaining ground in the nonprofit human service sector, but not without controversy.
In addition to Wellspring Family Services, Alliance member Pathfinders, Milwaukee, has also adopted shock marketing as an effective method for grabbing the attention of its community, raising awareness about community problems, and increasing donations.
Wellspring Family Services, the organization responsible for placing the cutouts of children in downtown Seattle, ran its “Don’t Just Look Away” campaign throughout the summer of 2007. Staff set up the display at parks, farmers markets, and other public spaces. After a few hours, they’d return to remove the display just as suddenly as it had appeared.
“We knew that the community, in general, was not very aware of family and child homelessness because children and families who are homeless are literally hiding; they’re trying not to be found,” says Patricia Gray, community relations manager at Wellspring Family Services. “We devised this campaign strategy to put a face to these children, who otherwise would be invisible.”
Standing out from the Crowd
Pathfinders’ campaign, which coincided with the organization’s rebranding efforts, began in 2008. After securing billboard space throughout Milwaukee, Pathfinders first decorated each billboard with a life-size image of a sleeping, homeless teen.
“The pictures of the teens were so lifelike that people were calling the police saying, ‘There’s someone sleeping up on this billboard.’ Of course, we told the police what we planned to do ahead of time, and they were supportive,” says Dan Magnuson, president and CEO of Pathfinders.
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| After securing billboard space throughout Milwaukee, Pathfinders first decorated each with a life-size image of a sleeping, homeless teen. Brief but poignant messages were added to the billboards two weeks later. Thanks to in-kind donations and sponsorships, Pathfinders paid nothing out-of-pocket; learn how. (Photo courtesy Serve Marketing) | |
Brief but poignant messages were added to the billboards two weeks later: “Didn’t notice her? That’s the real problem,” “Maybe more teens would have a safe place to sleep if the rest of us woke up,” and “While you’re warm in bed, remember hundreds of teens aren’t.”
The decision to take such a bold approach to raising awareness about the problem of teen homelessness wasn’t one that was taken lightly, Magnuson says.
Ultimately, he and the board were convinced that it was the best way to ensure their message stood out from the thousands of ads and images individuals are bombarded with every day.
A board member facilitated a meeting between Magnuson and leaders at Serve Marketing, a Milwaukee-based group that specializes in nonprofit marketing and often uses provocative approaches.
Magnuson says he was struck by Serve’s suggestion. Rather than take the traditional nonprofit organization’s approach, which generally involves highlighting a feel-good story about how the agency helps individuals and families, Serve suggested that Pathfinders call attention to the severity of the problem itself.
“Campaigns that leave you feeling comfortable generally get lost and people don’t remember them,” Magnuson says. “I am convinced
that being uncomfortable has a place, an important place, in helping people remember the issues and prompting them to do something about it.”
Campaigns ‘Go Viral’
Because of their alarming nature, shock marketing efforts can easily become viral campaigns, especially when they are propelled by media attention.
Both Pathfinders and Wellspring Family Services received significant media attention for their campaigns, including newspaper articles, editorials, and TV news spots.
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Do you believe there's a place for shock marketing within nonprofit human service organizations?The buzz created numerous immediate benefits: heightened community awareness of the problem of homelessness, increased name recognition for the organization, and a stream of private donations.
Wellspring Family Services, which operated at the time as Family Services of King County, jumped to the first item found by Google for searches of “Family Services.”
Pathfinders saw huge gains in its fundraising. Individual donations increased by more than 20 percent, and the number of new donors jumped by nearly 50 percent. In-kind donations also soared.
The longest lasting impact, however, is both communities’ heightened awareness.
“Our community suddenly understood the issue of child and family homelessness,” Gray says. “Our campaign was successful in a lot of very tangible ways, but also in just the community
’s perception and understanding of the issue.”
To build upon this base level of understanding, Pathfinders and Wellspring Family Services retain elements and images from their shock campaigns, though to a lesser scale, in their current marketing and branding efforts.
Responding to Criticism
While both campaigns ultimately proved successful, that’s not to say there weren’t moments of reservation on the part of staff and board members during the planning process, as well as some criticism from community members during the execution.
Both Magnuson and Gray say that it is extremely important, when preparing to launch this type of campaign, to discuss the implications, goals, and processes with everyone at the organization. This ensures a level of comfort and support for the campaign’s objectives.
“I think you need to have that internal buy-in because, at the end of the day, your staff, your board, and the people who are close to the agency are the people who are going to have to respond publicly,” Gray says.
As for community response, it varied, ranging from curiosity to empathy, concern, and even anger.
“People are easily offended,” Gray says. “Even if our organization stuck to traditional nonprofit marketing approaches, we’d still run the risk of upsetting someone, somewhere; we’re never going to please everyone. The important thing is to expect backlash from a few people so that you’re prepared for it.”
She adds, “The irony is this: even if someone expresses discontent with your campaign, it means it got their attention—and wasn’t that your first goal anyhow?”
Visit their websites to learn more about Pathfinders and Wellspring Family Services.
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