1

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

Physical challenges have become a key part of

how millennials give to charity: completing a race gives a tangible

sense of impact.

Children with disabilities do not need others to run for them.

Supporting Variety’s Freedom Program

allows them to run for themselves.

Launch a different type of charity run – which is

not about finishing yourself, but getting

others to the starting line.

Cultural Insight Brand Truth Campaign Strategy

CHALLENGE: Millennials are bombarded with charity appeals, including from numerous children charities. Our

PR strategy is going to need to disrupt to cut through this crowded space and raise money from our target

audience.

*

*Over six in ten millennials ran, cycled, or walked for charity in 2012. (The Millennial Impact Report - 2013)

2

“GET ME TO THE STARTING LINE” RUN

On November 15th, young athletes across America will

be waiting at the starting line. For many, it will be the

first time they have ever run.

This is a charity run with a twist. We don’t need you to run

the race, we need you to help children with disabilities

get the equipment they need to take part.

The starting line is not just about one race. It is the

beginning of a life where a child is no longer trapped by

their disability. Children with disabilities have hopes and

ambitions like anyone else, and they can achieve them.

They just need you to help them get to the starting line.

3

TARGETING: FOCUSING ON “MILLENNIAL GIVERS”

Millennials are a large audience, and with a limited budget we need to be focused. We have identified an older subset that have a

history of donating to charity online and want to be actively involved with causes.1 The media and messaging strategy has been

developed based on insight into this group.

There is a positive correlation between donation

history and future donations3, and with age and future

donations. Therefore, the most valuable segment to

target in this campaign is older millennials who have

a history of giving.

10.3x more likely to visit

Millennial givers are more likely to visit the following websites than their non-donor

peers, and our media strategy will target these sites. 2

1. https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/10/28/what-makes-millennials-give-charity/0nkxv2YCmzYuteWiBN1FIM/story.html2. Clickstream analysis conducted by our team on 3/23/16 on visitors of indiegogo.com and kickstarter.com of people between the ages of 25 and 34 between January and December 2015.3. http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/sep/25/charitable-giving-generation-gap-age

What do we know about them?

43% make <30k in salary.57% are female2 They are heavy social media

users, nearly 4x as likely to use

Twitter as their non-giver peers.

The race is just the

beginning for Mario,

once he can run he

wants to play soccer

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LAUNCH CONTENT: GET ME TO THE STARTING LINE STORIES

While thousands of kids will run, the campaign will focus on the stories of four children in each of the four cities where the race

will take place. The stories will be personal, with each kid explaining why they want to run, and asking millennials to get them,

and others like them, to the starting line.

Get me to the starting line Get me to the starting line

Gabriella wants to run

to show other kids

she can do anything

they can.

4 Billboards: placed near the four starting lines, with an image

of a child explaining why they want help “getting here.”

Online Videos: short videos of children saying what running

would mean to them, targeted to people in their

communities.

Newspaper and TV: media placements telling the stories of

local kids that want to run.

This young girl is preparing to race for

the first time

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CAMPAIGN CONTENT: WE WILL FOLLOW CHILDREN TRAINING

The campaign will follow these four children as they prepare to take part in the “Get Me to the Starting Line” race. The content

will mirror the training stories that millennials tell as they prepare for a marathon or other sporting challenge: this will emphasize

that these children can run just like anyone else, as long as we help get them to the starting line.

Gabriella Trains for the Big Race

Owned MediaVariety’s digital

channels tell story of what race means to

participants.

Amy’s

Training

Blog Paid Media

Select OOH near races, and targeted

online video & social ads.

Get me to the starting line

Earned MediaPitch stories and

videos to media with a running interest,

and hit our millennial donor audience.Meet the Paralympians of the future

Get Involved at usvariety.org

1. Millennial givers are 8.3 times as likely to visit runnersworld.com as their non-giver peers and 8.9 times as likely to visit Mic, according to our clickstream analysis.

PARTNERSHIPS

We have identified two partner brands, Nike and Powerade, that emphasize disability messaging in brand communications.

• Nike and Powerade will both bring 20 kids “to the starting line” through donations to the Freedom Program– and tell their

stories across their digital platforms.

•Nike will also provide their specially designed sneakers for disabled athletes – and make a series of branded videos “If You Have

a Body You Are An Athlete” where Nike athletes train with kids preparing for the run, and teach them to use the shoes.

Nike shoes will get Mario to the Starting Line

These are the kids

Powerade is getting to

the starting line –

support Variety and

help other potential

athletes just like them

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HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Millennials donate to causes after they feel involved and invested in their outcome – it is less effective to go straight to a

donation ask.1 The campaign will give millennials the chance to actively support children running in their community.

Wish a Local Child Good Luck

Record a Message

for Alan

Write a Message

for Alan

Help Alan train

We will ask millennials to record or write a message

on the race microsite wishing good luck to a kid

running in their community. They can also help the

kid train, by giving advice or helping them practice.

Variety will deliver the good luck messages to the kid

and record their responses. Donors and runners can stay

in contact, so the millennial can help throughout.

1. Sign Up

2. Wish a child good luck

3. Donate: Escalating Actions

First we get millennials involved with a message of support

or help training. We then follow up with a donation ask.

1. The Millennial Impact Report 2013

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THE DAY ITSELF

Four races held across the United States, thousands of kids who have been brought to the starting line by millennial donors. We

will invite each one of these donors to cheer their kid along on the day itself.

San Francisco Miami New York Pittsburgh

Justin Gatlin Galen Rupp Tatyana McFadden

ENGAGE OLYMPIANS RECENTLY RETURNED

FROM RIO DE JANEIRO

Three Olympians will surprise participants on the starting

line, and run with them, leveraging media attention in

the aftermath of the Rio games.

OP-EDS IN EACH CITY AND EXCLUSIVE MIC

VIDEO COVERAGE

Place four exclusive table-setter op-eds in target publications1

signed by children in each of the four markets. They’ll write

about their own story and what running means to them. Mic will

shoot an exclusive video of all four races to release on their site.

1. Our millennial giver audience is, 7.1 times more likely to visit The Miami Herald than non-givers, 10.5 times as likely to visit The San Francisco Chronicle, 5.8 times as likely to visit The New York Times, 7.2 times as likely to visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 8.9 times more likely to visit Mic, according to our clickstream analysis.

Watch the Kids running

with your help

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LASTING IMPACT AND MEASUREMENT

The race is just the beginning. We envisage “Get Me To The Starting Line” becoming a longer term creative platform for Variety.

After November, we will show what the children do after the race and how mobility makes a long-term impact on their lives. We

will continue to engage with millennials that sponsored children around these stories of lasting impact.

AFTER RACE DAY – THE STARTING LINE IS JUST THE BEGINNING

MEASURING IMPACT

MENTIONS

EXPOSURE

ENGAGEMENT

CONVERSIONS

Share of Voice

How many stories ran and how many online mentions? GOAL: 80 stories; 250,000 online mentions

Share of Exposure

Is our audience seeing Variety communications? GOAL: Reach 10 of our audience’s top 20 publications, according to clickstream data.

Share of Engagement

How many people in our target audience signed up, wished kids good luck or engaged with content? GOAL: 400,000 people engaged

Donations

How many people in our target audience have given and how much? GOAL: 12,000 new millennial donors for $250,000

In the months after the race, we will continue telling the stories of the

kids who ran. We will keep working with Nike and Mic to develop a

series of videos and articles showing how the children have now taken

up sports, dancing, and other hobbies.

After the run

Mario took

up Baseball

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BUDGET & TIMELINE

We’ve outlined a timeline and budget below that will provide a steady drumbeat of attention around the race in Summer 2016,

eventually peaking on race day in November. After the race, “Get Me to The Starting Line” will continue as a creative platform for

Variety, as the story starts focusing on the lasting impact mobility has on these children.

Activity Cost

Advertising (online & billboards) $125,000

Event Day $150,000

Social Engagement $25,000

“Wish Luck” microsite $30,000

Videos $20,000

Materials Development $30,000

Media Outreach $25,000

Partnerships $40,000

Program Management $55,000

Activity Cost

TOTAL

$500,000

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR• Approach

partners

• Prospect for

stories

• Develop

microsite

• Shoot and edit

online video

series

• Prepare

materials (press

release, op-eds,

partner

materials, etc)

• Launch with

billboards, online

videos, social

media and

media

placements

• Launch microsite

with online

advertising

driving traffic

• Media activity

around Olympics

• Approach

Olympic

Athletes, asking

them to take

part

• Stories in target

publications

about kids

training

• Nike release

videos

• Race day. Four

races take place

in San Francisco,

Miami, New

York, and

Pittsburgh

• Place op-eds

• Race Day video

on MIC

• Work with Mic to

continue telling

stories about the

impact this race

had on kids

• Re-engage

supporters of

the campaign –

telling them the

difference the

equipment is

making to the

kids life.

• Place op-eds

about what kids

have done since

race

• Nike release

follow up videos

about the impact

the race had on

the children’s

lives.

• Stories in the

media as Nike

athletes visit

some of the

sponsored kids

at baseball

practice.

• Measure results

and determine

next steps

• Opportunity to

have further

races in new

target cities