The Challenge
Goodwill of North Georgia is one of the state’s largest nonprofits and enjoys near-total brand awareness for their thrift store locations. A large percent of the local population had visited their locations to shop and donate over the years. But thrift store familiarity masked Goodwill’s true purpose: to create employment and career opportunities for North Georgians. We needed to help shoppers and donors feel more connected to this mission to keep them loyal to Goodwill, and to keep putting North Georgians to work.
The Solution
Goodwill of North Georgia’s mission is to create employment – and career – opportunities for North Georgians. Their career centers help people gain employment and improve their quality of life. This work is funded through the revenue generated in their thrift stores, so the more they increase sales the more they can help people find jobs and careers. We knew we had to connect the dots for consumers between donating, shopping, and the community impact. We showed them that their passion for fashion, as well as giving back, go hand-in-hand with Goodwill. We established the Cycle of Good—demonstrating how good donations become good purchases, which lead to good jobs—and how supporting their neighbors is as easy as going shopping or dropping off gently used items. We showed people that all you have to do to is Go #Goodwilling. This positioned the brand as an uplifting retailer and donation center with a positive community impact. The brand’s visual identity also received a facelift, incorporating a bright and optimistic color palette that conveyed optimism and positive change. We launched the campaign on #GivingTuesday to help underscore Goodwill’s non-profit status and to draw attention to their mission. The integrated media plan layered promotional windows on top of always-on programmatic and paid social to achieve specific sales and donation goals while building awareness for their mission. Some tactics were designed to remind frequent thrifters to visit us more often, while others were aimed at introducing new shoppers to the treasures they can find at Goodwill. And we leveraged social media to engage all types of North Georgians, whether they are moms shopping for Halloween costumes, DIYers hunting for unique treasures or downsizing-minded donors looking for a good home for their memories.
The Results
Since the launch of #Goodwilling, we have seen success in a number of important areas. In Goodwill’s retail stores, foot traffic and sales have both increased over the duration of the campaign. And our results continue to exceed retail benchmarks, with more than 50% of the people who walk into a Goodwill store converting to a purchase. This retail traffic and conversion has driven our cost per visit down to $2. But the result we are most proud to have contributed to is the number of people who found new jobs. The year that we launched the campaign, Goodwill placed more than 27,000 North Georgians into new jobs and careers. This accomplishment places Goodwill of North Georgia as the number one Goodwill in the nation for job seekers. And that is some good will we can all appreciate.
