Client
Year
Deliverables
Media Relations
Social Media
Situation
The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit, a long-standing Franco client, hosts the annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon. In 2011, the annual event had a major shift – with 760 WJR stepping in as the new host and Franco becoming more integrated to support the event through digital and traditional advertising, social media, media relations, program development, event management and optimization.
Today, Radiothon has grown to be a 27-hour fundraiser with the ultimate goal of fighting hunger and homelessness in metro Detroit.
Approach
Going Digital
Since the early days of the Bed & Bread Club Radiothon, The Salvation Army, Franco and WJR teams have become accustomed to using printed on-air materials, scripts and programs to organize the event – which required time-intensive, hand-written changes on physical copies to update materials throughout the Radiothon. To improve efficiency and program processes in 2024, our team advocated for a switch from printed materials to a digital script and program. While this may seem like a simple adjustment, it truly was an innovative approach for a 37-year-old event. Not only did the digital materials save on paper and simplify resources for our hosts, but they also made our team more adaptable for those unpredictable moments that are guaranteed to happen throughout a live broadcast event.
Stronger Storytelling
During last year’s Radiothon, our team took notice of spikes in the number of donor calls during on-air client interviews and personal testimonials. To increase donor calls in 2024, Franco pivoted our approach to intentionally and strategically integrate client stories and personal testimonials throughout the 27-hour program – nearly once an hour. As the day went on, appearances from The Salvation Army clients and special guests encouraged the community to donate and help those who are hungry and homeless in metro Detroit.
Interviews with Michigan natives Tim Allen and Lomas Brown, as well as local business and civic leaders showing their support of The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit, were also weaved throughout the event to spark community donations.
Results
Franco’s efforts to improve efficiency, secure client stories and boost donor calls proved successful.
The implementation of digital materials saved hours of printing preparations, allowed for instantaneous and seamless changes during the event and was quickly adopted by on-air hosts, producers and program managers alike.
In terms of media coverage, we secured a total of 37 print and online media placements and 30 broadcast mentions for the 2024 Bed & Bread Club Radiothon.
We also witnessed the impact of client story integration in action during the event. All throughout the Radiothon, the spikes in total number of calls queued align with the timing of client interviews or shortly after they finished sharing how The Salvation Army had impacted their lives. This included the largest spike in calls queued in the entire duration of the event.
Ultimately, The Salvation Army’s 2024 Bed & Bread Club Radiothon raised $1,637,238 to combat hunger and homelessness. In more than 37 years of fundraising, the Radiothon has raised more than $44.8 million.
