American Red Cross teams with bit.ly to create new URL shortener: Hope.ly
The American Red Cross has teamed up with URL link shortener Bit.ly for the creation of a fundraising campaign that benefits from the success of other people’s content.
Instead of condensing links to bit.ly, the new tool will see links shortened to become a Hope.ly link.
When a Hope.ly link is clicked on, a banner-type ad will appear, reading “Someone wonderful shared this page — to help people in need through the American Red Cross,” and encouraging donating online.
Laura Maiurano, senior director for digital marketing at Bit.ly, said the new project was unlike anything the service had done before: “When BBDO and the Red Cross approached us with this effort, we just thought it was a really great initiative and something new and different and we were totally on board to support it.”
Conceived by BBDO New York, the campaign will run throughout December, with the official launch date of 2 December – Giving Tuesday.
“Charities generally are trying to get large-scale social reach in the same way that the A.L.S. Ice Bucket Challenge did,” said Tom Markham, executive creative director of BBDO New York. “This idea is kind of in that space, but it’s tied into the act of sharing, as opposed to us trying to come up with the content that is super shareable.”
He added that it is “very hard” to brief for an idea like this: “The agency has to kind of love you as a client and spend time thinking of you outside of the normal briefs and come up with this sort of stuff.”
The launch of Hope.ly is promoted through an online video, which will be promoted through the Red Cross social channels as well as the bit.ly homepage.