The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society launched a 10-day mobile giving initiative August 16. The organization worked with mGive, a mobile donations provider, on the effort.
The group, which partnered with US national team soccer star Landon Donovan on the initiative, is asking consumers to use their mobile phones to text the word “Goal” to 90999 to donate $10 to help children battling leukemia and other blood cancers. The effort also features Ryan Darby, a 7-year-old leukemia survivor.
Todd Whitley, VP of e-marketing at the LLS, said the charitable organization wanted to raise awareness among soccer fans in the US. Whitley said the charity targets enthusiasts of various sports, including cyclists, marathoners and triathletes, but that it didn’t have strong ties to soccer besides Donovan, who has been a long-time supporter of the LLS.
“We wanted to leverage [Donovan’s] fan base,” said Whitley.
LLS will measure the amount of funds raised, as well as activity on its social networking portals.
Whitley said Donovan will heavily promote the giving initiative on his Facebook page and Twitter account during the 10-day challenge. The effort is targeting a younger demographic, he said.
“I think what’s interesting is that because he is promoting it through social media, we’re also trying to include a link to an online landing page for folks to give a larger gift and make a greater impact,” he explained.
Whitley added that a benefit of mobile marketing is that it gives the group an immediate way to get in front of audiences not closely aligned to an organization.
“When you have the ideal situation — when you end up having someone recognizable and they have a fan base — a mobile giving opportunity is terrific because their impassioned plea can resonate directly with their fan base,” he said.
