Asking parents to open their wallets requires more than an impression and message. To be successful, you have to open their hearts. We didn’t believe this was achievable via traditional media, any more than the bucket challenge would have been. We searched for a way to bring people to a halt, create emotional relevance, and drive immediate action, e.g., strike while the iron is hot.

The message and the media merged.

We changed the covers of traditional children’s books with custom ones that presented a comparison between the shopper’s children and those TECHO helps. The call-to-action was on the book’s cover and it allowed an immediate donation via mobile web.

After all, how could a parent go home with a new book for their children without helping those on the book covers?

In addition to diving deep into the TECHO brand, we did informal ethnographies all across New York City. We “informally” followed parents when they were by themselves or accompanied by their children, during the work after hours and weekends. The objective of this effort was to identify unexpected and impactful opportunities, to deliver our plea in a context in which parents would be especially sensitive and open to helping children in need.

TECHO took over children’s books and changed their covers with a custom one that featured the most iconic fairy tale characters living in extreme poverty. We then placed these in the children’s section at all bookstores across New York City, and waited for parents to pick them up.

The reactions and the donations were immediate. The request for help went beyond its original goal, which grabbed not only the parent’s attention, but also the interest of the community. More stores got involved and many decided to become TECHO volunteers. Donations rose significantly and we brought this distant problem closer to home.