Oxfam America’s "symbolic gift" program helps raise funds to fight poverty worldwide. These symbolic gifts include items such as goats and alpacas. Our target audience is affluent, educated women. Only a percentage of these women are "philanthropically minded" yet the vast majority are fashion-forward and image-conscious. o we tapped into their existing interests about fashion by treating these gifts as if they were part of the latest fashion line from Harrods or Barneys. The campaign was launched like a fashion line as well, with gushing reviews from celebrities such as Minnie Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Anna Torv. And of course, we gave the effort a fashionable name as well: The Oxfam Collection.

The Oxfam Collection campaign rolled out with the same marketing approach as a fashion line. First came reviews and raves from celebrities such as Minnie Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Anna Torv. Next, an aggressive PR effort landed The Oxfam Collection in magazine write-ups about the "hottest/trendiest gifts of the season." We then launched a seeding program among fashion bloggers, dubbed "The Bloggerazzi." Once a groundswell of awareness and enthusiasm was established among fashion influencers, we rolled out mass media. Print and outdoor ads featured the striking juxtaposition of Oxfam gifts (goats, alpacas, etc.) on fashion runways. Finally, exclusive behind-the-scenes videos of the shoot continued and deepened the story, gaining thousands of additional impressions.

The Oxfam Collection campaign generated substantial talk value, including articles in publications as diverse as Fast Company and the Huffington Post, as well as inclusion in editorial lists about unique/ trendy gifts. And the talk value translated into action: traffic to the Oxfam Gifts website exceeded previous traffic records by 46%. More importantly, 64% of all purchasers were new customers to Oxfam, beating program goals and adding valuable prospects to Oxfam’s database for future fundraising endeavors.