With this campaign for UNICEF, the gifts you get on your birthday become gifts for needy children around the world. By donating your birthday at www.birthday.or.kr, your family, friends, relatives, and colleagues can send you online ‘life-saving’ gifts like measles vaccine, storybooks, or mosquito net – which UNICEF will then donate to help children in areas like education, nutrition, and health. So, our goal has been to change the way we see and celebrate our birthday, making it a day that’s not just about the day you were born but the day you share your happiness with those in need. Donate your birthday and make it the best birthday yet for you and for children around the world.

We were able to get over 30 local celebrities and well-known figures to donate their birthday and to also volunteer to appear on a viral video to spread the news and get people to visit the site and participate. They also joined together to sing a campaign anthem which was made into a music video and also made available for download with all the proceeds contributing to the donation pot. The fan clubs of these stars were creating more buzz and asking for support on social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Although at a limited level due to budget limitations, print and cinema advertising were executed, and InStyle ran a fashion spread featuring limited edition campaign T-shirts.

This campaign has now been running for several months, and, in just 2 weeks after launch, UNICEF has had more than 200,000 visitors to the site and with over 1,000 people donating their birthdays – a gift-giving rate that’s more than 5 times the past average. Also, given the birthday celebration theme and also participation of top young celebrities, this campaign has been successful in recruiting the usually passive 20-and-30 year-olds as they are currently making up around 80% of birthday donors to date. Also, people are starting to extend the definition of ‘birthday’ and donating their anniversaries, company founding days, fan club days, etc.