The concept of Branded Entertainment is somewhat novel in this small Caribbean country. For non-profit organizations, which often lack regular funding yet need to draw public attention, alternatives to traditional advertising methods are strategic and can be critical to their cause.Our decision to work with a non-profit organization stems from a love for this country as well as the opportunity to create new, engaging and meaningful content. We are the first agency in the Dominican Republic to create branded content using digital media as the central platform.

When we began this campaign, our challenge was not only to make our NPO stand out but to tell a story in an engaging way. In developing countries, people see or experience poverty every day, but as an ubiquitous and immutable entity, something which they are powerless to change or overcome. People are asked for small ‘donations’ every day on the street, and many give, but nothing changes. So what can be done? Why pay attention to an NPO?Our goal was to show them how ‘the other half’ lives—the private lives of those whom brush shoulders with more affluent Dominicans every day—and to communicate that something can be done against poverty (one of the first steps involves a decent roof over one’s head). At the same time, we did not want our message to become too overt, preachy or pedantic.And what better way to gather attention than to involve a pop icon, someone coming from a privileged background similar to that of our core audience, to introduce ‘the other half’ from her point of view?But critically, our character did not speak for the real subjects of our campaign; there were no scripts, voice-overs, dramatic music, or editing.The execution—seven days of live streaming for 24 hours a day—involved a real dedication to our cause (not to mention the technical challenges of keeping up transmission in an area with unreliable electricity). Our hope is that many people hoping to see a ‘reality show’ were moved when they saw something more like a pure reality in this country.

In a matter of weeks, our campaign changed the status of the NPO from one out of many to one of the most well-known in the Dominican Republic. Social media mentions rose by 400% and the number of volunteers rose from 500 to 2,500. One month after the show ended, donations to the NPO rose to a staggering $800,000 US dollars. Our campaign also generated approximately $300,000 US worth of media placements. Additionally, large multi-national corporations have taken notice and will be working with our NPO in the future.The 500% increase in the number of volunteers speaks to our success with our audience; two thousand people have been moved to spend their time helping to build houses for those in need, not to mention the numerous others who have donated and/or expressed their support.