Every single business targeted called B.I.A. after receiving the online transfers.

Two companies committed to funding B.I.A. after further communication.

At the close of the campaign, every single dollar transferred was returned to the account of B.I.A.

Total campaign cost, excluding agency time, $0.

70% of the companies have expressed interest in partnering with B.I.A. next financial year. These relationships are in continuing dialogue.

ROI: Pretty good we think.

The team realised this digital channel was one worth perusing for its ability to target a key decision maker (the CFO) and open the door for conversation in a completely unexpected, potentially very powerful way.

Using their publicly available bank details, we made a series of $1 deposits online, into the accounts of top NZ corporate businesses we knew were pre-disposed to giving.

On the company bank-statement, these deposits linked up to form a message to the CFO, demonstrating the power of their small change in the hands of B.I.A.

Since this “message” couldn’t be balanced against any invoice, it became an impossible to ignore “reconciling error” on the company balance sheet, which had to be resolved. The easiest way to do this was simply to return the money. The only way to do that was to call B.I.A. on the number provided.

The conversations began.

For NZ charities, securing corporate sponsorship is a daunting challenge. With over 20,000 equally deserving organisations competing for the same resource each year, even securing a meeting can be all but impossible.

Our client, Brothers In Arms (B.I.A.) – a youth mentoring organization – challenged us with finding a new, cost effective way of starting a conversation with potential corporate sponsors and getting B.I.A. to the top of the sponsorship shortlist.

Until now, the traditional channels – cold-calling and filing applications along with everyone else – wasn’t working.

So, we chose to target the corporate decision makers direct.

How? Through the balance sheet. We knew that just like any business, large corporations have to make their books balance precisely. Margin for error is effectively zero. We realised we could use this open, previously untapped media channel to our advantage.