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?

TECHO’s goal for this project was to drive parents to donate and support the development of homes and communities for children in Latin America. To do this, there was a need to raise awareness about the desperate conditions in which they live and how TECHO helps get these people out of extreme poverty.

Our strategy was to bring parents to a halt, create a relevant and highly emotional context, so that they would take a minute out of their hectic life to learn about and make a donation to help other children who are just like theirs.

The action grabbed not only the parents’ attention, but also the interest of the community. More stores became involved with the initiative, and many New Yorkers decided to volunteer and support TECHO’s mission.

The creative execution, by portraying poverty on the book cover of what is expected to be a fairy tale or bedtime story, makes a clear and personal connection between the target, the brand and its mission.

Initially the program was launched in specific Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhood bookstores.

Additional stores were included and more books produced as the idea caught on.

The program launched in March 2015. Taking into consideration the initial success, we are currently planning to expand the production and distribution of the books, as well as developing digital and social extensions of the same idea.