Nonprofit streaming advertising case study
How Goodwill Orange County reversed a donation decline in South County.
A nonprofit streaming advertising case study: we built the streaming layer around Goodwill's real data and trade areas, and donations climbed where it mattered most.
+244%
Donations YoY in Lake Forest
During the campaign period
This nonprofit streaming advertising case study, at a glance.
Client
Goodwill of Orange County
Founded
100 years ago
Footprint
25 retail stores and donation centers
Mission
Retail revenue funds workforce development for job seekers, including people with disabilities
Donations were dropping in South County.
The previous campaign couldn't say why.
Goodwill OC faced a significant drop in donations across its South Orange County locations. Because donated goods stock the retail stores and retail revenue funds the workforce programs, a shortfall in one part of the county created pressure across the whole organization.
The team had run one CTV campaign before. According to Marketing Communications Director Nicole Morrison, they came in without a clear picture of what good performance looked like, how the campaign should be structured, or what measurement they would get back. They needed a partner who would build against their actual goals rather than apply a template.
Three decisions built the campaign.
Instead of running a template, we built the campaign around Goodwill's real customer data, the markets that were actually underperforming, and what would drive a donation that week rather than a brand impression next quarter.
01
A month to optimize before scaling.
Rather than running it set-and-forget, we spent the first month refining targets against real performance signals. Once the segments locked in, donations began to climb.
02
Spend aimed at the actual customers.
Working from Goodwill's first-party data in Placer.ai with PersonaLive segmentation, we concentrated spend on the segments that make up about 70% of their South County customers rather than spreading reach across every possible profile.
03
Creative built to act, not impress.
Lightly humorous spots like "time to clean out your closet" were built to prompt a donation that same week rather than long-tail brand recall, so every line of copy earned its place.
Donations climbed in the markets that needed it most.
Streaming was one part of a coordinated push, not the whole story.
Goodwill OC ran several initiatives at once, and we focused this campaign on the underperforming South County markets. That's where the lift landed, and they've kept investing since.
Lake Forest
Donations, year over year
Irvine
Donations, year over year
San Juan Capistrano
Donations, year over year
“
It was so clear that we were going to build this campaign to really meet those specific needs. It wasn't just something that, oh, it works for other clients, so we're sure it'll work for you. It was built for Goodwill, so that's why we felt so confident going into it.
Nicole Morrison
Marketing Communications Director, Goodwill of Orange County
Hear how Goodwill OC built the campaign with us.
Nicole Morrison walks through the decisions that turned a coordinated push into measurable lift across the priority South County markets.
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