The Challenge

With more than 29 million American adults lacking a high school diploma, the Ad Council and Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) sought to raise awareness for free and supportive adult education centers across the country by directing viewers to FinishYourDiploma.org.

The Solution

The campaign was strategically placed across highly viewable placements of premium U.S. publishers, spanning across news, sports, and celebrity categories. This approach not only provided contextual relevance but also ensured that the campaign effectively captured attention for the organization and its cause.

While these media placements captured attention, custom experiences were key to sustaining it. For instance, a custom design incorporated video and an interactive poll, prompting audiences to consider if they were ready to earn their high school equivalency – and drew in over 500 positive responses.

Results

A brand impact study was conducted in collaboration with Lucid, using a survey-based methodology. Test respondents comprised exposed and control groups to understand how the campaign resonated with key audiences.

Brand Awareness
Compared to the control group, there was a +8.1% lift in brand awareness from adults belonging to <$20K household incomes. Broken down further, women from <$50K income households had a +5.6% lift in brand awareness against the control group, while mobile users had the biggest lift in brand awareness at +11%.

Ad Recall
The campaign saw a +4.5% lift in ad recall among the exposed groups. Women from less than <$20K household incomes had better ad recall, at +5.6% compared to the control group.