United Way of Rock River Valley: Reading is Everything.

In 2023, the United Way of Rock River Valley (UWRVV) engaged GrahamSpencer to help it tackle a national crisis at a local level: childhood illiteracy.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about 33% of third graders in America read at the third-grade level or higher. According to the United Way, Winnebago County’s literacy rate is 32%. When one considers that students reading under their grade level graduate from high school at lower rates, the seriousness of the crisis quickly comes into focus.

Alongside the UWRRV, GS’s campaign responsibilities were to name and brand the effort (United for Literacy), design and build a website and launch an effective digital advertising campaign. Fueled by GSearch, our research-based planning methodology, we created several messages that aim to engage viewers emotionally, attract clicks and convince viewers to look further for ways to help.

While the initial campaign push, begun in November 2023, was focused on crisis awareness (educating the public about the very existence of the crisis), the emphasis switched mid-stream to actionable things such as volunteering, donating and, above all else, reading to children at least 20 minutes a day.

When it comes to advertising, GS has employed a wide array of techniques: organic social, paid social, digital display, paid search, streaming audio and video, digital out-of-home and more. Digital targeting tactics have included lookalike, Firmographic, retargeting, keyword search and more.

At GrahamSpencer, we and our partners are committed to delivering and maintaining the best results. We closely monitor campaign activity and constantly optimize for better performance and efficiency. The results of United for Literacy’s campaign are a testament to this commitment, as they have been nothing short of remarkable.

From November 2023 through May 2024, the campaign has generated 6,648,410 impressions and 22,000 hits to the United for Literacy website. The Cost Per Site Visit (CPVS), which began at $3.56 in November 2023, has dropped to $0.56 thanks to constant data monitoring and optimization. Since November 2023, the campaign has produced more than 148K website page views and strong conversion to vital links such as “Donate” and “Volunteer.” The video completion rate exceeded the national average by 20%—at a whopping 98%.

“This campaign is a remarkable blend of art and science,” said Jay Graham, GS founding partner and co-creative director. “The messaging connects with peoples’ hearts and speaks to their concerns for our youth and the community’s long-term health. The science behind how we put those messages in front of those who need to see those messages makes it all work.”

UWRVV collaborates with various partners and provides resources for parents, caregivers and service providers. The initiative involves comprehensive, research-based strategies, including funding impactful interventions, engaging parents, mobilizing volunteers, supporting caregivers and raising community awareness. Key goals include increasing literacy and achieving 75% of students reading at grade level by 2034.