For years, the Bentley University team sent a personalized postcard to first-time donors to welcome them to the donor community. Given the success of that long-standing mail tradition, the Bentley team sought to expand this tradition through a different medium: video.
To keep costs low, the Bentley team relied on existing video footage from the University that was enjoyable, quick, and demonstrated what Bentley University is all about for their alumni. They took lessons from what worked best in the original direct mail campaign – the effect of positive emotions of nostalgic “firsts” – and translated that into a welcome video for first-time donors titled “First job. First day. First gift to Bentley.”
The team needed a quick, fun, personalized way to share this video message with first-time donors.
ThankView by EverTrue allowed the Bentley team to share this creative video with a list of first-time donors in a branded, personalized email. In ThankView by EverTrue, the Bentley team housed the video on a branded landing page.
In just three hours, the Bentley University team creatively utilized existing campus video footage to create personalized welcome videos for first-time donors, achieving an impressive 85% open rate via ThankView.
