Nonprofit's Ads Increase Visibility and Donations

To promote its 19th annual auction and party, Bailey House mounted a cheeky advertising campaign that promised to deliver a hot ticket, a hot date, and “hot hosts” (in the form of Tim Gunn and Jonathan Adler). Bailey House’s chief development officer, John Murphy, and special events manager, Jacob Artz, worked with PMC Inc.’s Amy Krakow to coordinate a campaign of bold red-and-white posters to promote the event, which typically draws a crowd loaded with gay men. Sporting the same aesthetic as the event’s invite, the ads heralded the fund-raiser on 100 Van Wagner kiosks. Additionally, NPA/City Outdoor placed 6,000 “wildpostings” throughout Manhattan. (Those posters slapped onto the wood—labeled “Post No Bills”—that covers scaffolding all around the city? That’s wildposting.)So does advertising a benefit for a nonprofit work? Apparently so; Bailey House raised $700,000 (up from 2006’s total of $430,000), and ticket sales were more than double last year’s count. The organization funds housing and services for New York City men and women with HIV/AIDS.

Event organizers were quick to point out that the postings were just one component of the organizing committee’s efforts. “We had a top-notch committee who leveraged personal and professional contacts to increase the auction’s visibility,” Murphy said. While the exact return on the outdoor postings and PSAs hasn’t been calculated, Artz noted that in addition to the dramatic increase in turnout and funds raised, Bailey House also saw a spike in the number of volunteers and items donated for auction. The hottest lot during the bidding overseen by Simon Doonan and Sotheby’s Hugh Hildesley? A lunch date with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, which sold for $21,000.

—Sara Neuffer

Posted 02.22.07