Coast Guard Foundation Built a Digital Acquisition Pipeline from Scratch — Generating Thousands of New Leads in Six Months with a K9 Campaign
When the Coast Guard Foundation looked to grow its supporter base, traditional channels were falling short. Digital ads weren’t delivering return on investment, direct mail response rates were
dropping, and past acquisition efforts required costly physical fulfillment.
Enter K9s. We identified that K9 generated a lot of engagement, so we created a lead magnet using K9s as the theme, just in time for National K9 Day in March.
The K9 lead acquisition project became an evergreen, digital-only acquisition campaign designed to drive lead generation, engagement, and emotional connection while also supporting stewardship, awareness, and donations.
Our Solution
Interactivity
The campaign uses JavaScript and CSS animations to bring the K9s to life: hovering over each card flips it to reveal a fact about that specific K9, and clicking on it makes the K9 “respond” with a floating heart, simulating being petted.
Sign a ‘Thank You’ Card
Users can choose an e-card and send a message to a K9, collecting their email address in the process as a lead magnet.
K9s as signers
After submitting their card and message, users receive an autoresponder “signed” by Niki the K9, creating a personal and emotional connection by showing that one of the K9s they interacted with appreciates their support. Niki also asks for a gift to support the Coast Guard Foundation.
The Results
We were able to help Coast Guard Foundation meet their goal of increasing email list size and new donor count. In addition to the strong quantitative numbers shown in this case study, anecdotally, the client also received many heart-warming feedback from donors. Notably, a few of their existing large donors reached out to share their affinity for the project and are happy to see that the K9s are getting the love they deserve!
4445
New emails in 6 months
74
New donors in 6 months
994,471
Users reached in 6 months
35,258
Link clicks in 6 months
Client Testimonial
“We partnered with Doing Good Digital on our Coast Guard K9 campaign to validate that digital acquisition could truly work for us — without the complexity of physical fulfillment. They designed smart lead gen, compelling creative, and a nurturing flow that built genuine connections. The result was a clear, measurable path from acquisition to engagement to donations, demonstrating that digital acquisition can work for us.”
– Christopher McBriarty, Coast Guard Foundation
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