AFK (formerly Action for Kids)

AFK is a small national charity based in the UK, dedicated to supporting disabled and autistic children and young people. We came on board to support their campaign, ‘Little BIG Support’. 

AFK, despite having very dedicated supporters, wasn't widely recognised. With the ‘Little BIG Support’ campaign, we aimed to change that by expanding AFK’s pool of individual donors. The goal was to raise funds to provide essential services like mobility equipment, employment support, training, and promoting self-advocacy for disabled and autistic children and young adults.

Working with a limited budget, AFK turned to social media to get the word out and engage with people. The campaign ran from 24th July to 31st December 2023, using both paid and organic content to reach as many people as possible.

Different Kettle were the creative brains behind ‘Little BIG Support’ giving the campaign a unique visual identity that really brought AFK’s work to life. We focused on authentic storytelling, sharing the real-life impact of AFK’s support on its beneficiaries using the specific campaign branding.

We handled the creation and rollout of a mix of media across various social media platforms and Google ads. Using information from AFK’s website, we created content around four key themes: Educate, Dream, Advocate and Participate.

We tested different formats like carousels, videos, Reels, and static images, all designed to make the campaign visually engaging. We created a smaller batch of content for this phase, promoting it through both organic social media and paid ads. We shared stories from young beneficiaries like Lacey and Matthew, showing the positive impact AFK has on their lives.

While the campaign showed consistent performance across all platforms, LinkedIn stood out with the highest engagement. This was unexpected, as LinkedIn is not traditionally known for fundraising.

The organic social media content supported the paid ads, helping to re-engage current supporters and attract new ones. Our goal was to educate and engage people, encouraging them to donate and support AFK’s mission.

Here’s how we did:

• Total Impressions: The campaign generated 763,396 impressions, significantly raising awareness of AFK's mission.
• Total Engagements: Across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, we had 11,951 engagements, showing strong interaction with our content.
• 3-Second Video Plays: 198,442 at £0.02 per play
• Total Video Plays: 583,336

The campaign reached over half a million people and got significant video engagement at a low cost, boosting AFK’s visibility and interaction with their content.

We had the privilege of supporting AFK with the second phase of their ‘Little BIG Support’ campaign too. This phase ran from 22 March - 3 May and was focused on encouraging people to leave a gift in their will to AFK.

The campaign’s CTA was to increase requests for a Gifts in Wills guide and provide an opportunity for supporters to indicate their interest while allowing AFK to thank those who have already included them in their will.

We used a new iteration of the ‘Little BIG Support’ branding that was rooted in nostalgia, designed by Different Kettle to boost awareness and engage new supporters. The ‘Little BIG Support’ narrative told the story of AFK’s work in understanding the small but important details of each child's life and providing the significant, tailored support they need to live independently and pursue their dreams.

The ‘Little BIG Support’ campaign showed how powerful authentic storytelling and engaging visuals can be, even on a tight budget. We successfully raised awareness and engagement for AFK, helping more people learn about and support their mission.