Background
Tree-Free Greetings is a producer of greeting cards with a mission to be the most transparent, most environmentally-friendly greeting card company on the planet. They were founded with a millennial eye toward artful simplicity, sustainability, and social impact. Contrary to conventional greeting cards with floral sentiments, elaborate print techniques, and ever-rising prices, Tree-Free has gained a following for its simple, yet artfully, vibrant style and use of sustainable materials.
Opportunity
In addition to using post consumer recycled paper, working with their paper suppliers to become carbon neutral, and committing to manufacturing in the U.S., Tree-Free wanted to do more and expand their impact efforts beyond sustainability. In partnering with ShoppingGives, Tree-Free was able to support charitable causes that are important to them and to their customers by donating 25% of revenue on all orders.
Strategy
Testing Cause-Focused Messaging in Paid Ad Campaigns
For Mother’s Day 2023, Tree-Free ran an A/B paid ad test through Facebook to see how impact-focused advertising would perform against traditional messaging.
To compare two similar ad sets, Tree-Free ran one ad set that featured Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief non-profit organization, while the other ad set did not mention Rise Against Hunger.
The goal of the test was to see which ad set would generate more sales and a higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). The ads in this test ran for 23 days.
Rise Against Hunger Cause-Focused Ad Test
In the ad test featuring Rise Against Hunger, Tree-Free ran a set of ads that were cause-focused and informed their audience that they would be making donations to support Rise Against Hunger on every purchase around Mother’s Day.
General Messaging Ad Test
The second set of ads in the A/B test did not mention Rise Against Hunger, and instead featured more general messaging, excluding information about their charitable giving initiatives.
Outcomes
After running both the Rise Against Hunger and the general ads, Tree-Free saw that the impact-focused ads outperformed the general ads and saw an increase in sales, an increase in ROAS, and a lower Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). From the ads featuring Rise Against Hunger, Tree-Free saw:
- 293% increase in number of sales
- 68% increase in ROAS
- 55% lower CPA
Activating on Timely Causes
Wanting to support the causes that their customers care about, Tree-Free empowers their customers to search and select a cause or nonprofit of their choice to support on every purchase. Outside of this evergreen giving strategy, Tree-Free also activates on time-sensitive campaigns in an effort to create impact where needed most.
In April 2022, Tree-Free donated 50% of sales to be donated to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. The invasion in Ukraine left major cities destroyed and dozens of people injured or killed, and this cause helped raise funds and awareness for those affected by the invasion and attacks in Ukraine.
Tree-Free also finds opportunities to collaborate with nonprofit organizations and create special cause campaigns. In July 2022, Tree-Free partnered with Roadog Rescue and Lucia Heffernan to donate 25% of all of Lucia's retail greeting card sales towards rescuing and rehabbing dogs in need.
Roadogs Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to rehabbing and rescuing medical bulldogs and puppies with birth defects, and spreading the message of love and compassion towards all animals. By partnering with Roadogs Rescue, Tree-Free was able to help bring awareness to an important cause and engage their customers in a meaningful campaign.
Impact Throughout the Marketing Funnel
Tree-Free brings awareness to their giving initiatives by including impact-focused messaging throughout their entire marketing funnel. From email campaigns, social media posts, and onsite marketing, Tree-Free makes it easy for their customers to learn more about how they’re making a positive impact.
Consumers can easily access information on the various ways that Tree-Free commits to sustainability and charitable giving directly from their About Us page. By showcasing their mission and values throughout their marketing funnel, Tree-Free is able to demonstrate their authentic commitment to doing good and giving back.
Tree-Free has seen that their customers are highly engaged with their social impact strategy and are excited to see their commitment to making an impact. Whether they’re promoting their set featured causes, a timely cause like Ukraine relief efforts, or encouraging their customers to support a cause of their choice, Tree-Free is consistently putting social impact at the forefront of their brand.
“Tree-Free was pleased to support Rise Against Hunger and we continue to see that purpose driven ads drive higher revenue results.” - Doris Webb, VP of Customer and Product Development