Plan International hires Blue State for digital revamp

planIndependent development and humanitarian charity Plan International, the organisation that aims to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, has appointed Blue State to handle its digital marketing account following a competitive pitch.
The agency, which recently appointed former FullSix London and Publicis Chemistry creative chief Rob Trono as creative director, will work with the charity on a project to develop and test a set of new features as part of its “Child Sponsorship 2020 Development Programme”.
Blue State will design and create a “clickable prototype digital customer journey” to test several new features with the aim of improving supporter experience and engagement.
The new digital strategy is based on an assessment of Plan International’s current approach to the digital supporter journey, undertaken by Blue State, which examined the organisation’s activity in 12 markets.
Blue State has also helped conceive how this project will inform an improved long-term donor experience by following a “create, test and learn” approach to the supporter journey, backed by Plan International’s global innovation team and working in collaboration with national offices including France, Denmark, Germany and Japan. This initiative will help develop new features to acquire and engage supporters that can then be adopted in each market.
Plan International Grace Pease global hub product manager said: “[We] deliver life-changing programmes in some of the most marginalised communities in the world, thanks to the generous contributions of our donors. By better understanding our supporters and improving their experience with us, we hope to achieve their long-term engagement.
“We have been working with Blue State to assess the areas of opportunity within our current global supporter offering and identifying new ways to provide a truly donor-centric journey that is both engaging and adds value to their experience sponsoring a child through Plan International.”
Blue State managing director Hannah Johnson added: “Regular monthly giving models that are designed to operate on a global scale can only be efficient if development and testing happens centrally, with optimisation and refinement taking place before local market adoption.
“It’s also becoming more crucial for organisations to understand every stage of the customer journey on and offline. By adapting to supporter needs based on their engagement, interests and location, Plan International can better serve audiences as individuals.”
Founded in 2004, Blue State is an independent agency with offices in London, New York, Washington DC, Oakland, Boston and Chicago. In the UK, its clients include Google, Lloyds Banking Group, Tate Modern, Co-op, Unicef and Battersea Cats & Dogs Home.

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