Digital Campaign Drives 184% Return on Ad Spend and 107% More Efficient Cost Per Donation than Benchmark

New York, NY – October  7, 2020 – AdTheorent, Inc., a digital advertising leader using advanced machine learning technology and solutions to deliver real-world value for advertisers, and Feed the Children, an international nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, today announced campaign results from the Q3 2020 Digital Advertising campaign.  The goal of the campaign was to drive donations to help alleviate childhood hunger during the stay-at-home period necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The campaign, an important piece of the organization’s overall digital fundraising strategy, raised a total of more than $227,000.  Because every dollar donated to Feed the Children provides $7 worth of food and essentials to children across the globe, the total campaign impact exceeds $1.5M.

The Situation:

Feed the Children works to overcome childhood hunger and malnutrition and create a world of hope and possibility. As unemployment hit an 80-year high during the COVID-19 lockdown, this has been a critical and trying time for families and nonprofits who serve them. Food banks continue to see massive food lines and daily calls for help. And, it is estimated that nearly 1 in 4 children may be food insecure as a result of the ongoing economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, making donations and community support more crucial than ever.

The Approach:

In order to drive awareness of the Feed the Children mission and to drive donations, AdTheorent leveraged a mix of cross-device video and display tactics.  AdTheorent developed custom CPA machine learning models across mobile and desktop devices and used predictive targeting to identify and reach consumers with the highest likelihood of making a donation to Feed the Children.  AdTheorent’s predictive modeling leverages first and third-party data to find the most qualified users.  Through in-unit pixel placement, user engagement fuels targeting allowing AdTheorent to optimize in real-time and scale targeting to the qualified target audience.  Display creative was supplemented with video to elevate awareness of the Feed the Children brand.  

Campaign Results:

The campaign successfully drove donations to Feed the Children raising a total of more than $227,000. Because every dollar donated to Feed the Children is worth $7 of food and essentials provided to children across the globe, the total campaign impact exceeded $1.5 million.  Overall, AdTheorent delivered a 184% return on ad spend and a 107% more efficient cost per donation than client benchmark. This return on investment is of tremendous importance to the charity because it is very judicious with how it invests its limited resources. Additionally, video completion rate was 93.47%, surpassing industry average by 88%.

“AdTheorent’s media buying and ad targeting platform leverages machine learning and data science to drive measurable business outcomes for our advertiser partners,” said James Lawson, CEO of AdTheorent.  “For Feed the Children we used these capabilities to identify and engage consumers who were most likely to make a donation to help alleviate childhood hunger, and our team is extremely proud of the tangible and positive results of the campaign.”

AdTheorent’s data-driven platform identified targeting variables which yielded conversion lift, providing valuable insights for future flights of the campaign. For example, Tablet was the top-performing device type and home wi-fi drove a 33% more efficient CPA vs. Work. Mobile app environments outperformed mobile web, delivering a 70% lower CPA.  

“Since March, we have been witnessing a food crisis triggered by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic,” said Becky Graninger, Chief Development and Marketing Officer at Feed the Children. “Our community partners continue to see increased need from families who’ve never relied on help from a food bank before in addition to those who were already food insecure. Public support of our work is of the utmost importance so that we can help struggling families. Digital advertising has helped garner extra donations which means we were able to help more children and families.” 

About AdTheorent^®

AdTheorent uses advanced machine learning technology and solutions to deliver impactful advertising campaigns for marketers. AdTheorent’s industry-leading machine learning A\T Platform powers its predictive targeting, geo-intelligence, audience extension solutions and in-house creative capability, Studio A\T.  Leveraging only non-sensitive data and focused on the predictive value of machine learning models, AdTheorent’s product suite allows advertisers to identify the most qualified individuals coupled with the optimal creative experience to deliver superior results, measured by each advertiser’s real-world business goals.  Commencing in early 2020, AdTheorent’s award-winning A\T Platform and capabilities are available through a first-of-its-kind Direct Access offering.  Direct Access gives brands and agencies user access to the AdTheorent platform to self-optimize KPI performance, delivery and costs, supplemented by a level of service not typically provided by self-service solutions.

AdTheorent is consistently recognized with numerous technology, product, growth and workplace awards.  AdTheorent was awarded “Best AI-Based Advertising Solution” (AI Breakthrough Awards) and “Most Innovative Product” (B.I.G. Innovation Awards) for three consecutive years.  Additionally, AdTheorent is the only five-time recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s “Digital Advertising Leadership Award”.  AdTheorent is headquartered in New York, with fourteen offices across the United States and Canada.  For more information, visit adtheorent.com.  

About Feed the Children

At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in 10 countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. Every dollar given goes seven times as far to provide food, hope, dignity and comfort. For more information, visit www.feedthechildren.org  

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