Nation Turns to Social Media, Email to Help Tornado Victims Back to School

Students returning to class next week in the storm tattered Midwest will be welcomed with new computers, books and essential school supplies funded through a national social media and email campaign byDonorsChoose.org.

“When students come back to school Aug. 17, we want every Joplin teacher and student to enter a classroom that feels as familiar, warm and welcoming as it did before the tornadoes”

Powered by interactive marketing provider ExactTarget, the “We Lost Everything” campaign on Twitter, Facebook and email has already collected more than $135,000 for 300 classroom projects for the Joplin School District, a school system devastated by one of the largest tornadoes in the country’s history May 22, 2011.

“When students come back to school Aug. 17, we want every Joplin teacher and student to enter a classroom that feels as familiar, warm and welcoming as it did before the tornadoes,” said Katie Bisbee, chief marketing officer at DonorsChoose.org.

DonorsChoose.org is promoting the “We Lost Everything” campaign through emails to its more than 525,000 supporters, regular Tweets to its nearly 73,000 Twitter followers, and recurring Facebook updates for its 92,000 Facebook fans. Supporters, fans and followers can choose to support specific school projects and fill needs such as books, computers and more.

Named one of the world’s most innovative companies in February 2011 by Fast Company, DonorsChoose.org is a global network of more than 525,000 donors who gave roughly $30 million to support 60,000 classroom projects in 2010.

“Effective interactive marketing isn’t about whether email, Twitter, Facebook or the Web is better, it’s about creating a meaningful connection wherever a customer wants to interact,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer. “The success of the DonorsChoose campaign highlights the power of creating a seamless online experience and delivering relevant, engaging content in real time.”

DonorsChoose.org is among several national and international brands slated to speak at Connections ’11, ExactTarget’s annual user conference in Indianapolis. The conference, which runs Sept. 13 -15, will feature more than 50 breakout sessions ranging from cross-channel marketing best practices to case studies featuring results with campaigns across email, mobile, social media and the Web.

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget is a leading global provider of on-demand email marketing and interactive marketing solutions. The company’s Interactive Marketing Hub technology provides organizations a single solution to connect with customers via email, integrated text messaging, landing pages and social media. Supported by collaborative global services teams, ExactTarget’s technology integrates with more sales and marketing information systems than any other in the industry, including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among many others. ExactTarget powers permission-based multichannel communications for thousands of organizations around the world including Expedia.com, Best Buy, Papa John’s, CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co., Inc., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Home Depot and Wellpoint, Inc. For more information, visit www.exacttarget.com.