How Ocean Conservancy earned a 55% reply rate with weekly trivia
Ocean Conservancy wanted its text program to do more than ask for donations. With mCommons and our mobile strategists, it built a segment around something its supporters love, a trivia question every Tuesday, and turned it into one of its most engaged lists.
01The challenge
The challenge: more from a nonprofit SMS program than fundraising appeals
More than a channel for fundraising appeals.
Facing challenges with its previous messaging provider, Ocean Conservancy wanted a more capable platform for complex, interactive campaigns.
It also wanted its mobile program to do more than send donation requests: to segment supporters and send each group content it actually wanted.
- 1SegmentGroup supporters by what they enjoy
- 2EngageSend interactive content, not only asks
- 3ActLink to advocacy tasks and blog posts
- 4GiveAdd a donation ask where it fits
The goals Ocean Conservancy set for the new program.
02What changed
The fix: a Trivia Tuesday text segment for supporters
A trivia question every Tuesday.
Working with our mobile strategists, Ocean Conservancy built a segment around the popularity of environmental trivia. Everyone on the list knows exactly what to expect, a question every Tuesday, which makes it an easy first step for new subscribers.
The team tests calls to action in the messages, such as a link to a blog post or a direct advocacy task, and about a quarter of the trivia messages also include a donation ask.
About a quarter of trivia messages also carry a donation ask.
03The result
The result: a 55.38% reply rate and 99.92% retention
More than half reply, and almost nobody leaves.
The Trivia Tuesday list grew to 10,700 subscribers with an average reply rate of 55.38%. The opt-out rate stays exceptionally low, with a retention rate of 99.92%.
Next, Ocean Conservancy plans to refine its segments using behavior data, with follow-ups for engaged supporters who have not yet answered an ask and more appeals for regular donors.
Reported for the Trivia Tuesday segment.
Ocean Conservancy results at a glance
Ocean Conservancy is an environmental nonprofit in Washington, DC. Text message segmentation lets nonprofits send each supporter the content they opted in for, which keeps reply rates high and opt-outs low.
| Measure | Before | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers on the trivia list | 0 | 10,700 |
| Average reply rate | — | 55.38% |
| Retention rate | — | 99.92% |
| Trivia messages with a donation ask | — | About 25% |
How to run a program like Ocean Conservancy’s
- Find what supporters enjoyBuild a segment around an interest, such as environmental trivia.
- Set a predictable rhythmSend at the same time every week so subscribers know what to expect.
- Make it two-wayAsk a question people want to answer by text.
- Add the ask sparinglyInclude a donation ask in about a quarter of messages, and an advocacy action in others.
The advocacy and fundraising program on mCommons covers every step, with SMS, MMS, RCS, and WhatsApp on one platform.
We never even imagined in our wildest dreams that we would get such a high response rate with this campaign. It's exciting having this new capacity with mobile – it's always something we wanted to do, but just needed to find the time and the right partner.
What they use
What Ocean Conservancy ran on mCommons.
SMS, MMS, RCS, and WhatsApp on one platform, with mobile strategists who help plan, write, and run each campaign alongside your team.
- Audience segments
- Weekly scheduled broadcasts
- Two-way replies
- Donation asks in the thread
Take it with you
Get the Ocean Conservancy case study as a two-page PDF.
The results, the charts, and how they did it, in a format you can forward to your team or bring to a budget meeting.
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