Donate Your Car Campaign
Kids Under Cover is an Australian not-for-profit dedicated to preventing youth homelessness since 1989. One of their key initiatives, the Donate Your Car program, turns unwanted vehicles into vital support. Donated cars are auctioned, with proceeds funding housing and education for young people at risk of homelessness. This helps them stay connected to family, school, and a brighter future.
The Kids Under Cover challenge.
Kids Under Cover approached BizWisdom with a clear objective: to increase the number of vehicles donated through their “Donate Your Car” program. The initiative had previously experienced a period of success due largely to the rising prices of used cars post-COVID.
The quantity of cars donated had plateaued, and begun to decline. This meant it was time to reinvigorate their campaign to ensure sustained support for their mission.
After conducting a thorough analysis of campaign data and market positioning, BizWisdom, somewhat surprisingly, found that Kids Under Cover already held the dominant position. This meant consistently ranking #1 for relevant search terms in the vehicle donation niche, and already enjoying strong brand recognition.
So why then were their donations decreasing?
This is the ‘aha!’ moment that built the whole campaign, a realisation that for Kids Under Cover, the job required was not to increase market share, but to grow the category. If BizWisdom could increase the number of people who were willing to donate their car, then Kids Under Cover would benefit more than any other brand, due to their existing market leader status.
With the challenge diagnosed, and the insight that the job to be done was to grow the category, not take market share. It was time to get to work. Kids Under Cover needed a high impact media campaign that was going to grow mass awareness. We needed a creative concept that captured attention in a meaningful way.
There was the creative idea, and then there was the media planning and campaign execution.
To solve the first part, BizWisdom collaborated with our brand partner, DiMarca, to reframe the narrative. Many potential donors saw their vehicles as too valuable to simply give away.
But don’t just take our word for it,
watch the success story below.
DiMarca guided in reshaping this perception by framing car donations as a transformative act. By contributing a vehicle, it wasn’t just giving it away; it was an opportunity to create significant value for youth homelessness intervention.
This insight gave rise to the campaign slogan: “Gone to a Better Home.”
With a powerful double meaning, the message conveyed that not only was the car going to serve a better purpose, but it was also going to directly impact the lives of young people by providing an actual shelter. A literal better home.
This concept became the strategic cornerstone of BizWisdom’s campaign: donating your car can create greater value than ever imagined. By tapping into both emotional resonance and social impact, it encouraged deeper engagement and action.
With the creative spark ignited, it was time to bring the campaign to life.
Creative approach.
Leveraging the campaign slogan, “Gone To A Better Home,” the creative strategy centered around visually powerful imagery of empty parking spaces to evoke a sense of absence and emotional resonance. This approach subtly highlighted the human story behind the campaign, encouraging viewers to connect with the underlying issue on a personal level.
The creative assets were strategically deployed across digital media platforms and amplified through a compelling video spot on Connected TV, ensuring broad reach and emotional impact across multiple touch points.
Campaign execution.
- Phase 1 – The Digital Launch
The campaign kicked off with Connected TV and podcast advertising, chosen for their high engagement and precise targeting. These channels were supported by social media ads to amplify reach and drive traffic. This phase built initial awareness and seeded the brand message across high-attention digital environments. - Phase 2 – The Tactical and Contextual OOH Expansion
The campaign expanded to include OOH placements at petrol stations, using video and audio formats to create a contextual link between drivers and the brand. These placements reinforced relevance and boosted visibility, deepening engagement beyond digital. - Phase 3 – The F1 Integration: Aligning Passion Points
To reach an affluent core audience of motor enthusiasts, the campaign aligned with Formula 1, running across the first six months of the F1 calendar. This phase connected the brand with performance, innovation, and prestige – values that resonate strongly with F1 fans and the target demographic.
Find out what happens when purpose meets precision advertising.
The results.
Over the course of a three-year campaign, it reached an impressive audience of over 3 million people, driving awareness at scale. This widespread engagement translated into more than 2,400 donations in support of Kids Under Cover, directly contributing to the charity’s mission of preventing youth homelessness and creating brighter futures.
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