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This mailing was part of the major media campaign ran by Mercy Ships in Flanders at the end of 2018. Cath Luyten, a Flemish celebrity, was the campaign figurehead. She went on board the Africa Mercy hospital ship and then spoke about her experiences on Flemish TV and radio talk shows. Our mailing campaign took advantage of the huge media attention paid to Luyten as a Mercy Ships ambassador. We used photos from her visit to the hospital ship in the Dutch version of the mailing’s folder and letter.

The media campaign – which only ran in Flanders – had a clear impact on results. We recruited twice as many new donors on the Dutch-speaking side than in Wallonia. The average donation was also significantly higher from Flemish donors.

The fact that the French version of the mailing (without a huge media campaign or reference to Cath Luyten) also worked so well is thanks to the strong copy used in the letter and the lovely large calendar sent to donors.

In general terms, the campaign was very successful. The total response rate and average donation were very high compared to the average results from the Mercy Ships recruitments in 2018.