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From 9AM to 11PM, we went live at the top of the hour every hour. Each show focused on a specific fund or a giving priority for the University such as athletics, student organizations, STEM, study abroad and veterans & military affairs. Although each show was kept to 15-20 minutes or less, we made sure to include content and guests that could speak to each of these areas and highlight the importance of giving to that fund. The Syracuse team also expressed the importance of their students’ involvement in the day; each hour, we had student co-hosts that would sit alongside our host and help conduct interviews with guests and share their own SU experiences. Over the course of 15 shows, we featured 11 different student co-hosts, had 20+ live guests, and highlighted at least 10 specific University giving priorities.
A key priority throughout the broadcast was the call to action to give. Throughout the day, we incorporated graphics that directly encouraged people to give to the specific areas that were being talked about live. Similar graphics were also included in the graphics that ran between live shows, so that people visiting the giving site in that downtime could still see these areas being promoted. We also found ways to encourage interaction with the audience, which is one advantage to being live! The hosts prompted the audience with chat questions and trivia, promoted giveaways, showcased student photos from the photo booth, and called out messages from the SU community that came in via social media and the chat.
In terms of our physical set, we positioned ourselves in a heavily trafficked area of SU’s student center. That way, students and faculty couldn’t help but notice the action. Speakers flanked both sides of our set, so that anyone walking by could listen in. We also had a side stage set where our student “update host” lived for the majority of the day. This would serve as a cutaway from our main set so that the student host could call out people from the chat and give updates on giving throughout the day. That side stage included a computer and monitor so that the student update host could actually walk the audience through the giving site to show off the progress of the day.
In advance of Giving Day, our team produced content for SU to use as promotional material as well as content to use in the broadcast itself. We visited campus for two days to shoot a promo video with their mascot, sit down with a professor and student researchers to talk about their cutting edge work, and record a scripted video about why giving to Syracuse University matters.
Though much of our team was working on the broadcast over the course of the day, we also had a photo booth up and running for students. This gave students the opportunity to come over, put on some fun props, and walk away with branded Giving Day photos to share.
The Advancement Team also hosted a Giving Day Carnival in the student center, complete with old-school carnival games and treat. This included the photo booth, where students could spin a wheel to win SU prizes including a printed photo from the photo booth, an opportunity to be featured on the broadcast, and a small photo frame. We had a team member stationed there for 9 hours running students through how to use the photo booth and printing photos for students. We were also able to showcase these photos during various hours of our broadcast, as well as on the big screen in the student center to give students their 15 seconds of fame. The photo booth proved to be a hit among students!
An important part of Giving Day is thanking your donors. The Syracuse University team wanted to do this in a personalized way that wasn’t just students saying “thank you” directly to camera. A consistent thread in the storytelling around SU Giving Day continued to come back to Syracuse stories. With more gifts come more Syracuse stories. We set up a mic and a podium outside on campus and asked students to tell their own Syracuse stories; the goal was to have students share something cool that they’ve had the chance to experience by attending SU. This was a great way to show donors where their money goes, and what their gifts can help students experience. The result was a plethora of great student stories that we used to cut together a short video for the Syracuse team to send to their donors to thank them for their gifts on Giving Day.
We’re always looking for ways to make content live beyond the day of the actual event. Along with the stewardship video, our team also put together a collection of highlight videos. One from the day as a whole, and one highlighting the content and breadth of the broadcast.
At the end of the day, Syracuse University exceeded their donor goal with over 7,200 donors and raised over $1.6 million!
Interested in creating content for your Giving Day or producing a live show? We’d love to chat!
