CAF is a charity set up to help other charities by working with donors, companies and charities to encourage and facilitate a culture of giving.
It approached digital direct agency Cheeze with its donations idea, resulting in an email, digital advertising and PR campaign driving people to the microsite created by Cheeze's sister digital agency Hyperlaunch.
The site urges people to give up a bad present in favour of supporting their favourite charity. It allows them to put together a fun email to their friends specifying which novelty present they do not want -- for example a dancing sunflower -- and which charity they would rather their friends made a donation too.
The idea has also been translated into a widget people can embed on their own webpage or Facebook page.
To drive people to the microsite, Cheeze created an email which has been sent to 60,000 CAF account holders as well as banner ads.
After Christmas, a post-campaign email will be sent to those who used the microsite asking them what their worst gifts were and suggesting ways they can use them to support a charity, such as selling them on an eBay charity auction or donating to a charity shop.
Julie Gayler, head of marketing at CAF, said: "We were very impressed by Cheeze's ability to get up to speed quickly on the project. They immediately understood what we were trying to achieve with the campaign and came up with an exciting and inventive concept."
