TFI Awareness Campaign — Case Study | Kara-Kae James
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Case Study

Foster Care Awareness — The Family Initiative

A six-month, eight-channel awareness campaign that changed the trajectory of foster family recruitment across Region 2 of Texas.

Paid Advertising Brand Awareness Multi-Channel Nonprofit 2023
TFI Foster Care Awareness Campaign
3.7M+ Total Billboard Impressions
35% Increase in Inquiries
15% Increase in New Foster Homes
8 Channels Managed
01

The Challenge

A mission-critical need — and virtually no local brand awareness.

The Family Initiative was expanding into Region 2 of Texas — Wichita Falls and Abilene — but they faced a significant problem: almost nobody in those communities knew who they were. Children in foster care need safe, loving homes, and TFI needed to recruit families who were willing to step up.

The challenge wasn't just reaching people — it was reaching the right people, in a new market, with a message emotional enough to move them to action. And they needed results fast.

02

My Approach

Show up everywhere their audience was. Then show up again.

I knew a single-channel campaign wasn't going to cut it. Building brand awareness from scratch in a new market requires saturation — reaching people on their phones, their TVs, their commute, and their inbox, repeatedly, with a consistent message.

I designed and managed a full eight-channel campaign running March through August 2023. Every channel was chosen intentionally based on audience data — including a survey of existing TFI foster parents that revealed Pandora as a key listening platform for their demographic. I handled everything: strategy, creative direction, ad copy, placement, budget management, tracking, and monthly reporting.

Facebook & Instagram 234 leads Most direct lead generation channel of the campaign
Pinterest 798K impressions Nearly 4× the 200K campaign goal
Pandora 828K impressions 106% of goal delivered — chosen based on foster parent survey data
Hulu Streaming 1.6M impressions 98.32% video completion rate vs. 82% industry standard
Digital Billboards 3.7M impressions 11 locations across Abilene & Wichita Falls
Traditional TV 503K impressions 40 spots on KFDX & KTAB
Direct Mail 5,000 postcards Targeted household delivery across both markets
Email Blasts 524 clicks Two campaigns to a purchased audience of 50,000

Top Performing Creative

The ad that broke through.

"Foster a child and create a lifetime of memories" was the standout creative of the entire campaign. It led with an emotional hook, paired with a striking visual and a clear call to action — and the numbers backed it up.

Of the four Facebook ad variations we ran, this one generated more than 3× the leads of the next best performer, at the lowest cost per lead of the group.

132 Leads Generated
328K Impressions
54,189 People Reached
$62.34 Cost Per Lead
Best performing Facebook ad - Foster a child and create a lifetime of memories

Top performing Facebook ad — "Foster a child and create a lifetime of memories"

The Results

Numbers that matter.

The campaign didn't just hit impressions goals — it moved the needle on the metrics that mattered most to TFI's mission.

35% Increase in Inquiries

Foster family inquiries increased by 35% during and following the campaign — a direct result of consistent, multi-channel exposure across the region.

15% Increase in New Foster Homes

New foster home approvals increased by 15% — translating awareness into real families stepping up to serve children in need.

3.7M+ Total Impressions (Billboards Alone)

Across all eight channels combined, the campaign generated millions of impressions — establishing TFI as a recognized name in communities that had never heard of them.

Ready to build a campaign like this?

Whether you need a single-channel push or a full multi-platform strategy — let's talk about what your organization needs to grow.