In the early hours of 6 February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit southern and central Turkey and north-western Syria, causing instant devastation. Within 48 hours, over 11,500 deaths had been reported. On 9 February, the Disasters Emergency Committee launched the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal to help provide vital resources and aid.

The success of a DEC appeal is dependent on the support of multiple stakeholders, including news and broadcast partners. This appeal had one central goal: to maximise emergency fundraising as quickly as possible. The challenge for the DEC and its agency was to swiftly plan and execute a multi-channel news media campaign in a matter of hours.

The most effective emergency fundraising campaigns are dependent on maximising and keeping up with the news agenda. The DEC’s strategy was simple: be fast,big, broadand relevant. News brands provide a trusted environment and despite the huge presence of digital and social in the media landscape, print provided the perfect platform, with coupon insertion the most effective format for delivering an instant income. The appeal was approved by the DEC Board at 11am on 7 February and by 14:30, plans were delivered to news brands, TV and online.

Insertions ran across several national news publications across the industry. In addition, an SMS call to action was included in the insertion; both Metro and Evening Standard readership responded well to this method. For online news outlets, DEC partnered with Quantcast and Nano to deliver different sized digital formats. DEC also worked with Mail Metro Media and the i to deliver 24 hour homepage take-overs.

In the first two weeks of the appeal, £4,367,515 wasraised, entirely attributable to the media campaign. Over 58,500 people donatedto the appeal. Press was the highest achieving media channel, delivering a 7.7 attributed ROI, surpassing both TV and digital. It was the DEC’s second-most effective campaign ever.

As a result of the campaign, DEC charities have been able to provide vital humanitarian aid. In Syria, 427,501 people were given access to safe drinking water and 48,260 people accessed improved health services. In Turkey, 112,577 people received food assistance and 30,441 households were given cash assistance.

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