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Johnson & Johnson?s Donate-A-Photo surpasses 260K submissions, 20K users in one year

NEW YORK - An executive from Johnson & Johnson at Mobile Commerce Daily?s fifth annual Nonprofit Mobile Day on July 15 announced a number of achievements made by mobile application Donate-A-Photo, including funding more than 20,000 children?s eye exams, the purchase of 4,000 resuscitation devices for newborns and the restoration of 14 public parks. 

Having launched in 2013, Donate-A-Photo has extended its presence globally in just one year by offering donations for photo submissions. To keep the program in the foreground, executives continue to drive social promotions and push notifications and have found one-click links to app stores to be the most successful method of mobile-social advertising. 

?There is a lot of value to apps, there?s currently 1.2 million apps; that?s a lot,? said Susan Can, director for corporate equity at Johnson & Johnson, New York. ?It?s a challenge to keep our app in the focus of our consumers, which has caused us to really hone in on our content strategy and figure out how to present our content, in what way and how often.?

A photogenic strategy
Given digital philanthropy is a dynamic and competitive space, Johnson & Johnson felt it was necessary to create flexible, lightweight tools with tech experts. 

The app attempts to acquire new users through paid mobile advertising, influencer partnerships, search engine marketing and media integrations. Its organic uses of advertising are app review Web sites, social media, celebrities and other influencers, traditional media, physical promotions and more. 

Executives have seen results lacking from traditional promotion efforts, such as print ads and events. 

There is a desire for faster social actions and shareability, which creates a need for tools to be built lighter and with digital action. Since Facebook is constantly changing and often unexpectedly, programs cannot rely solely on one social platform. 

Executives have found it to be successful to post direct links to app stores while promoting on social media.

Target audiences are not simply characterized as a demographic but rather a psychographic cut, giving reason to expand reach beyond Millenials. Consumers wish to see and share the impact of their actions. 

Due to this fact, executives have used push notifications to keep the user coming back.

The app?s components
The Donate-A-Photo experience is accessible across mobile and desktop devices, but only mobile users are able to submit a photo. Desktop, tablet and laptop users can only view the collection of photos and activity impact.

Many nonprofits have utilized Donate-A-Photo, such as Children?s Miracle Network, American Heart Association, Keep America Beautiful and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Johnson & Johnson debuted the app April 2013 through a partnership with ad agency R/GA (see story).

Also on social
In June, Johnson & Johnson?s Listerine brand launched its largest global social media campaign, delivering real-time content in several languages during the FIFA World Cup as well as mobile-specific ad targeting on Twitter and Facebook.

The mouthwash brand had two news rooms staffed with sports experts and illustrators in New York and London who were tasked with delivering recaps from the biggest matches. The ?Power to Your Mouth? campaign also included content designed with the mobile user in mind (see story).

While social remains a priority for the Johnson & Johnson team, a multi-channel approach shows to reap more benefits.

?We shouldn?t forget about SMS,? Ms. Can said. ?Changes on Facebook prevented us from seeing real value from our initiatives. ?Doing good? has evolved. We wanted to extend our platform to reach consumers, so we created something flexible.

?People are on the fly and on-the-go. Our app has to be something users can do in thirty seconds. It has to be inherently social and encourage users to do something they already do.?

Final Take
Susan Can, director for corporate equity at Johnson & Johnson, New York