IT is Fine: How to raise 5 million donations for 5 hours

Vasyl Severenchuk, Associate Director, Head of HR Marketing Unit, N-iX Daryna Tsizh, Talent Marketing Manager, N-iX Mariya Havrylyshyn, Head of Talent Engagement, N-iX Anna Khomyn, Talent Marketing Manager, N-iX Yurii Zavaliy, Head of External Communications, N-iX Vorobets’ Nazar, Private Entrepreneur, Stream Production Kuzma Nazar, Private Entrepreneur, Stream Production

Background: IT companies in Ukraine have a similar market positioning and offer practically identical conditions to their target audience. As a result, in “talent” eyes, IT companies differ little from each other. Our strategic challenge was to differentiate the N-iX brand by going beyond traditional advertising. Insight: Ukrainian society is experiencing constant stress and anxiety due to the war and the challenges associated with it. In these conditions, there target audience has a demand for Ukrainian entertainment content that reflects the current realities, but everyone feels a sense of guilt for moments of joy. Is it the right time to laugh now? Can we allow ourselves small joys? These are the questions brands, ordinary people, and comedians are asking themselves. Our answer was - yes, you can. The only thing you cannot do is stop supporting the Ukrainian Army. Idea: To create a dynamic and funny live show with a really serious aim. You watch, laugh, and do not feel guilty because everything is for supporting the Ukrainian Army. It is not an advertisement, product placement, or just branded content. It is a content piece that the company planned and produced together with bloggers and opinion leaders.  Execution: Throughout the show “IT is Fine: Underground Streem XXL,” five stand-up comedy formats from Underground Stand Up competed with each other. The audience could support them by donating to the “Come Back Alive” fund. N-iX doubled the amount collected for the winning format.  Thanks to voicing the comments people left in the chat and in the Monobank app, viewers had the opportunity to influence event flow - suggest specific actions to the participants, ask questions, or express their opinions, all of which the hosts would convey in real-time. For example, Ramil and Amil Nasirov announced that they would perform the song Love ("Уходиш ну і …") with Taras Chmut, Head of Come Back Alive Fund, if they received 7 donations of 52,000 UAH and gathered this amount for less then half an hour. This part of the stream became viral and gathered 4,000,000 earned media. A measurable fundraising goal, gamification, and the ability to influence the stream through donations helped us to build emotional connection with the audience and show company values of openness and freedom. Results: 1. 5 million UAH during a 5-hour live stream, and 5 million more during the next two weeks. 2. There were 11,0000 views on YouTube during the first week. General coverage exceeded 9 million (48% of which is earned media). 3. Viral content with 5,000,000 earned. The performance of Taras Chmut, the head of the "Come Back Alive" foundation, singing the song Love ("Уходиш ну і …") with the Kurgan and Agregat generated a significant number of memes. This content was shared not only by regular social media users but also by major national platforms like NV and The Village. 4. N-iX built positive brand perception among the target audience. Throughout August and September 2023, several IT companies launched charitable initiatives aimed at attracting external talent. N-iX not only attracted the highest amount of donations but also experienced the most significant boost in brand recognition.