We’re thrilled to announce that six Blue State projects have been honored by the Anthem Awards, which celebrate purpose and mission-driven work of people and companies across the globe.
In 2024, their most competitive year yet, the Anthem Awards — an arm of the Webby Awards — received more than 2,300 entries from over 30 countries. The following projects, which range from fundraising and advocacy campaigns to engagement and awareness campaigns to bespoke branding and events, demonstrate the breadth and depth of Blue State’s partnerships and portfolio. And, especially in this moment, we’re incredibly proud to reflect on a year of progress for the causes we care about, including what we accomplished with these Anthem-Award-winning partners:
Mercy Corps, We Won’t Stop: Silver Anthem Winner in Special Projects
With limited humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, and up to half of the population (estimated 1.1M people) facing starvation, Mercy Corps sought to deliver as many food kits as possible to families across the Rafah border. Blue State utilized paid and organic promotion to help Mercy Corps show audiences firsthand the challenges of distributing food kits and the direct impact of food kits on people’s lives.
This campaign helped raise over $100,000 to deliver more food packages to impacted people in Gaza, with 750 first-time donors contributing to the crisis in the last quarter alone. In addition to activating donors, over 20,000 new supporters took action and signed a petition in support of a ceasefire.
Read more about our work with Mercy Corps.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), No Matter What: Silver Anthem Winner in Campaign – Non-Profit
Blue State collaborated with UNFPA on a global campaign to highlight UNFPA’s role in creating safe birthing spaces for expectant mothers in conflict zones, like Gaza or Syria. Our research indicated “safety” was a core value worth amplifying — because while mothers in UNFPA’s audience could likely relate to the necessity of maternal healthcare, they may not have considered what care is available or required in extreme circumstances.
The campaign took supporters on a journey, ushering them from awareness to conversion, and then encouraging them to support the program by demonstrating the tangible impact of their gift — whether funding emergency birthing kits, training a midwife, or providing supplies. The campaign’s channel mix was optimized for the entire funnel and helped drive a threefold growth in income for the organization.
Read more about our work with UNFPA.
Amnesty International USA, Mobilizing for an Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza: Silver Anthem Winner in Rapid Response Campaign
Days after the crisis emerged in Gaza in October 2023, Amnesty International USA mobilized its supporters to demand an immediate ceasefire. Blue State quickly stepped in to help the team launch a multi-channel initiative that included an in-person White House activation, a ceasefire partner toolkit, social media activations, and a joint-action petition.
One million people from around the world signed on in support, with more than 100,000 of those signers driven by Amnesty International USA. In total, the campaign generated more than 150,000 emails sent to decision makers, nearly 7,000 phone calls made to the White House and Congress, and $420,000 raised for future work.
Read more about our work with Amnesty International USA.
Caltech, Forming the Caltech Initiative for Students: Bronze Anthem Winner in School/University
Consistently ranked within the top ten universities in the world, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a world-renowned science and engineering institute. When Caltech wanted to invest more in supporting student health, wellness, and overall experience — and set an ambitious goal to raise $250m to fund those initiatives — they tasked the Blue State team with creating a brand, website, and related collateral that would support the launch of their capital campaign. From there, The Caltech Initiative for Students was born.
With a bespoke platform, video, and visual & messaging toolkit — which helped the project create immediate impact — the initiative has helped Caltech raise 53% of their $200M campaign goal and they are expanding undergrad scholarships and graduate fellowships, improving access to health, wellness and career advising programs and expanding co-curricular activities that promote vital life skills.
Read more about our work with Caltech.
Comic Relief, Digital Red Nose Day: Bronze Anthem Winner in Event
Red Nose Day was seeking to update and transform their annual telethon into a more sustainable year-round campaign with initiatives including Comic Relief fundraisers, a winter appeal, pre- and post- Red Nose Day activities, and Sport Relief promotion.
With a media budget of £438K, Blue State’s efforts raised over £1.5M and, for the first time in more than a decade, Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day raised over £40m—a 13.5% year-over-year increase.
Read more about our work with Comic Relief.
Greater Than Hate: Bronze Anthem Winner in Partnership or Collaboration
An effort that brought together eight of the nation’s leading human rights organizations under one movement, Greater Than Hate worked to put a stop to extremist politicians who promoted legislation limiting access to lifesaving health care for women and transgender people, attempted to control the curriculum around gender, banned books, and used rhetoric that fuels gun violence that disproportionately impacts people of color. Blue State collaborated with the coalition to bring the Greater Than Hate brand to life across digital channels and offline and activate a groundswell force for good.
Over 6,900+ supporters joined the campaign within the first six months across six activations that reached over 4M people. Over 5,900+ supporter actions were taken including signatures on a Freedom to Read pledge calling on politicians to stop banning books and a letter rejecting Moms for Liberty.