Case study
A peer-to-peer lead generation campaign turned a single fundraising challenge into a recurring pipeline of registered participants and new supporters for Redkite.
The challenge
Redkite supports children, teenagers, and their families through childhood cancer. The Hairless Heroes Challenge, a peer-to-peer fundraising event where participants shave or colour their hair to raise money, had run before with mixed results. Registrations were inconsistent, and the campaign relied heavily on Redkite's existing supporter base rather than bringing new people into the fold.
Peer-to-peer campaigns live or die on registration volume in the first few weeks, since early participants become the ones recruiting their own networks. Redkite needed a lead generation approach built specifically for that early registration window, not a generic awareness campaign.
Our approach
We built the campaign around a paid social and search strategy focused entirely on driving registrations in the first three weeks, when peer-to-peer momentum compounds fastest. Every dollar of spend in that window was judged against one metric: sign-ups, not clicks or reach.
Creative leaned on real participant stories from the previous challenge, using UGC and testimonial content rather than generic charity messaging, since peer-to-peer campaigns convert best on social proof from people just like the person seeing the ad.
We layered in lookalike audiences built from past participants and donors, expanding beyond Redkite's existing base to reach new people who fit the same profile as those most likely to register and fundraise.
Once registrations started coming in, we shifted a portion of spend toward retargeting registered participants with sharing prompts and milestone messaging, helping their personal fundraising pages generate more of their own organic reach.
Results
The campaign delivered a 185% increase in registrations compared to the prior year's challenge, while cost per registered participant dropped 31%. Beyond the challenge itself, the campaign added over 2,400 new supporters to Redkite's database, people who hadn't engaged with the organisation before this campaign found them.
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