Oxfam’s Second Hand September is a yearly celebration of sustainable fashion. We’ve worked together on the campaign before, but this time, the goal was to go bigger, bolder, and reach more people.
With a smaller budget than previous years, Oxfam needed a cost-effective way to engage new audiences, grow their email list, and turn sign-ups into regular givers. That meant rethinking their digital approach, and taking a chance on fresh, pop-culture-inspired messaging and an optimised supporter journey.
The result? The highest email opt-in rate, and lowest cost per acquisition for any Second Hand September campaign in the last three years.
See how we did it
Step 1. A new, unexpected hook
With a limited budget, we knew we’d have to be more imaginative to get people’s attention. We sifted through a mountain of facts about the environmental impact of fast fashion, but in the end landed on a peppier, pop-culture hook: the Fashion Detective.
This hook also allowed us to lean into the bright, eye-catching design elements of the wider campaign. The quiz and ads felt fresh and maybe a little unexpected from a big NGO.
Step 2. The quiz
Inspired by the trend of designer dupes and fashion head to heads, we invited participants to guess designer clothes against their high-street equivalents. The twist: all clothes featured were available to shop on Oxfam’s online shop. This gave us the chance to showcase Oxfam’s retail offering, in line with the goals of the wider Second Hand September Campaign.
After completing the quiz, players were given a signup ask related to the environmental impact of fast fashion, inviting people to take part in Second Hand September. And, to sweeten the deal, we threw in a 15% discount code for people who opted in.
Step 3. The A/B tested journey
At Forward Action, we love a post-action ask. For a quiz, we’d usually use the following journey:
Take the quiz > Sign up ask > Results > Donate
But, we also love an A/B test. We thought we might get more donations if we played around with this tried-and-tested formula, and came up with two journeys to test:
A. Take the quiz > Sign up > Donate > Results + share
B. Take the quiz > Sign up > Results + share > Donate
The results were clear: journey A saw a higher conversion rate and fewer drop-offs. It’s clear that people weren’t put off by receiving a donate ask before they got their results – and were more motivated to go through the whole journey.
Step 4. Further engagement on email
Opted-in subscribers received a follow-up email journey designed to deepen their engagement with Second Hand September. This included sustainable fashion tips, second-hand shopping highlights, and ways to continue supporting Oxfam.
The results
10,336
new sign-ups to
Second Hand September
93%
opting in to email
58
new regular givers,
surpassing all targets
despite a smaller budget
The 2024 campaign showed the power of taking creative risks and investing in the supporter experience. By leaning into pop culture and fine-tuning every step after sign-up, we didn’t just get more people opting in to emails, we gave them a reason to stay engaged.
