Vision Australia Carols by Candlelight

On December 24, 1938, Melbourne hosted its very first Carols by Candlelight when approximately 10,000 people came together at midnight at Alexandra Gardens to sing carols, backed by a small choir, two soloists and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Now a beloved Australian tradition, Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight has a wonderful history of supporting children who are blind or have low vision. 

After two years being forced to go virtual, the Carols by Candlelight 2022 event needed to show up bigger and brighter than ever — and they needed a digital fundraising experience to match. 

Develop a digital fundraising experience to complement other Carols by Candlelight fundraising mechanisms.

We wanted to gamify and build intrigue with our solution, so we invited donors to explore an interactive Carols by Candlelight flame which would grow brighter with the addition of a new star each time a donation was made.

Visitors to the site could click on each of the stars to either read the impact stories from those living with blindness or low vision, or to explore the names of the people who had most recently donated.

The results were $2 million in total revenue, 4,100 new donors who contributed to 34% of total revenue, 34% return on ad spend, and 77% decrease on cost per action. This project also received a 2022 Indigo Design Award as well as achieving the Digital and Innovative Experience Silver Award Winner, at The Anthem Awards, 2023.