Jane Goodall Institute drove over 1000 mobile donations with a square video ad.
The Goal

Raising awareness & driving donations

The Jane Goodall Institute was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall. The Institute’s mission is to protect chimpanzees and, by doing so, improve the lives of people, animals, and the environment. In an effort to spread the word about critical issues facing our generation and advance Jane Goodall’s vision and work, the organization decided to turn to video and see what a targeted Facebook campaign could do for them.

The Solution

Repurposing photos and video clips to create a compelling video ad

In order to raise awareness for their cause, the Jane Goodall Institute used photos and video clips that they already had on hand to quickly create a video that used custom text to share information about the decline of the chimpanzee population. The video was created with Animoto and uses the song “The Big Day (Instrumental)” by Michael Maina from our music library.

Ashley Sullivan, Community Engagement Specialist, says, “As a non-profit founded by one of the world's greatest storytellers, Dr. Jane Goodall, telling our story is essential and the best way to present ourselves as the holistic conservation organization we are, on social media and other platforms.” They were able to tell this story using Animoto.

They posted the video on Facebook with the description, “With your support, we can continue to protect chimpanzees and conserve critical habitats, making the world better for people, animals and the environment. Donate today!” and a special call to action to “Donate Now,” directing viewers to their donation website.

Animoto makes it easy to tell the Jane Goodall Institute's story in a share-worthy way that also drives donations.
Ashley Sullivan,

Community Engagement Specialist

The results

Driving mobile donations

Before posting their square video ad, the Jane Goodall Institute ran an A/B test on Facebook. They tested a square version of the video against a landscape version, spending $50 on each. The square video resulted in 2X the views and 3X the shares as the landscape video. As a result, they invested an additional $200 into the square video campaign.

With the help of an Animoto video, the Jane Goodall Institute secured 1388 donations. 76% of the donations came from viewers on mobile devices, and a large percentage of these viewers were served the square video variation. This is no surprise when you consider that over 90% of Facebook’s daily users log into Facebook on mobile devices and square is a format that stands out on mobile.

With 500 shares, nearly 2000 reactions, and 28,000 views, the square format was a success for the Jane Goodall Institute. Ashley says, “We’ll definitely keep using products like Animoto to bring people into the JGI world in new and interesting ways.”

Key takeaways

Repurpose photos & video clips you already have
Use text to tell a compelling story
Use square videos to stand out on mobile

Make your own video in minutes

Create and share videos for free. Upgrade anytime for more customization.