Released at the end of 2015, The Plans I Have for YOU devotional is a 90 day devotional created for elementary age children. The devotional is penned by children’s authors Amy Parker and Vanessa Brantley-Newton.  Amy Parker has sold more than thirty books for children, teens, and adults. She has also collaborated with authors ranging from New York Times bestsellers to her very own son. Two of her collaborations are recipients of Christian Retailing’s Best awards, and she has also won three Mom’s Choice Awards. Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter. Her passion for children’s books began when she came across The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats as a child in the 1960s. (Source.)

Why they chose FrontGate Media:
FrontGate is the largest web & events network and marketing service reaching the faith-based audience.  Zondervan is a consistent client, working with FrontGate on various projects at any given time for advertising placement, public relations and/or social marketing.  This particular campaign focused on FrontGate’s Web Network member the FlyBy Blogger Network which gives us the ability to secure premium placement by reaching out to 1,000+ key Christian bloggers with a total audience of nearly 10 million visitors per month.  We guarantee a minimum participation for the FlyBy program so it’s like a blogger newswire, but with a guaranteed minimum pickup.

Campaign Details:
Working with Zondervan’s media agency, we confirmed the “Tier 2 Package” from the media kit (click the link for the Media Kit PDF.) The extensive marketing package includes a minimum of 80 bloggers reviewing the product, a minimum of 80 posts from those same bloggers across social media platforms, and an accompanying 80 contest giveaways hosted by the blogger network.

Target Audience:
The target audience for this campaign was parents of adolescent children who would be in the age range of the devotional, as well as loved ones who might be purchasing the book as a gift such as grandparents or other family members. Because the FlyBy bloggers are also largely mothers themselves, we pointed out that the client would have a strong potential connection not just with the blog readers, but with the writers themselves in reviewing this devotional for children aged 8-12.

Results:
This campaign had very successful results, with each FlyBy blogger creating organic, quality content and reviews along with a giveaway creating additional reinforcement and frequency. Our campaign reported higher than the minimum participation rate, generating over 600,000 impressions from the resulting blogs. Each review included details about the book, links and publishing details, and trustworthy reviews from parents and bloggers who were from the perfect demographic groups. In addition, some bloggers created unique graphics (right), as well as YouTube video reviews like this one. On social media, word spread quickly, demonstrated by the massive reach creating more than 2,700,000 social impressions across all platforms.

“We were very happy with the results from The Plans I Have For You campaign. We had a great response that resulted in even greater exposure for our new product!”– Sara Merritt, Marketing Director, Zondervan

“In the campaign report summary, a $2,950 campaign created more than 600,000 impressions plus social impression of more than 2,700,000. That totals 3,333,000+ impressions for only $2,950. That’s a CPM of $0.885! I’m happy to share the written results in person and discuss a similar campaign strategy together. ” – Mike Hatcher, Engagement Team Manager, FrontGate Media.

If you’d like to receive more information about the FlyBy blogger network, or to find out how our targeted marketing strategies can launch your product as well, contact Mike Hatcher at 949-429-1000 or use the Request Form on our web site.