Effective Digital Storytelling Strategies with Neda Azarfar & Charlie Kunzer

Summary

Nonprofit Nation Podcast Summary: Effective Digital Storytelling Strategies with Neda Azarfar & Charlie Kunzer

Release Date: April 16, 2025

In this compelling episode of Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell, host Julia Campbell delves into the transformative power of digital storytelling within the nonprofit sector. Joining Julia are Charlie Kuntzer, Executive Director of Alima USA, and Neda Zarfer, Managing Director of NazarWorks. Together, they explore the intricacies of Alima's "Ode to Strangers" campaign, a pioneering digital storytelling initiative aimed at highlighting the critical issue of maternal health in Sub-Saharan Africa through heartfelt narratives.

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1. Understanding Maternal Healthcare Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa

Charlie Kuntzer begins by outlining the severe challenges faced by mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa. He emphasizes the scarcity of medical facilities, long distances to health centers, and a critically low number of healthcare professionals. Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Charlie states:

"In Africa, about 70% of the world's maternal deaths occur. Alima is working to close the gaps in access to care across this region, assisting in approximately 72,000 births last year alone." (03:02)

Charlie details Alima’s efforts in countries like Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Chad, Guinea, and Sudan, focusing on providing midwives, conducting community outreach, and implementing innovative solutions such as leveraging technology to track and support high-risk pregnancies.

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2. The Genesis of the "Ode to Strangers" Campaign

Julia shifts the conversation to the "Ode to Strangers" campaign, seeking insights from Charlie on its unique storytelling approach. Charlie recounts a pivotal moment that inspired the campaign's direction:

"I was visiting a friend at the hospital, and after hearing an incredible story from his parents about their harrowing journey as Vietnamese refugees, I realized the profound impact of random acts of kindness from strangers." (05:52)

Despite initial reservations about using storytelling—believing it might be overdone—they recognized the authenticity and emotional depth that such narratives could bring. This realization led to the creation of a campaign that celebrates selfless compassion and the role of strangers in saving lives.

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3. Embracing Storytelling Over Traditional Campaigns

Charlie elucidates why Alima chose a storytelling approach rather than traditional awareness or fundraising campaigns:

"We've always been a bit more daring and creative in our digital campaigns. Storytelling allows us to highlight real-life accounts that resonate deeply with people, breaking through the noise of more conventional approaches." (10:45)

Neda Zarfer adds that incorporating artistic elements like animations and music was crucial in visually engaging the audience while maintaining the campaign's emotional resonance.

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4. Navigating Story Permissions and Selection

Julia poses a critical question about the challenges nonprofits face in obtaining permissions to share personal stories. Charlie explains Alima's transparent approach:

"We let people know upfront about the campaign and what we aim to do. This transparency made individuals comfortable sharing their stories, even though it required sensitive handling to respect their privacy and emotional well-being." (13:04)

They sourced stories internationally through extensive networking and outreach, ensuring a diverse and authentic representation of maternal experiences.

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5. Creative and Artistic Elements in Storytelling

The creative direction of the campaign is a testament to the collaboration between Alima and NazarWorks. Charlie credits Malou Lara, NazarWorks' Creative Director, for her visionary approach:

"Malou's idea to use illustrations allowed us to preserve the authenticity of the stories while protecting the privacy of the mothers. Animation became essential to convey complex emotions and scenarios effectively." (17:11)

The incorporation of custom ambient tracks by Massive Music further enhanced the storytelling, providing atmospheric context that enabled audiences to emotionally connect with each narrative.

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6. Converting Storytelling into Donor Action

Addressing the crucial aspect of donor conversion, Charlie shares insights on balancing storytelling with fundraising objectives:

"While storytelling is excellent for awareness and audience building, converting that engagement into donations requires clear goal-setting and understanding your target audience. For Alima, the primary aim was awareness, but for fundraising-focused campaigns, strategies might differ." (21:38)

He emphasizes the importance of aligning storytelling efforts with specific fundraising goals and tailoring strategies to meet those objectives effectively.

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7. Leveraging Digital Platforms and Influencers

Neda Zarfer discusses the digital strategies employed in the campaign, highlighting the success of Instagram and influencer partnerships:

"Instagram provided significant organic engagement. Influencers, particularly those connected to the health sector, resonated with the stories and helped amplify the campaign's reach by sharing their own related experiences." (27:25)

This approach not only broadened the campaign's visibility but also directed traffic to Alima's landing page, fostering deeper connections and encouraging further exploration of Alima's mission.

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8. Lessons for Small and Mid-Sized Nonprofits

Charlie offers invaluable advice for nonprofits with limited budgets:

"Money isn't everything. Be big in other areas like imagination and quality. Give your team the time and creative freedom to develop impactful stories. Prioritize quality over quantity and trust your creative partners to deliver exceptional results." (30:17)

He underscores the importance of investing time and fostering a collaborative environment to maximize the impact of storytelling efforts, even with constrained resources.

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9. Connecting with Alima and NazarWorks

As the conversation wraps up, both Charlie and Neda provide avenues for listeners to learn more and engage with their work:

• Charlie Kuntzer invites listeners to explore Alima's initiatives and visit the "Ode to Strangers" campaign through their website.

• Neda Zarfer encourages following NazarWorks on various social media platforms and visiting their website to discover the full range of services they offer to nonprofits.

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Conclusion

This episode of Nonprofit Nation serves as an inspiring guide for nonprofits aiming to harness the power of digital storytelling. Through the "Ode to Strangers" campaign, Alima USA and NazarWorks demonstrate how authentic, emotionally charged narratives can elevate a nonprofit's mission, engage a broader audience, and foster meaningful connections that drive real-world impact. Listeners are left with actionable insights on crafting compelling stories, leveraging digital platforms, and aligning storytelling strategies with organizational goals to build thriving movements.

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Key Takeaways:

• Authenticity in storytelling fosters deep emotional connections.
• Creative collaborations, such as with artists and musicians, enhance narrative impact.
• Transparency and sensitive handling are crucial when sharing personal stories.
• Digital platforms and influencer partnerships can significantly amplify campaign reach.
• Quality and creative freedom can make a substantial difference, even with limited budgets.
• Align storytelling strategies with specific organizational goals for effective outcomes.

For more insights and resources, visit NazarWorks and Alima NGO. Discover the "Ode to Strangers" campaign here.

Transcript

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[Julia Campbell]

Hello and welcome to Nonprofit Nation. I'm your host Julia Campbell and I'm going to sit down with nonprofit industry experts, fundraisers, marketers, and everyone in between to get real and discuss what it takes to build that movement that you've been dreaming of. I created the Nonprofit Nation podcast to share practical wisdom and strategies to help you confidently find your voice, definitively grow your audience and effect build your movement. If you're a nonprofit newbie or an experienced professional who's looking to get more visibility, reach more people and create even more impact, then you're in the right place. Let's get started.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Hello.

[Julia Campbell]

Hello, this is Nonprofit Nation. I'm your host, Julia Campbell. And today we have a topic that is really close to my heart. Served in the Peace Corps in Senegal and West Africa for about three years working on maternal health issues. So we know that childbirth is a universally significant experience, but for too many mothers around the world, it is also a life threatening one. And in this episode we explore the urgent maternal health crisis in Sub Saharan Africa and the power of storytelling to drive change. So joining me today are Charlie Kuntzer, Executive Director of Alima usa, and Nett Zarfer, Managing Director of Nazar Works. And they're going to take us behind the scenes of Aleema's Ode to Strangers campaign, which is a powerful digital storytelling initiative that sheds light on the life saving impact of compassionate strangers. And I will have all the links in the show notes. So welcome Charlie and Netta.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Thank you so much. Happy to be here.

[Julia Campbell]

So Charlie, can you start by painting a picture of maternal healthcare in the regions where Alima works?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Yeah, absolutely. So as you mentioned, Alima is a humanitarian aid organization and we work predominantly in Sub Saharan Africa and also in Haiti. And as you know, giving birth is an incredibly difficult experience or can be for sure. And this is especially for mothers living in poverty or what we call resource poor settings, which is sort of global health speak. And quite often they have limited access to health care. So in the sub Saharan countries where Alima operates, mothers face even greater obstacles, often many of which can be life threatening. And this is lack of medical facilities. So there could be great distances to health centers and a shortage, of course, of health workers like doctors, nurses and midwives. This is also Africa, where about 70% of the world's maternal health, so maternal deaths occur. So what Arima is doing and with our medical teams is really to close the gaps in access to care across this region in countries like Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Chad, guinea and Sudan, to name a few. So last year alone, for instance, Alima assisted in about 72,000 births. And this is the, you know, and we also really want to look into how we can improve this access and find more innovative solutions to provide more care to more mums.

[Julia Campbell]

Of course, just to add on to that, how does Alima address the challenges that mothers and newborns face in sub Saharan Africa?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Yeah, they could be. I mean, the main thing is really just to provide midwives and health staff.

[Nett Zarfer]

And also a lot of it is.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

To do community outreach to let the mums and the families know that the safe go to the health center is a safer place to give birth. And as I mentioned was the research side of what we're doing is, for instance, in Central African Republic, we're doing a pilot at the moment where we're using iPads or tablets, essentially, not necessarily iPads, where the traditional birth attendants, which is essentially the midwife in the village, they might not necessarily have formal training where they can use this app and track the pregnant women in their care and also then flag which ones are risky pregnancies and be sure that they can go to the health center and give birth when the time comes to try and increase the survival rate essentially of both the mum and the baby.

[Julia Campbell]

So I know, Neta, you work for Nazar, sorry, Works, that's the marketing agency working with Aleema on this specific campaign called Ode to Strangers. And I think what's so unique about this campaign is it really takes this sort of unique emotional approach to storytelling. So, Neta, can you tell us, like, what inspired the campaign and how did it transpire?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Yeah, it was a little bit serendipitous, actually, because we were at a point where we knew Alima's goal for the campaign and we knew it was going to be around maternal health, and we were just Figuring out what the concept would be, coming up with ideas and filtering things out. And I happened to be visiting a friend at the hospital and in the waiting room I start, you know, chit chatting with his parents. And I don't even really know how, but next thing I know, they start telling me the story about how they gave birth to him. And it was just incredible. I mean, they were Vietnamese refugees, it was right after the war. The mother was in labor and when they get to the camp, but told that it was over full and, you know, go sail that way to that island. So they get into this, you know, small boat and go towards some island in, you know, in Indonesia. There was a storm. Apparently they were shot at. They finally make it. He's, you know, chopping, you know, down trees to try to create some sort of shelter. And it goes, you know, days like this and she's not doing well and he can tell, you know, she's gonna die. So he runs off to, you know, find some people on this island. He finds someone and somehow, despite the language barrier, communicates what's going on. And this total random woman believes him, trusts him to follow him along to this uninhabited part of the island in the middle of the storm. And long story short, now here they were. And I'm looking at them, you know, these people, and they're just mild mannered and you would never think it, you know, they're just put together, just look like totally ordinary middle class American grandparents, right? But they've got this just extraordinary, amazing, I can't even believe it type of story. And it just like stuck with me. And so I was meeting with our creative director, Malou that evening and truth be told, we had considered storytelling as a campaign direction, but we'd kind of both passed on it. We felt it had been done before. And it didn't feel like a particularly inspired concept to go to Alima with. But I couldn't stop thinking about the story. So I tell her the story and at the end we're just, you know, crying and like, no, we were wrong. There's a lot of inspiration here. We just have to find the right stories and draw out the bits that will strike a chord with people. And for us, the thing that stood out the most was just the randomness, the ostensible randomness of it all. I mean, my friend's mother, she doesn't know that woman's name. They didn't know each other. She doesn't remember her face. That woman. This just boggles the mind. That woman to this Day, if she's alive, doesn't know the impact that she had, you know, and the family that she, you know, that went on to become, you know, because of her actions. So it's just like, is that the most truest form of altruism in a way, right? Like people who they, there's no personal relationship, there's zero vested interest. They're just do the right thing. And it felt like that's Aleema's target audience, right? Like that type of person is who we're trying to reach. These people whose compassion transcends, you know, personal relationships or even language, you know, and nationality. And so that was how it came to be. And that's how we came up with Ode to Strangers pretty much right. In that same conversation, we thought, let's make these people the focal point of the campaign, you know, Alima's core target audience that they're trying to reach. And the rest of it also just happened really quickly. The lines, you don't need to be there to be there. You could be a stranger. Who cares? That was just to underscore how, you know, maybe that story hinges on proximity. But nowadays with organizations like Alima, you don't have to physically be in the middle of a crisis with someone to be that stranger. Right, so that was it. It was just random. Lucky came together quick.

[Julia Campbell]

So, Charlie, what. Why did you choose this approach rather than maybe a more traditional awareness or fundraising campaign? You know, what are sort of some of the elements of this that really interested you?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Yeah, we really took the storytelling approach to sort of highlight this real life accounts of mums that really rang true for us. We've always been quite, dare I say it, kind of a bit more daring and a bit creative and a bit more artistic in our approach to digital campaigns. It's probably largely to do with the fact that we have this wonderful relationship with Neda. And it's all about kind of breaking through and being seen and being eye catching and piquing people's interest and attention. Because these are more traditional campaigns. They work well, of course, but there are a lot of them, right. You just want to break this, you know, break through and stand out a bit.

[Nett Zarfer]

So we have quite.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

This is probably our third campaign where we worked with artists to bring the message and to highlight it and frankly, like, show the stories about mothers giving birth in the situations where we're seeing it, but also really tying it to what you can do. Like how. Because it's very like, oh, you know, whatever, millions of people are in need.

[Nett Zarfer]

It'S very hard to.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

For people to sort of bring their heads around that. Right. But here is someone you can, you know, bringing that. You can have one person. You can be that stranger who cares. And that really kind of rung true.

[Nett Zarfer]

With all of us.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

We thought that was a very interesting pitch, and we thought that one might really resonate with people.

[Julia Campbell]

I think that's really interesting. So I think this. Well, this is a question really kind of for both of you. But, Netta, as a marketing professional, I know that, you know, a lot of nonprofits really struggle with getting permission to share, like, really personal stories or even any kind of stories at all. Some have confidentiality issues and really struggle to get these either client stories or people that have been impacted. So how did you navigate this process of getting these stories? Like, how did you decide which stories to tell, and how did you navigate the process of getting permission for this campaign specifically?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

We let people know upfront. This is what we're doing. We're putting together this campaign. We're looking for stories like this, you know, say people.

[Julia Campbell]

You mean clients. Alima's, the people that Lima serves.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

No, because these stories are not Alima Patient stories. One of them is.

[Julia Campbell]

This is for.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

One of them is.

Yeah, one of them is.

Right.

So that's why I think for the Lima patient stories, there's a process, and that's. That's what Charlie really does. For the campaign specifically. It was for a campaign specifically. And so when we did the outreach, they knew from the beginning, this is what we want to do with it.

[Julia Campbell]

This is our intention.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

This is our intention with it. And even then, I'll just say, you know, people were comfortable to share their stories. But then when you're saying, okay, now we're selecting, people were happy to share their stories. Okay. But then when you're telling. But then now, okay, we're choosing your stories, you almost. For some of the moms, it was like a shift of like, oh, no, now everyone's going to know my, you know, personal business. Right? Because a lot of these people, they came through that crisis, and now they're in a totally different place in space. So they don't necessarily. A lot of them hadn't even processed the trauma. So it was a different type of conversation going into it where they all knew and they were agreeing and they were excited to share. And then when we were talking about, okay, well, now how are we going to actually do this and present this? Then that's when it got more real with people.

[Julia Campbell]

Okay, how did you source this where did you find women to share the stories?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

We emailed people, so we're pretty. My group is pretty international. And, you know, I have a very big network. Malou has a very big network. She's Brazilian. She lives in Europe and America, in, you know, South America. I'm Persian, so I have friends in Asia. I have friends in Europe, I have friends in America. We have the Alima team. They're obviously very international. And so we all just. There was a period of sourcing where there was an email, phone calls, and we got a ton of stories, really, and overwhelming. And it was probably like the most beautiful, like, window of 2024 was reading through and just talking to people and just seeing how much beauty there is in this world, actually, that you don't always get to see. So that's how we sourced it.

Yeah, we actually discovered. Well, I remember a story that we then ended up using was a woman in Cameroon who had given birth to triplets in a kind of rural area. And she nearly. She was in a pretty bad way. And they. A neighbor to visit her and said, look, I know there's a hospital that this organization is running. Let me take you there. She was quickly, oh, I think Alima actually sent an ambulance for this woman and they took her to the hospital and two out of the three babies survived, but they wouldn't. None of them would have made it if she hadn't gone to hospital. And she just has this really lovely quote afterwards saying, you know, this is a hospital that's been built by the kindness of strangers, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that. So that kind of really resonated with us. And we already had. When we started talking, I was going to go through my memory library of all the stories I've heard of alima patients over 10 years, and she's one that really stands out.

[Julia Campbell]

Yeah, I really like it. If people are interested, I will put the link in the show notes. It's owed to strangers. Alima A L I M O N G O and the videos and the stories are absolutely beautiful. There's so many creative elements with animations and music and Neda, how did you decide and how did you land on that kind of storytelling, those kind of creative elements, the artistic elements, I love them.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Well, thank you. I have to say that's really the role of our creative director, Malou Lara, knowing which elements to use and how. And Malou is seasoned and strong and she's got a very clear point of view and a big thing for her is not just to and for, you know, for us. Right. This is why we love working with each other is. Is. It's not just to do the job that the client wants, but, like, let's try to make something really special. So that was, you know, going into it, there was definitely a vision, but communications is a live art form. Right. And so we also needed to be very responsive to the reality. So we went into it. We knew that we wanted the stories to be central, and we wanted people to know that they were real and the mothers were real. We considered shooting, but, you know, cost, location, and importantly, kind of like what I mentioned, once we got to a certain point, some of the moms were quite hesitant about, you know, being so known in that way. You're known for that publicly. And so those realities closed some doors creatively and then opened others. So Malou had the idea of, let's do illustrations, and she found the artist, and we gave reference images and photos of the woman to preserve that authenticity, but kind of said, you know, you have creative freedom to do your thing. And that way their privacy would be protected also. And to keep them in, we did the audio interviews with the moms and turned those into the narratives. The stories, though, were really intense. I mean, we cut a lot, but it was still just too much to convey. So animation was a necessity to keep people engaged visually while the audio played, but also just as a visual communications tool to clue people in on what's happening and set a scene without having to explain it all in words. Right. That was really a big impetus for a lot of our decisions. We were a bit precious with the stories and wanting to present them really well. Sound. That's what it came down to with the sound. Also, that was a big thing because putting things together, even with the animations, it was still impossible just to convey both all the information and emotion. You know, we're like, cutting three seconds, five words, and just shaving this and shaving that. And just realized we need more from the sound than just the narrator. Right. It needed another level. So we ended up going to a different group as sound experts at Massive Music. And then that's why every mother's narrative has this custom ambient track that's tied to her environment. It's just this other, like, layer of atmospheric context that we had in there to try to speed up processing time. People's ability to transport themselves in the scenes without us having to add the words. You know, we don't need to explain the traffic situation in Sao Paulo. You. You know, you could see it and you hear it and you get it. And that was. That was. That actually worked for everything except for man who Stopped a Train. That one, the ambient track was not enough because there was just so much in that story. So for that one we realized, no, we need music to help express the full range of emotions at work. So that one actually we made an original composition for. I think that just kind of. It all shows you can go into these kinds of things. And we definitely did with a clear vision and a plan, but couldn't really be too rigid about it. The anchors are, you know, we wanted to keep the integrity of the stories and our creative integrity to make sure we were, you know, producing something that was really elevated for Aleema and that would stand out from other campaigns. But there's also a lot of humility and openness that goes into things like this to ensure that you're presenting these stories in the most effective way that you can, given the realities and constraints.

[Julia Campbell]

That's really amazing. They're really pretty visually incredible. And I have a question for either of you, but Charlie, you can take this one as the executive director. I think a lot of organizations do storytelling in some way, but a lot of fundraisers struggle to convert these kind of campaigns into actual donations. So what strategies have you seen working best for Eleema in terms of turning this kind of storytelling into donors actually taking action?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Yeah, I think as I said earlier, we did anchor around storytelling. But you're right, that's kind of. It's hard then to convert into action, frankly. And you know, we struggle as much as anyone else with these. Of course, I think it was really anchored in these very personal stories that got people engaged and got like, you know, that connection, that heart to heart connection that got people interested and wanting to know more. I think also the. This beautiful animation and from by Rowan and the music by Massive Music was also draw people in really well. I think that. And also a patient, we used a patient who's really. Whose life had really been changed by the kindness of strangers.

[Nett Zarfer]

They really.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

It really tied to the title of the campaign as well. That was really powerful. Another thing I feel like we did that I was. Had a real effect on this was the use of influencers and them change them telling their stories of situations where they had been, you know, separated from their child and someone had helped them and. And they were able to kind of bring that real life story that something like this had happened to them as well. I think that really helped.

I would say for this particular Campaign. The aim really was awareness and audience building. And so that was where that was what we created for primarily, and that was where we were the most successful for. Let's say, people listening who are, you know, looking at donation and fundraising as the thing that they're looking for and the thing that they're looking to grow to that. I would say, if that's the goal, then the first thing that the process is different. You know, the whole process is different. First thing I would say to a client like that is, let's break down that goal. What are the targets? You know, what kind of money are we really talking about? And what are you all currently doing to hit those targets? Right? Like, how do you make money that comes before you even decide if it's going to be storytelling or not, and which stories and how? Because that right there is giving you your goal, you know, your target. It's giving you your target audience in a very real way. Not in the aspirational, oh, these are the people I think would be into this message, but in the. Nope, these are the people we need to support us. This is who we're actually counting on to have this kind of success that we're looking for. And it also, for us, as the agency, lets us know how the thing that we create for a client is actually going to then be used by the development team, you know what I mean? So we can tailor to that. And all of that could mean that we come up with ideas that are not storytelling ideas, or, you know, it could filter things out. And I can give a good example of this, actually. So a couple years ago, we had a client. Their goal was fundraising, and they wanted a client, they wanted a campaign. And the way that they generally raised money was not through individual donors or major donors, it was through grants. And they were not looking to change that with this campaign. They just wanted to raise the money. But a point of friction that they'd started to encounter was that apparently some partners at the time had raised this question of relevance. And the strategy was finding people with clout, like celebrities and influencers, to post about the organization. And they got media out of that, and it was great for them. And the executive director took that to people and, you know, was like, you're questioning, you know, our relevance. Look, this proves how relevant we are. And so it was a big win. And it. There was no video, you know, there was no real storytelling in the way that, you know, we like to think of storytelling. But it worked because fundraising was the goal then. That was the thing that was supreme. And we oriented, you know, you have to orient then your, your marketing ideas and your strategies to that goal. Not take a marketing strategy that you really like or you think you should really be doing and then say, well, you know, how do I make this work for fundraising? Does that kind of make sense?

[Julia Campbell]

I think that is what a lot of organizations do. They see something that another non profit has done, but not for the same intention and not in the same cause space and not in the same vertical. And they've seen a marketing campaign that has really worked and they want to translate it into fundraising. But it's, it has to be so specific, the kind of storytelling that you're doing and the ask and where you're.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Sharing it and who your supporters are and you know, where you're getting your money because that might not move the needle with them.

[Julia Campbell]

So I think a follow up question and this can be for you, Charlie. Where is Aleema finding success sharing these kinds of stories? So do you use social media, email, paid ads, like what kind of digital tools and platforms are you using to share this campaign?

[Nett Zarfer]

Definitely all of the above is what we use in a digital campaign. But I think we found the most useful ones was Instagram. We saw a really great organic engagement from our partnership with influencers there and they sort of really connected with the stories and then told a lot of stories themselves and reshared and obviously interacted with the post that we sent them. And a lot of these influencers were people who work in our field. So there were health workers, but also mums and other people who just. These stories just really resonated with. I felt that because of piquing people's interest through that, they then actually went on to go to our landing page to find out more. So we saw a really great crossover towards our landing page for people to find out more about Alima, find out more, see more videos and generally poke around and see on the landing page. So that was a really great one. And we've struggled with that in the past. We actually relied on paid media as well, but it wasn't as successful as it has been in the past. And Neda can totally speak to this more. We suspect, or we probably know because we ran the pro. You know, we ran the campaign in the October to December last year and obviously a lot of oxygen was taken up by the election. So we felt that that was, we couldn't, we didn't quite see the, the, the effect that paid media has had.

[Charlie Kuntzer]

On our campaigns in the past.

[Julia Campbell]

Okay. That I Think that that was very true for a lot of campaigns that ran last fall, last winter. No, I think that's really helpful. I love that you're using Instagram and working with influencers. I love to encourage nonprofits to explore that and think of it as a way to reach a brand new audience rather than just sort of posting on your own channels and talking to the same people and the same audiences that you've already built. I think my. I have a couple of final questions, Netta. How can a small or a mid sized nonprofit apply the lessons from Ode to Strangers even if they don't have like a big budget for storytelling?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Well, I think money isn't everything. You know, it's important, but it's not everything. So if you are limited on money, I would say be big everywhere else. So give yourself more time. You know, first and foremost, it can take a nonprofit months to just even make the decision that they're going to do a campaign and what should the goals be that we put in front of the board, but then the time that they'll give to, you know, the creative process is really limited. If you have a lot of money, you can work around that, you know, you just hire more people or you jump the line, you know, because you're paying the big buck so you take over other people's projects kind of a thing. But when you're smaller than when you're cutting time, you're really just cutting your own results and quality. I would say an example with the Lima was even on the sound thing, right? So there's just no way we would have gotten, you know, massive music to help on the sound like that. If we didn't give them the benefit of time, we would have gotten it done because, you know, we already had the recordings and I have an editor, right? And so we were set to do all the mixes and everything ourselves, but it wouldn't have been as good and certainly it wouldn't have been custom tracks and original composition and a free sonic logo thrown in, right? So it's just like a perfect example of give yourself that time. The other thing is on the quality side, really prioritize quality. Be big in your imagination. If you are working with an agency, trust them. If you've got your own in house team, you know, assuming you've got a good team, give them leeway and you know, be generous with the latitude that you offer people to work creatively to solve your problems and achieve your goals. You know, the creative director on this, Malou Lara, she's a Unicorn type of person, artist, producer, writer. So everyone always wants her for every project. And what Aleema got was because Aleema gives her creative latitude and deference. Right. So it's like, basically what I'm saying is be a good client, you know, and you're gonna get good people and you're gonna allow them to really put their heart into something for you and give you something that you can get a lot of results out of. It's. It's not just money.

[Julia Campbell]

So, Charlie, how can people find out more about Aleema and the work that you're doing? And then, Neta, you can talk maybe about how people can follow you online and learn more about your agency.

[Nett Zarfer]

Yeah, I mean, to see all these beautiful videos that we created and the landing page, you should really go and check out Ode to Strangers. And I know you put the URL in there on your website, but, yeah, it says odetostrangers Alima A L I M A N G O And just interact with all the videos, watch them, read the. Read the stories, because they are really, truly wonderful. And also we would love for people to stay connected with us. Of course, we're on all major social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn X and also YouTube. So you can, if you go to the website as well, you can sign up for our newsletters and find out out more about Alima that way. And that's on Alima ngo, and you can keep in touch with us that way.

[Julia Campbell]

How about you, Neda?

[Charlie Kuntzer]

Well, I'm out here in Portland, Oregon, just doing my thing. So if you're here, call me for a coffee date. Otherwise, I'm on LinkedIn. So, you know, you'll have the link up and people can hit me up. And I'm always happy to, and maybe too happy to help answer some questions, you know, just to help people get started with those first steps. And you can, you know, definitely also go to my agency's website, NazarWorks.com and look at all the different things that we can offer nonprofits of different sizes.

[Julia Campbell]

Wonderful. Thank you both so much for sharing your expertise, for talking about the campaign, and I know that my listeners are really going to benefit from it. So thank you both.

[Nett Zarfer]

Thank you so much for having us.

[Julia Campbell]

This is great.

Well, hey there. I wanted to say thank you for tuning into my show and for listening all the way to the end. If you really enjoyed today's conversation, make sure to subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast app, and you'll get new episodes downloaded as soon as they come out. I would love if you left me a rating or a review because this tells other people that my podcast is worth listening to and then me and my guests can reach even more earbuds and create even more impact. So that's pretty much it. I'll be back soon with a brand new episode, but until then you can find me on Instagram. Juliacampbell77 Keep changing the world you non profit unicorns.