A 35km Challenge to Cure Mito
Event
A national series of 35km walks across Australia to raise funds for the Mito Foundation so they can continue vital work to support Australians living with mitochondrial disease.
$15M
raised since 2013
$3m
raised in 2022
27%
increase on 2020 income
The Challenge
The Mito Foundation is a small charity that supports people affected by mitochondrial disease (mito), and funds research to find a cure for this devastating disease.
They partnered with Elevate Fundraising over 10 years ago to come up with a peer-to-peer fundraising event aiming to increase revenue for the charity as well as awareness of this awful disease.
The Challenge was to develop a catchy and enticing event concept that would appeal not only to the small mito community, but also to the broader Australian community.
Our Solution
Together with The Mito Foundation, we came up with The Bloody Long Walk event concept.
The quirky name caught the attention of the general public and gave us an opportunity to introduce the Mito Foundation and mitochondrial disease (both relatively unknown) through a 35km physical challenge.
Starting with just 1 event in Sydney in 2013, we now have 10 events across the country and still growing. The last 2 years has seen us pivot to some virtual events due to lockdowns and other restrictions, but we are back on board to run physical events in 2022!
We manage the digital marketing side of all events, from the strategy, website and creative, to the acquisition, engagement, and post campaign reporting.
One of the real highlights has been the creation of the Mito Movement, led by our awesome captain, ten-year-old Noah Barlow, who was diagnosed with mito at age seven. This little legend has deeply connected participants to the cause with his posts, video messages, and other communications to the Bloody Long Walking community.
It’s been an absolute honour to work with Noah, the staff and families affected by mitochondrial disease, and see how the Bloody Long Walk has transformed the Mito Foundation and the services they can offer to the mito community.
What We Did
Strategy
Creative
Acquisition
Retention
Content
Copywriting
Analysis
The Results
Since the event began in 2013, we have raised a total of $15M for The Mito Foundation which has completely transformed the organisation.
Despite various challenges with lockdowns and physical restrictions, it was fantastic to see the event grow and achieve the following results in 2021:
- $3.05M income raised
- 21,369 participants
- 62% activation rate
- $42 cost per acquisition
