Polished Man
Polished Man is a fundraising initiative by ygap aimed at ending violence against children. Participants are encouraged to paint one nail in October and raise funds for trauma recovery and prevention services in Australia and beyond.
Polished Man is a fundraising initiative by ygap aimed at ending violence against children. Participants are encouraged to paint one nail in October and raise funds for trauma recovery and prevention services in Australia and beyond.
Campaign Management, Digital, Strategy
Role
Core capabilities:
Integrated campaign strategy, digital content execution, stakeholder management, analytics and reporting, ambassador coordination
Developed the social media and digital marketing strategy (with oversight from the agency director)
Created an always-on content framework across three campaign phases: pre-launch, live, and post
Wrote and distributed ambassador kits with key messaging and post templates
Implemented and optimised campaign assets across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google Ads and AdWords
Collaborated with videographers, designers, and internal teams to deliver all creative and marketing materials
Managed content scheduling, approvals, and campaign reporting from start to finish
Project Snapshot
$1.7M raised in donations — a 60% year-on-year increase
Engaged 15,000+ participants from 110 countries
Generated 16M digital impressions
Delivered a full suite of campaign assets across social, digital and video
Coordinated campaign execution across internal teams, ambassadors and creative partners
Overview
Polished Man is a global fundraising initiative by ygap, encouraging people to paint one nail in support of ending violence against children. For the third consecutive year, TOFU Agency led the creative and campaign strategy, with the goal of emotionally reconnecting supporters and driving digital donations through refreshed storytelling and always-on content.
Challenges
A key challenge for the 2018 campaign was managing year-on-year growth while maintaining the integrity of the brand’s message. The previous year's success had raised expectations, and the inclusion of celebrities in the campaign meant we had to balance creativity with the logistical demands of celebrity engagement. Additionally, the creative direction was a major shift from the suited men imagery to focusing on the simple device of painting a nail, which was a bold move given the resources available.
To mitigate any risk and reassure the board of directors, my director and I ran A/B tests of digital assets and leveraged research from previous campaigns to guide the creative process. This, along with market research that revealed confusion over the message in past campaigns, solidified the need for a new direction to simplify and strengthen the narrative.
Outcomes
$1.7M raised — exceeding the previous year’s total by 60%
The digital campaign generated 16 million impressions, engaging over 15,000 people from 110 countries.
Simplified storytelling helped reposition the campaign for wider audience resonance
Campaign assets I led are still in use years later, reflecting the lasting impact of the creative direction
Polished Man Integrated Fundraising Campaign
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