MSHEF: Journey for the Living Billboard

Challenge Accepted

The Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation held its 3rd annual Journey For The Living in November 2023. As MSHEF’s main fundraising event, it encourages participants to walk, run, or bike 15 miles in one month in honor of the 15 miles Mark, his mother, and his sister walked to escape the Nazis in their hometown in Poland. They also do a commemorative in-person walk with Mark in mid-November. This was the second year they gave out the Voice of Kindness Award during the in-person walk, which recognizes an individual who promotes empathy and compassion through their work. This year’s award recipient was Claudia Oshry, a comedian, podcaster, and influencer who has raised over $100,000 for MSHEF.

Every year, MSHEF is provided a free billboard slot in Times Square to promote JFTL, and Strat Labs was tasked with designing the billboard and promoting the in-person event as well as the month-long challenge.

Solution Proposed

Strat Labs recommended including her on the Times Square billboard to build upon Claudia Oshry’s momentum with her community of 3M+ followers and further honor her as a champion of MSHEF. By featuring her, the billboard could gain recognition from individuals who may be familiar with her as a celebrity but not yet with the Foundation. Additionally, in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, the billboard needed to reflect a sense of mourning as well as urgency to provide a better, kinder future. To do this, Strat Labs included a glowing candle inside of a Star of David, representing not just the lives lost in the Holocaust but also the lives lost due to the Hamas attacks. The call-to-action of “Join Us to Support Holocaust Education” tied the visual back to Journey for the Living.

To support the promotion of both the in-person walk and the month-long challenge, Strat Labs crafted 9 total social media posts, including billboard content and a weekly giveaway, encouraging their followers to sign up.

Problem Solved

At the conclusion of the month-long Journey For The Living challenge, MSHEF achieved the following stats:

  • $87,000+ raised to support Holocaust education
  • 250+ participants signed up
  • 6,500+ miles were run, walked, or biked
  • 1,080+ engagements on billboard promotions on social media
  • 14,500+ impressions across JFTL promotions on Instagram

Journey For The Living 2023 was a huge success for MSHEF. From publishing the billboard to promoting the event, MSHEF received an increase in engagement from its supporters in November.