De Hartstichting - 11strandentocht
The 11strandentocht is a national non-profit event organised by the Hartstichting to raise funds for heart research. The initiative encourages participants to walk along 11 beaches in the Netherlands, combining community engagement with fundraising. As an interim marketing professional, I provided strategic and hands-on marketing support to enhance participation, drive fundraising, and increase overall visibility for the event.
Goals
Increase fundraising revenue compared to the previous year
Grow the number of participants for the event
Expand awareness of the event across new audiences
Ensure consistent visibility across Hartstichting’s always-on, B2B, and patient-focused channels
Solutions
Content & Social Media Strategy
Developed the overall content strategy and calendar for the pre-event, live, and post-event phases
Produced live content during the event via Instagram Stories and posts
Briefed photographers and videographers to capture high-quality visuals for social and press purposes
Coordinated press footage to support media coverage and post-event storytelling
Innovative Influencer & Partnership Initiatives (proactive contribution)
Introduced Hartstichting’s first influencer marketing strategy for fundraising events
Collaborated with four walking influencers, briefing them to engage their audiences and drive fundraising
Established new partnerships with Facebook groups (~600K combined reach), local radio stations, 50+ magazine, and charity ambassadors
Coordinated partner giveaways to reach new audiences, including Boerschappen, Surf & Beach, Restaurant Pavarotti, and Oppad.nl (21K subscribers)
Online Campaigns & Digital Ads
Planned and executed multiple Meta campaigns: Early Bird, Participant Recruitment (Traffic & Conversion), Fundraising Conversion, and Super Early Bird for the following edition
Wrote copy, created designs, and monitored campaign performance
Developed a detailed social media runbook to guide the team before, during, and after the event
Briefed and coordinated the webcare team for real-time engagement and community management
Cross-Channel Integration
Ensured the event was visible across Hartstichting’s always-on, B2B, and patient-focused channels
Coordinated content sharing across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
The Results
Raised €522,829.91 in fundraising, a 92% increase compared to the previous year (€272,526)
Increased participant numbers to 6,500, representing 44% growth year-on-year (from 4,500 participants)
Gained 2,000 new Instagram followers, significantly expanding reach and engagement around the event
Achieved over 12.5M social media impressions across channels, driving 3,692 new followers and more than 126K link clicks
Influencer collaborations with four creators reached a combined 186.9K followers, resulting in 111 participants and €10,378.87 in additional fundraising
The Instagram Feed
Instagram Stories: Live Coverage during the Event
Paid Campaign Assets
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