<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-17651 aligncenter" src="https://bcwpmktg.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/macys-make-a-wish.jpg" alt="macys-make-a-wish" width="480" height="320" srcset="https://cms-wp.bigcommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/macys-make-a-wish.jpg 480w, https://cms-wp.bigcommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/macys-make-a-wish-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" />
Photo: <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151103005970/en/Magic-Macy%E2%80%99s-Campaign-Returns-Writer%E2%84%A2" target="_blank">Business Wire</a>
The Make-A-Wish foundation is one of the world’s best known charities, which aims at granting wishes to seriously ill children. In 2007, Macy’s partnered with the charity in their ‘Believe’ campaign, donating $1 per letter or email to Santa that was sent to Macy’s.
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The campaign has been highly successful, <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151103005970/en/Magic-Macy%E2%80%99s-Campaign-Returns-Writer%E2%84%A2" target="_blank">raising upward of $10.8 million to date</a>.
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Macy’s has since innovated with additional features, such as a stylus and app which teaches children about being generous and kind, and from which $1 per purchase is donated.
An original musical, Yes, Virginia has further been produced which tells the story that inspired the campaign – a true story of a young girl who wrote to the New York Sun in 1897 to ask if Santa was real.
The play was made available royalty-free in 2015, on top of which a number of eligible schools received $1,000 towards staging a production. <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150805005946/en/Show-Macy%E2%80%99s-Popular-%E2%80%9CYes-Virginia-Musical%E2%80%9D-Returns" target="_blank">Toolkits can also be downloaded</a> for free by schools to enable the staging of productions.
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And, for children who post their letter to Santa at a ‘Believe station,’ they can take pictures with characters from the play through an augmented reality app.
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Much like the <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/coca-colas-polar-bears-campaign/" target="_blank">Coca-Cola&#8217;s polar bear donations</a> or <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/pampers-silent-night-raises-40-million-charity-campaign/" target="_blank">Pampers’ silent night campaign</a>, Macy’s is attempting to draw in consumers through its philanthropic programs.
Children are drawn to the store to engage with the campaign and send their letters to Santa; meanwhile, parents are not only brought to the store by their children, but may be subsequently inclined to spend there in support of the charitable campaign.
The campaign therefore not only operates on an emotional level, but encourages direct engagement from consumers, be it through writing letters, seeing the musical, visiting the store or purchasing the stylus and app.
Meanwhile, the growing popularity of Yes, Virginia helps keep the campaign memorable outside of the holiday period when it runs.
<h2>Holiday Marketing Takeaway</h2>
Team up with charities and NGOs to make positive change in the world and broaden your customer base. Campaigns that strike a positive chord with customers can be further expanded to new mediums that take on a life of their own.

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Macy’s Believe Campaign Raises $10 Million, Involves Schools