This was Change Please's first properly structured prize draw. The goal was to test the model: could a well designed prize, clear page, and targeted audience map generate meaningful income? The draw raised £905 against an original target of £6,000 to £8,000. The headline number fell short, but the underlying mechanics performed well. This report breaks down what worked, where the gaps were, and what needs to change for draw #2.
£905
Total raised
£6k–£8k
Original target
7.2%
Conversion rate
58
Entrants
~806
Est. page views
£15.60
Avg entry
£864.70
Net payable
What Worked
Despite missing the target, there are genuine wins here that shouldn't get lost in the headline number.
- Conversion rate (7.2%). This is the most important number in the whole report. 7.2% of people who saw the page went on to enter. Industry benchmarks sit between 3% and 8%. The page worked. The prize worked. The pricing worked. Everything else builds on this.
- QR codes outperformed every digital channel combined. Flyer A alone drove 41% of the total raised. One piece of paper by a card reader outperformed the entire email list, all social media, and every influencer post. Change Please's strongest conversion path is physical, in-location, at the point of purchase. For a coffee company with multiple sites and corporate partners, that's a scalable channel.
- Daniela's A/B test was smart. She tested two QR designs and proved that "Win" beats product imagery in a coffee setting. That's a real insight for future draws. The placement strategy (card readers, sugar stations, toilets) was thoughtful and targeted high dwell time spots.
- Entry pricing hit the sweet spot. The £10 tier captured 48% of all entries. The two entrants at £100 contributed 22% of the total raised. The tier structure gave people a natural entry point while leaving room for higher commitment. Nothing needs changing here.
- The prize resonated. "2 years of free coffee" is clear, desirable, and directly connected to the brand. No confusion about what the winner gets or why it matters. It also performed well on social, with LinkedIn posts hitting 6 to 7% engagement rates (typical company page content sits at 1 to 2%).
- The economics worked. The prize (a 2 year coffee subscription) costs Change Please roughly £168 at retail. The draw raised £905. That's a 5.4x return on the prize value. Even at this scale, the model is profitable. At £6,000 the return would be 35x.
- Email fundamentals were solid. 26% open rate and 10% CTR are respectable numbers. The subject lines and hooks were working.
- LinkedIn engagement was strong. Four posts during the draw achieved engagement rates between 3.6% and 7.4%. The Matthew Torbitt video was the standout performer, feeling more personal and emotionally resonant. Videos featuring Matthew consistently get 3.8k to 4k+ views on social.
- Best performing Change Please prize draw to date.
The Numbers
Strong conversion, not enough traffic
7.2% conversion is strong for a prize draw. People who saw the page were entering. The gap was in how many people saw it. To hit £6,000 at a £15.60 average entry, the draw needed roughly 5,350 page views. It received around 806.
| What was needed | What happened | Gap |
|---|
| ~5,350 page views | ~806 page views | ~4,500 |
| ~385 entrants | 58 entrants | ~327 |
| £6,000 raised | £905 raised | £5,095 |
Where traffic came from
QR codes at Change Please's own sites were the strongest channel. Email performed solidly (26% open rate, 10% CTR). Web/organic contributed 20 entries. Only 2 entries came via referral links, which is where partner sharing would have shown up.
Entry level breakdown
The £10 tier (3 entries) was the most popular by a clear margin. Nearly half of all entrants chose it. The two entrants at £100 each contributed 22% of the total raised, showing the value of higher tiers.
What Didn't Work
- Partner activation. The Top 10 companies and indie coffee shop networks were identified as the primary reach channels. Only 2 entries came via referral links. Emails were sent to partner contacts, but no physical assets (printed QR codes, posters) were sent to partner locations, and emails only reached a single contact at each organisation rather than staff on the ground. Given that QR codes were the strongest channel at Change Please's own sites, the lack of physical assets at partner locations was a significant missed opportunity.
- Social media didn't convert to page visits at scale. Instagram accumulated 16,000+ views and LinkedIn posts achieved strong engagement rates, but social platforms are better at awareness than direct conversion. TikTok was unusable as a conversion channel due to the 1,000 follower link restriction.
- Influencer timing. Both collaborations were posted in the last days of the draw. Even when they did engage, there wasn't enough runway for the content to build reach and drive entries. Food and coffee focused creators would likely convert better, but they weren't responsive to outreach.
- No final week momentum. Activity peaked around 24 Feb then dropped off. Prize draws typically see 40 to 60% of entries in the final 3 days.
- Visibility during live period. Communication dropped off during the final week, which made it harder to course-correct in real time.
- Graduation day. The event during the live period produced zero entries. The prize draw was mentioned briefly but not given space in the programme.
Daniela's view on partners: "Realistically if we're giving them this prize draw and we'd like them to have assets, we should actually print them and send it to them, just like we do with all of our other assets."
Diagnosis
The page converted at 7.2%. The prize resonated. The pricing was right. QR codes proved that in-location marketing works. These are not the numbers of a failed draw. They're the numbers of a draw that needed more traffic.
The original target of £6,000 to £8,000 was based on a conservative read of the audience map. This was later revised upward to £15,000 based on the total potential reach across all partner audiences. That revision assumed partners would actively participate, which didn't happen at the scale needed.
The single lesson from draw #1: Draw #1 tried to activate many partners at once. None of them landed. For draw #2, the approach should be simpler: work with one prize giving partner, use their prize, and market to their audience. One partner who is genuinely invested will deliver more than 10 who received an email. The prize donor has a built-in reason to promote the draw, their audience is the reach channel, and the whole thing becomes more focused and manageable.
Why this changes the maths: Change Please's own channels raised £905 from roughly 806 page views. A single corporate partner sharing the draw once to their social following could generate more traffic than every Change Please channel combined. At 7.2% conversion and a £15.60 average entry, even a modest fraction of one partner's audience would close the gap to the original £6,000 to £8,000 target.
Financial Summary
| Gross raised | £905.00 |
| Crowdfunder fees | £0.00 |
| Transaction fees | -£33.54 |
| VAT | -£6.76 |
| Net payable to Change Please | £864.70 |
Recommendations for Draw #2
- One partner, one prize, one audience. Instead of emailing 10 partners and hoping for the best, choose one prize giving partner whose audience aligns with the draw. Their donated prize increases perceived value, reduces prize cost to zero, and gives them a genuine reason to promote the draw. Their audience becomes the primary reach channel.
- QR codes everywhere. This was the best channel. More locations, more posters, more physical touchpoints. Every coffee cart, every partner location, every office kitchen.
- Build content around Matthew. Videos featuring Matthew consistently drive the highest engagement. Plan this upfront so he's front and centre from day one.
- Influencers early, not late. Lock in content creators before launch. Content should land in week one, not the final day. Prioritise food and coffee aligned creators over general lifestyle influencers.
- Shared progress tracker during live period. A simple tracker showing which marketing actions have been completed, updated daily. Not just a plan, but a visible log.
- Regular check-ins during live period. Async updates every 2 to 3 days so both sides can see what's working and adjust early.
- Set target against confirmed reach. A £3,000 to £6,000 target based on one confirmed partner audience will be more reliable than a higher target based on potential reach across many.
What This Means for Draw #2
Draw #1 proved the mechanics work. Draw #2 doesn't need a different approach. It needs a simpler one: one partner, one prize, one audience. Confirm that partnership before launch, resource it properly, and the original £6,000 to £8,000 target is realistic.