Greenpeace Germany: how a Digital-First campaigning organisation trialled DRTV
When people think of Greenpeace Germany, they think of bold, digital-first campaigning. From viral videos and social-first activism to powerful online petitions, the organisation has always leaned heavily into digital tools to mobilise people. But in March 2020, something new began: Greenpeace Germany launched its first Direct Response TV (DRTV) campaign together with DTV — and it has been on air ever since.
This was a bold step. For decades, DRTV has been a tried-and-tested fundraising tool for humanitarian organisations and children’s charities. For a campaigning NGO with a strong digital DNA, it was uncharted territory. Yet the experiment quickly proved successful, and today, DRTV is a cornerstone of Greenpeace Germany’s fundraising mix.
From a single creative to an always-on channel
The debut spot, “Ordinary People”, was deceptively simple. It featured testimonials from supporters across all age groups, explaining what donating to Greenpeace Germany meant to them personally. There were no celebrities, no dramatics — just authentic voices sharing their motivations.
That authenticity resonated. Donors could see themselves in the people on screen, and many were inspired to join them.
What began as a small-scale test with one creative quickly grew. Through a carefully managed process of media analysis, optimisation, and iteration, Greenpeace Germany went from airing a single ad to running multiple creatives in parallel, each designed to speak to a different audience segment.
A culture of testing and learning
The success of the programme didn’t happen by accident. From the very beginning, DTV applied the same test-and-optimise mindset that has also long underpinned Grennpeace’s digital work. Over the past five years, we conducted dozens of structured tests, learning step by step what works best in DRTV for a campaigning organisation.
Some of the key levers tested included:
Donation values – experimenting with suggested donation amounts to strike the right balance between accessibility and generosity.
Response channels – comparing phone and online sign-ups, using QR Codes and optimising call-to-action combinations.
Time lengths – from short-form spots to longer narratives, identifying where attention and response peaked.
Stations and dayparts – analysing performance by channel, day, and time of day to maximise ROI.
This rigorous approach gradually turned what began as a trial into a finely tuned, always-on acquisition channel, bringing in thousands of new donors each year.
Creative evolution: from crisis to community
Creatively, the journey has been just as significant.
The earliest Greenpeace Germany DRTV ads leaned into urgency and crisis. They highlighted the state of the planet, the climate emergency, and the need for immediate action. This approach was natural for a campaigning organisation, and it delivered strong early results.
But as the programme matured, the creative strategy evolved.
Rather than focusing exclusively on catastrophe, newer campaigns shifted the spotlight to people’s values and the sense of community that comes with supporting Greenpeace Germany. The messaging became less about “The world falling apart” and more about “Together we can make it happen”.
This pivot reflected a recognition that effective leadership — and effective fundraising — isn’t just about pointing to problems. It’s about offering people a meaningful way to be part of the solution.
Balancing Digital and DRTV
An important part of the story is that DRTV didn’t replace digital for Greenpeace Germany — it complemented it.
Digital channels remain vital for mobilisation, rapid response, and movement-building. But DRTV added something new: a consistent, broad-reach channel that could steadily bring in new donors month after month, even outside the news cycle.
Moreover, the discipline of DRTV — with its need for rigorous measurement and optimisation — fed back into Greenpeace Germany’s broader fundraising approach. The lessons learned in TV about messaging, call-to-action clarity, and donor motivations informed strategies across other channels.
What we learned along the way
Looking back on the past five years, several lessons stand out from Greenpeace Germany’s DRTV journey:
Digital-first organisations can succeed in traditional channels. The key is to bring the same culture of testing, agility, and optimisation.
Authenticity beats polish. Real voices from real people created more connection than glossy celebrity spots.
Creative must evolve with the audience. Starting with urgency worked, but long-term success came from shifting toward values, hope, and community.
Integration matters. DRTV works best when connected to a broader fundraising and campaigning ecosystem, not in isolation.
Patience pays. It takes time, testing, and iteration to build a programme that delivers sustainable results.
A pillar of support
Today, Greenpeace Germany’s DRTV programme is no longer an experiment. It is a core pillar of fundraising, delivering thousands of new donors each year and providing a steady base of support for campaigns.
Just as importantly, the programme has demonstrated that traditional channels can be reinvented by digital-first organisations. By applying digital’s agile mindset to TV, Greenpeace Germany proved that DRTV can be a powerful tool not just for humanitarian appeals, but also for campaigning organisations.
“Working with DTV has been a real partnership. Together we built something new for Greenpeace Germany, step by step, with a lot of trust and openness. Their experience and structured approach helped us navigate an unfamiliar channel and turn it into a strong, reliable part of our fundraising.”
Bio
Elisabeth is a true expert in DRTV, with more than a decade of experience in the German and Austrian markets. Since 2017, she has been working with DTV, helping organizations bring their messages to life on screen. Over the years, she has built and grown successful programs for well-known charities such as Greenpeace, WWF, Amnesty International, and CBM. With a proven track record of launching and managing campaigns across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Elisabeth knows how to make DRTV work for clients of every size