Marin Foster Care came to Division of Labor after our success with advertising campaigns for FosterSF. They saw what we did with the city of San Francisco worked to get more people interested in becoming foster parents in the city. Now we needed to do the same thing in Marin County. 

As one of the wealthiest counties in California, the perception is that Marin doesn’t have much of a need to foster families. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In 2023 we shot commercials and digital video with foster kids to hear a bit about what it’s like being a foster kid in Marin. After the success of those messages, we updated the campaign in 2024 and brought in some foster parents to hear their perspectives.

They’re not just foster kids. They’re Marin kids.

The strategic idea was to go right at the perception that there are no foster kids in Marin. When people think about helping their neighbor’s kids or classmates from their kid’s school, they’re much more likely to get involved.

The problem becomes very personal when they think about kids in need as Marin kids and not just random kids in the foster system. So we wanted those kids to speak and tell their stories and put themselves out there to show the community that they are real and regular and look and act just like any other Marin kid.

We also wanted to highlight the contrast between the wealth of the community and the needs of the kids. But we had to do it in a subtle way that wouldn’t shame or guilt people.

The ad campaign ran as digital video, mobile video, digital banners, social media, and outdoor along with direct mail and email campaigns.

> Garnered record number of 2,344 site visits and 5,238 page views 

> 50+ new volunteers as a result of the campaign

> Raised funds for New Campaign and to build residences for Foster Youth