Putting the Cross Country Challenge on the podium

Drumming up exposure and driving registrations for the Hill’s favourite fun run

supporting a worthwhile cause

Orion Creative has proudly supported Rotary Club of Castle Hill’s annual fundraising events for the past seven years to drum up exposure and drive registrations. This year, the 2nd annual Cross Country Challenge event took place in Sydney and we really stepped up our game with a total website redesign and digital marketing campaign.

All funds raised from the Cross Country Challenge are donated to the Women’s Community Shelter, The Sanctuary and the Lisa Harnum Foundation. All of these charities provide support and transitional housing to families affected by domestic violence.

The Brief

We took it upon ourselves to design and develop a fully-rebranded website from the ground up to increase participation and create a sense of excitement for this year’s Cross Country Challenge. The aim of the project was to present all the information for the event in a fun and appealing way. We wanted to entice people to sign up, form a team and raise money.

Being a relatively new event, we welcomed the challenge of creating an air of excitement around the Cross Country Challenge. Additionally, we drove an email marketing campaign in the lead up to race day to supplement the website and bring in as many registrations and donations as possible.

Supporting a worthwhile cause

Orion Creative has proudly supported Rotary Club of Castle Hill’s annual fundraising events for the past seven years to drum up exposure and drive registrations. This year, the 2nd annual Cross Country Challenge event took place in Sydney and we really stepped up our game with a total website redesign, email marketing and social media campaign.

a digital overhaul that goes the distance

Orion handled all website and e-mail marketing elements of The Cross Country Challenge. This included building a brand new website with designers, developers and copywriters all playing a part in the creation of the event’s new and improved look.

The Cross Country Challenge is a community-focused event that is suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Our goal was to to create a look and feel that would appeal to everyone interested in getting active and enjoying a day out amongst the community.

The end result was a responsive website accessible from any type of device. Visitors to the site were able to register, view courses, form teams and find out other information about the event while on the go. New and improved website features include:

  • Secure online credit card payment and donations with dynamic donation tracker
  • Multiple registration types (Individual, Senior and Family), each with different criteria and pricing
  • Participants can register and view courses while on the go
  • Users can form teams, create profiles and share on social media to encourage donations

Our copywriters did a complete content overhaul, completely rewriting each section of the website to reflect a light, laid-back tone that was clear and concise.

Slow and steady wins the race

To build awareness and encourage both registrations and donations, Orion ran ongoing email and social media campaigns across Facebook and Instagram in the months leading up to the Cross Country Challenge. We handled all aspects of these campaigns, from creating the copy, building the email templates, running paid advertisements on social media and responding to all incoming inquiries from the public.

Orion’s copywriters and graphic designers also created press releases and branded event imagery for the event sponsors to share on their own website, print collateral and social media platforms. 

Setting new records

Our involvement in the Cross Country Challenge has helped registrations increase by 40%, with a huge spike in engagement across the board, from website traffic to e-mail and social media.

Orion plans to continue being involved in this great event that supports a fantastic cause, and we have big plans for the future. Stepping up the event’s social media presence is one of the key aspects we’d like to focus on next year as well as well as continuing to refine and improve the website’s design and functionality.

The Response

“We have found Orion to be highly professional and hold them in the highest regard for their expertise. The advice and assistance they have afforded us in the design and management of our site cannot be quantified, suffice to say we could not have conducted these events without them. On a personal note, they are a great team to work with nothing is too much trouble and for that I am most grateful and thankful.”

Michael Blair, Chair, Management Committee
rotary club of castle hill
let's discover together

Are you ready to explore the possibilities?