Live From the North Pole: Santa Comes to Town (Virtually) To Raise Money for Kids

The challenge

Christmas 2020—visits to Santa were grounded, kids were disappointed, and Children’s Health needed donations

The solution

A completely customized virtual North Pole at NorthPark Center that brought kids together with Santa—and exceeded fundraising goals

The impact

Take it from Santa himself: “I’m so glad that people were generous with their donations for Children’s Health—what a great cause! Ho ho ho!”

For a great cause, live from the North Pole, it’s… Santa Claus!

Every year, families travel from far and wide to visit Santa Claus at NorthPark Center—the Dallas shopping destination that’s been named one of the “7 Retail Wonders of the Modern World.”

But as December 2020 approached and COVID-19 restrictions kept people at home, it looked like the tradition might have to be put on hold. The NorthPark team dialed up the jolly old elf himself to ask—would the kids have to miss their visit this year? His answer: “No-ho-ho way!”

It turns out that the North Pole gets great wi-fi (something to do with all those reindeer antlers), and Mr. Claus was eager to hop online for the good of children everywhere.

The NorthPark team began planning a virtual event for kids to talk to Santa—and to raise money for the nonprofit Children’s Health, one of the largest pediatric health care providers in the country.

Enter the Brandlive elves

NorthPark set out to build a true Santa’s village in the virtual world—and the Brandlive platform offered all the features they needed to make the magic happen.

On the main event page, Santa answered questions coming in from children through the chat feature, and their parents clicked on the donation button to give to Children’s Health.

Plus, kids could romp through six unique event pages:

• Three stories with Santa.
• Santa’s Toy Shoppe Puppet Theatre.
• Storytime with Bookmarks, a Dallas Public Library for children. 
• Origami crafting with Paper for Water, a Dallas-based nonprofit on a mission to end the world water crisis.

All the fun of a visit to Santa’s village, no mittens required!

Challenges Solved

1. Super-easy interface.NorthPark’s Public Relations Manager, Shelby Foster, pointed out that a user-friendly platform was crucial to engaging kids and making the event run smoothly behind the scenes. “We appreciated the ease of use of the Brandlive platform,” Foster said. NorthPark also needed a simple way to capture key metrics. “The Brandlive dashboard was easy to use and presented the most relevant data we needed,” including custom registration data and how many guests attended the event live versus on demand.
2. Custom-made holiday spirit.The NorthPark team was eager to create a sense of community cheer in the midst of social distancing. Foster explained, “One of our goals was to provide a glimpse of the NorthPark holiday experience for those unable to visit the center this year.” The Brandlive Events platform allowed NorthPark to completely customize the event’s branding and design.The team chose a visual aesthetic that not only aligned with NorthPark’s branding, but also captured the holiday theme. Foster said, “We liked that each of our event’s video pages had a consistent look and feel, which aligned with our overall holiday campaign.”

Big wins

1. Delighted smiles all around.Foster said, “Our favorite part of the event was the live Q&A with Santa. The comment section worked great for audience-submitted questions.”Questions for Santa ranged from Rudolph’s favorite snack to how long Santa’s beard is. Kelsey from Dallas, TX asked, “Santa, do you like to build snowmen?” Santa replied, “Oh, I love to build snowmen! And I love snowball fights. At the North Pole, we have a group of penguins who hide, and when we’re coming out of the toy factory, we get into big, epic snowball fights!”
2. A stocking overflowing with donations.The virtual event enabled NorthPark to provide a much-needed platform for charitable giving. “We were hoping to raise as much money as possible for our philanthropic partners during a holiday season where they couldn’t have a physical presence at the shopping center,” Foster explained.NorthPark and Children’s Health were thrilled with the success. “From private donations, tickets to visit individually with Santa, and our Brandlive events, we were able to raise $130,000, exceeding our goal.”

   Event presenter Santa Claus said, “I was so happy I could connect virtually with all the wonderful children I usually see at NorthPark Center. I’m so glad that people were generous with their donations for Children’s Health—what a great cause! Ho ho ho!”