“Because He Lives” Campaign Has Been Very Successful
Contributed By Ryan Morgenegg, Church News staff writer
The “Because He Lives” Easter campaign launched in March and was extremely successful in global reach, increased member involvement, and missionary work.
Article Highlights
- The video was posted on YouTube’s home page and reached 329 million people on Easter Sunday alone.
- During this year’s Easter initiative, official posts from Church social media properties were shared over 760,000 times.
- Missionaries found this initiative very helpful in finding new people to teach.
“The Internet and social media provide easy ways for members to do missionary work. When they share their faith and testimony, especially in a unified manner with the seasonal initiatives, miracles occur.” —Brother Greg Droubay, director of media for the Missionary Department
In 2014 the Church launched Christmas and Easter awareness campaigns to celebrate the life of Jesus Christ. Again in 2015, the Church launched the “Because He Lives” Easter campaign on Saturday, March 28. With the goal to reach millions through social media concerning the Savior, the Church used a YouTube video, visitors’ center displays, member and missionary tools, and online paid promotion on hundreds of Internet sites. So how did the campaign perform?
“The Church’s latest initiative to spread hope through the teachings of Jesus Christ saw significant success this Easter,” said Greg Droubay, director of media for the Missionary Department of the Church. “Because He Lives” content was posted daily on Mormon.org social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) from Saturday, March 28, through Easter Sunday, April 5. The success of the campaign came in three ways.
1. Global reach
The first success was the global reach in sharing a witness of Jesus Christ with the world through the “Because He Lives” Easter video (which focused on the possibilities for all mankind because of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead), said Brother Droubay. On Easter Sunday, the initiative was showcased on the masthead of YouTube’s home page in nine countries (United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Japan, and Italy), reaching 329 million people that day alone.
To date, the video has been viewed nearly 30 million times—more than five times the number of views from last year’s Easter initiative, said Brother Droubay. This year’s video averaged 3.2 million views per day (including 88.5 views per second on Easter Sunday), compared with 930,000 views per day for the “He Is the Gift” 2014 Christmas initiative and 598,000 views per day for last year’s “Because of Him” Easter initiative.
The Church also launched a website, HeLives.mormon.org, which featured the “Because He Lives” video. Both the website and the video are available in 21 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Albanian, Armenian, Cebuano, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, and Ukrainian.
2. Increased member involvement
The second way that success was measured was by the increasing involvement of the members of the Church in support of the initiatives. “Members are embracing the initiatives and sharing on social media and the Internet with their friends,” said Brother Droubay. During this year’s Easter initiative, official posts from Church social media properties were shared over 760,000 times.
“When the members of the Church support this type of effort, truly remarkable things occur,” said Brother Droubay. “The Internet and social media provide easy ways for members to do missionary work. When they share their faith and testimony, especially in a unified manner with the seasonal initiatives, miracles occur. Without the involvement of Church members, the Easter initiative would not have had as much success as it did.”
3. Missionary work
The third way success was measured was with missionary work. “Missionaries found this initiative very helpful in finding new people to teach,” said Brother Droubay. “Messages focused on building faith in Jesus Christ resonate and connect with the honest in heart.”
The initiative also included social media content demonstrating the blessings available to everyone in their daily lives because of Christ. Those who shared online content were encouraged to use the #BecauseHeLives hashtag on social media channels. Nate Bostian writes, “I may be an Episcopal priest, but this is a great devotional meditation on the resurrection by the Mormon Church. Great job guys. We may not agree on everything, but we do agree that Jesus is alive and that [His] life still changes lives. Have a blessed Easter and be empowered to love others like Jesus does.”
“It’s a great example of one way to do missionary work using the technology available to us today,” said Brother Droubay. “Another key lesson is the power of the Church organization being unified and working together. When the Church Internet sites, social media pages, and local priesthood and missionary leaders work together, miracles occur.”
President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is chairman of the Missionary Executive Committee of the Church, said in the March 2015 issue of the Ensign: “As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in these, the latter days, we have also been charged with testifying of the realities of the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection. … Like those angelic messengers in the meridian of time, we also declare, ‘He is not here: for he is risen’ (Matthew 28:6). He lives. And because He lives we, too, can know ‘peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come’” (D&C 59:23).
Last December, a month-long Christmas initiative, “He Is the Gift,” reached millions through social media efforts, displays in visitors’ centers, member and missionary tools, online paid promotion, and outdoor advertising in New York City’s Times Square. The video received more than 33 million views. The Christmas initiative focused on Heavenly Father’s love as demonstrated in the sacred gift of Jesus Christ.
The next major initiative will be a month-long effort in December 2015 for Christmas. This initiative will begin the day after Thanksgiving and will continue through Christmas Day.
The Church launched a social media campaign, “Because He Lives,” for the Easter season of 2015. A website and video were available in 21 languages.
The Church launched a social media campaign, “Because He Lives,” for the Easter season of 2015. A website and video were available in 21 languages.
The Church’s Christmas and Easter social media campaigns began in 2014.
