MAINE CONNECTIVITY AUTHORITY
A Statewide Campaign Designed to Spark Action
Maine has invested heavily in broadband infrastructure. But when thousands of residents still lack access to a reliable device, a fast connection isn’t enough. Maine Tech Share was created to close that gap by mobilizing Maine businesses and institutions to donate surplus technology to give IT. get IT. for secure refurbishment and redistribution to residents who need it most. MCA engaged fluent imc to build the program’s brand, messaging, digital presence, and device donation awareness campaign from the ground up. With a goal of sourcing 25,000 devices by 2029, we had ten months and a lean budget to turn a new program into a statewide effort.
Closing Maine’s digital divide takes more than broadband. It takes putting reliable technology in the hands of the people who need it.
Building the Brand
Before we could run a single ad, we needed an identity for the campaign. We developed the Maine Tech Share name, visual identity, tagline (“Share Tech. Spark Change.”), and developed a complete messaging framework, then translated all of it into the following campaign elements:
Campaign Website
Animated Video
Display Ads
Social Content
Event Materials
The work was grounded in stakeholder interviews with MCA leadership, conversations with existing device donors, and audience research across several priority sectors — including regulated industries and institutional employers with regular technology refresh cycles. Our research revealed a clear, consistent friction point that shaped every messaging decision that followed.
Testing What Works
Rather than concentrating spend in one place, we spread the campaign across eight distinct channels — LinkedIn sponsored content and InMail, regional business publications, Google search campaigns, a statewide conference, and a live webinar panel. The goal wasn’t just reach. It was data: real, comparative evidence of what actually moves the decision-makers responsible for retiring and donating technology.
637,000+
Total Paid Impressions
1.99%
LinkedIn CTR — 3-4x Industry Avg
45.2%
LinkedIn InMail Open Rate
The answer came through clearly. LinkedIn significantly outperformed every other paid channel, delivering a blended 1.99% click-through rate ( roughly three to four times the industry average.) Google Performance Max delivered the lowest cost-per-click of any channel. But the most productive conversations happened in person: the MTUG conference breakout session and webinar panel connected us directly with potential donors, confirming what research had already indicated: donating devices by partnering with Maine Tech Share is complex enough that a human conversation outperforms a display ad every time.
What We Delivered
Across eight channels, the pilot generated more than 637,000 paid media impressions and 3,500-plus landing page visits, with the campaign site quickly becoming one of the most visited pages on MCA’s entire website. But the number that matters most isn’t in the dashboard. MCA moved from pilot to ongoing program using the channel strategy this campaign identified — the clearest proof the work did exactly what it was designed to do.
