Around 7 million struggling families in the UK are living through a “frightening year of financial fear”, according to The Guardian. Many households are going without food, heating, toiletries and even showers as they attempt to deal with the cost of living crisis.
As these families and others feel the pinch of soaring food and gas prices, it is no wonder that many members of the public do not have the spare cash to give to charities.
Earlier this month, the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) revealed that charity marketing campaign effectiveness had reached a five-year low.
“Declining response effectiveness in a challenging market, where households budgets are under more pressure than ever, has inevitably played its part with the decline in total campaign effects generated,” DMA director of insight Tim Bond said.
“While other organisations grapple with the appropriateness of purpose-driven marketing, charities have no choice but to consider their purpose.”
To survive this, charities must create deep-rooted emotional connections with consumers – while still asking them to part with their hard-earned cash.
What are charities and their marketing divisions doing to battle the cost-of-living crisis that continues to affect their donations and causes?
CALM’s heartfelt work with Adam&eveDDB
Mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) captivated the nation with the launch of its largest ever suicide prevention initiative two weeks ago.
Around 50 6.5-foot high ‘smiling portraits’ were placed in London’s South Bank area, grabbing the attention of passers-by. It was later revealed that each smiling image was in fact the last photograph of someone who took their own life soon after.
In a bid to reshape the UK’s understanding of suicide, a heart-breaking 90-second TV spot accompanied the OOH campaign, featuring real home videos of ‘apparently happy’ people enjoying life.
“Behind every smile is a tragic story of loss and despair that touches family, friends and communities,” CALM CEO Simon Gunning said.
“At a time of economic and social unrest it’s even more important that we put suicide prevention back on the national agenda and come together to take collective action.”
Marketing coach Danny Denhard told Marketing Beat that given the times, charities need to connect to the audience in more “creative and transparent ways”.
This campaign, led by adam&eveDDB, certainly does that.
The agency’s executive creative director, Ant Nelson, added: “We want to break down the stigma that surrounds suicide, and equip the nation to talk about it.
READ MORE: CALM’s ‘The Last Photo’ campaign reveals the heart-breaking reality behind suicide
The Elton John AIDS Foundation and its LGBT-QR Code
“Many charities struggle with being innovative and often fall short when trying to display the ways in which they leverage technology to encourage different interactions and forms of support,” Denhard said.
It is fair to sat that The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s most recent campaign did not lack innovation.
Last month, the singer’s charity teamed up with OOH media company Clear Channel UK, and creative agency Ogilvy to launch a fundraising LGBT-QR Code campaign.
An instantly recognisable image of Sir Elton John was transformed into an LGBT-QR Code – a new fundraising technology that turns ‘functional monochrome QR codes’ into picture-like design icons. Scanning the image takes users to a donation page for the AIDS charity.
“While the pandemic normalised QR codes, we saw an opportunity to use creativity to transform a traditionally functional format into a new fundraising platform. Who better to partner with than one of the world’s most recognised LGBTQ icons, Elton John?” Ogilvy UK strategic partner Matt Waksman said.
At a time when charities must fight to grab the public’s attention, it seems innovations like this will become increasingly prevalent.
READ MORE: Pride Month: Elton John transforms into a LGBT-QR code to support his AIDS Foundation
Budweiser’s partnership with Dentsu and Solar Aid
Last month, Budweiser announced a new charitable partnership with Dentsu’s Good-Loop platform and Solar Aid, with aiming to bring power to developing communities by monetising one of its ads.
Every time one particular Budweiser ad was viewed, the beer powerhouse pledged a donation to British charity Solar Aid, which aims to create a sustainable market for solar lights throughout Africa.
Developed in partnership with Japanese agency Dentsu, the initiative was intended to aid in the donation of over 6,000 solar lights reaching over 33,000 people and saving families a total of over £981,000.
“In a time of climate chaos, where urgent action is needed, we are delighted to be partnering with Budweiser to bring clean, safe, solar light and power to homes and communities in Africa, where over 578 million people live without access to electricity,” Solar Aid CEO John Keane said at the time.
Denhard believes that seeking donations through initiatives like this can sometimes be more effective than hosting big events and campaigns.
“Creating experiences for donors to get involved with is something that would help to remove some of the associated barriers to fundraising and donating money,” he says.
READ MORE: Budweiser partners with Dentsu bespoke ads platform to drive Solar Aid donations
Macmillan’s social first campaign – backed by Global
Denhard also told Marketing Beat that ‘old’ ads are becoming less efficient and charities should look to social media more.
“The ad market is flooded with ‘asks’ and more ads than ever before,” he adds.
“Often the most powerful ads are lost in a sea of content. In the near future, there will have to be a step-change in how ads are created and what ‘asks’ are included.”
Macmillan’s most recent social campaign certainly makes use of social media, opting to use a more modern approach to gain engagement.
Last month, London agencies Mr. President and Zenith collaborated with Global on a new, social-first campaign for Macmillan Cancer Support’s annual fundraiser, ‘Brave the Shave’.
People took to social media to share the moment they shaved their heads live across social media in order to maximise the ‘Brave the Shave’s’ impact.
Media firm Global, will also be playing a pivotal role in the campaign by broadcasting the charity’s live shaves across its radio brands during ‘live week’, from 8 to 14 August.
“We’re truly proud as an agency to work with Macmillan on innovating Brave the Shave into a space which helps to broaden its audience even further,” Mr President associate creative director, Laura Clark said.
READ MORE: Macmillan launches social-first campaign backed by Global
Our first campaign for @MacmillanCancer launches today 💚 Find out how we're reinventing the annual fundraiser to help support people living with cancer https://t.co/uH27AcW7gb #macmillan #macmillancancer #bravetheshave pic.twitter.com/qVKhRMyAKt
— Mr. President (@MrPresident) June 20, 2022
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