1. Choices, choices, choices.
The rise in consumer choice and how charities
should respond
October 2011
Tel: 020 7426 8888
Email: joe.saxton@nfpsynergy.net
Web: www.nfpsynergy.net

2. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
2

3. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
3

4. If you went to Starbucks and got a different
drink every weekday, how long before you would
have to have a drink for a second time?

5. Complexity and Managing Choice
Modern choice culture
allows consumers to
express all manner of
preferences not
always directly
related to price and
functionality.
5

6. Mobile phone tariffs
Number of different tariffs available at the Carphone Warehouse
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1992 1993 1996 1999 2001 2006 2008 2009
Source: Carphone Warehouse/nVision
6 Base: UK

7. Number of unique shopping baskets available for
various product combinations
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Orange juice & Milk & bread Tea & bread Cereal & washing
chicken pieces powder/liquid
Source: nVision Fieldwork, March 2009
7

8. Number of different kinds of products in the home
35%
Breakfast cereals
30%
Shampoos
25%
Household cleaning
20% products
15%
10%
5%
0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+
Source: Complicated Lives /The Future Foundation, 2000
Base: All aged 18+

9. Number of television channels available
1990 - 2004
1000
900
800 Sky
multichannel CH 5 Digital TV
700 package
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: nVision, UK

10. Products available at multiple stores
Number of products at two top multiple retailers
45000
Sainsbury's (average lines per store)
40000
Tesco (total lines across all stores)
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Source: nVision, UK

11. Even a bigger wardrobe can add complications
o “In my wardrobe, I had (in the fifties) my everyday clothes,
skirts, sweaters and blouses, and my Sunday clothes, one
coat, two pairs of shoes and a best dress” (Woman, AB,
70s)
Compare this with a 20 year old woman today:
o “I have so many clothes, I‟ve got nowhere to put them …but
I‟ve still got nothing to wear!” (Woman AB, 20)

12. If you went to Starbucks and got a different
drink every weekday, how long before you would
have to have a drink for a second time?

13. 13

14. If you went to Starbucks and got a different
drink every weekday, how long before you would
have to have a drink for a second time?
So 87,000 divided by 5 days a week divided
by 52 weeks a year is 334 years!

15. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
15

16. “When making an important purchase decision (like
a holiday, computer, car or mobile phone) these
days there is too much information to go through”
% who agree or agree strongly by gender, age, social grade
Source: nVision Research
16 Base: 1,000 face-to-face respondents aged 16+, GB

17. “When looking to buy the following products or
services, in which of these cases have you used price
comparison websites as part of your decision making
process?”
% who use them to buy the following products or services
Source: nVision Research
17 Base: 2,207 online respondents aged 16+, GB, 2011

18. “I often share tips on how to cut costs and save
money ”
% who agree or agree strongly by gender, age and social grade
100% Agree Strongly agree
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Total
Female
65+
Male
AB
DE
C2
C1
Source: nVision Research
18 Base: 1,000 online respondents aged 16+, 2010, GB

19. “Have you recommended any of the following to a
friend or family in the last 12 months?”
% who have recommended the following to family and friends
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
A film
A restaurant
A book
A holiday location
A hotel
A band
A travel website
A theatre performance
A comedy show
A music venue
A musical
A spa location
A travel agent
Source: lastminute.com/The Future Foundation/nVision
19 Base: 1,000 respondents aged 16-65, GB, 2010

20. Influential sources when choosing particular leisure
activities
“Thinking of the time you last did each activity, which of the following
sources, if any, were influential in your choice?”
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
A recommendation from friends or family
Personal experience
Coverage on the internet
A special offer or promotion
Online advertising
TV programme
Offline advertising
Travel destination
Through social networking discussions
A sales person / shop assistant Restaurant for a special
occasion
Coverage in a blog
Live event
Other
None of these
Source: lastminute.com/The Future Foundation/nVision
20 Base: 900-950 aged 16-65 who do each activity, GB, 2010

21. “A well-known brand is the best assurance of
quality there is”
% who agree or agree strongly, by gender, age and social grade
100% Agree strongly Agree
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
25-34
16-24
35-44
45-54
55-64
Total
Female
65+
Male
AB
DE
C1
C2
Source: Friends Life/The Future Foundation/nVision
21 Base: 1,000 online respondents aged 16+, GB, 2011

22. “I regularly review my financial services products to
ensure I’m getting the best possible deal”
% who agree or agree strongly, by gender, age and social grade
Source: Friends Life/The Future Foundation/nVision Research
22 Base: 1,000-2,000 online respondents aged 16+, GB

23. It is so hard to make perfect choices
“When buying a holiday, computer, car or mobile phone these days
there is too much information to go through.”
100% 1999 2007 2010
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Male Female
Source: nVision Research
23 Base: 1,000 face-to-face respondents aged 16+, GB

24. Compared prices online forecast
% of adults who have compared prices online in the last 6 months
100% Price comparison forecast
90% Price comparison - actual
80% Internet users (those using it at least once a week) - forecast
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: nVision Research
24 Base: 1,200 respondents aged 15+, GB

25. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
25

26. Expectation of choice and the need for instant
gratification
• Choice is increasing in every area of our lives… and we
employ different strategies for managing it
• Choice driven by competition
o More than 8,500 mortgages, 1,600 models of new car
• Choice driven by technology
o More than 2500 mobile phone tariffs in Carphone Warehouse
alone
o 900+ TV channels (up from 4 only 10 – 15 years ago)
• Choice driven by deregulation
o 16 choices of electricity supplier
o 22 choices of gas supplier… from a base of no choice of utility
supplier as recently as 1990

27. Mobile phone penetration by age
Proportion of adults who own a mobile phone - nVision forecast
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
16-24 actual 25-34 actual
20% 35-44 actual 45-54 actual
55-64 actual 65+ actual
16-24 25-34
10% 35-44 45-54
55-64 65+
0%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: „Changing Lives‟, nVision
Base: 1000 adults 16+, UK

28. Proportion who have internet access anywhere, by age
"Do you have access to the internet? At home; At work; At school/college;
Somewhere else“ * Excludes “Don‟t Know”
90% Jul-00 Jul-03 Jul-05
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
All 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Source: „Changing Lives‟, nVision
Base: 1000 adults 16+, UK

29. People participating in social networking websites
“Which of the following, if any, have you done on the internet in the last 6
months…? Created / updated a personal profile on a social networking site
(e.g. facebook / myspace / bebo)”
45% Spring 2008 Autumn 2008 Autumn 2009 Summer 2010
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Female
Male
Total
C2DE
ABC1
15-34
35-54
55+
Source: nVision Research
Base: 1,000 face-to-face respondents aged 16+, GB

30. Digital / Multichannel TV progress
% of TV households
100%
90%
Total multichannel
80%
Total digital
70%
Satellite
60%
DTT-only
50%
40% Cable
30%
20%
10%
0%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Ofcom Digital TV Update/nVision
Base: UK

31. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
31

32. Faced with too much choice
What strategies do consumers adopt?

Brands as Values/ Relax
Independent
choice ethical search Price
advisors
managers concerns criteria
Depends on
Profit-making Not for profit
interest in
category
Source: 'Citizen Brands', Michael Willmott/Future Foundation
2001

33. The importance of irrationality
• Charities deal with complex social issues and need a
rational focus .… this can translate into the belief that
appeals must be completely rational
• Facts in some studies have been shown to be a turn-
off for donors
o Experiment where people were asked to talk about
babies (emotions) or to do math calculations
(rational) – the latter donated less
o Experiment where people in one group could
donate to a fund for medical treatment to save the
life of 1 child or the lives of 8 children – people
donated twice as much money to help save that
one child
• Often an irrational world where brands, celebrities,
fashions, emotions rule
• Disproportionate concern on individuals e.g Amanda
Knox, Madeleine McCann, Cheryl Cole
• The solution – a „Darfur Puppy‟ as the way to make
mass human disasters matter
Source: Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, “Save The Darfur Puppy”, 9th May 2007

34. Learned helplessness
• Perceived lack of control can result in feelings of paralysis or in conceding
defeat
• People today have access to more information about the world than at any
other point in history. News of disasters, wars and terrorist activities flood
in everyday
• All of this can leave donors feeling that their actions are futile and that
nothing they do will make a difference…
o Feelings about climate change move from disbelief to paralysis

35. Continuous Partial Attention
• CPA is described as a new phenomenon of juggling tasks that require a
reasonable amount of cognitive engagement
o Listening to this talk, scanning your Blackberry for work emails and emails from
friends about social arrangements
o More complex tasks than multi-tasking
• Linda Stone of Microsoft and Apple describes CPA as a behaviour we have
learned to help us cope with an information rich environment:
o “In this sleep-deprived, interruption-driven, always-on world, our ability to focus
is compromised. In trying to process a never-ending and ever-widening stream
of incoming data, we can put off decisions indefinitely or even burn out.”
• How can you communicate with supporters in a way that doesn‟t increase
sensory overload?

36. “I often can't be bothered to make a decision, I'd
rather other people made it for me”
40% Agree Agree strongly
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Total
65+
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Source: nVision Research
36 Base: 1,200 respondents aged 15+, GB, 2008

37. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
37

38. My hypothesis is that we don’t offer real choice
to supporters of charities because we don’t do
enough to help them choose – we don’t provide
the mechanisms for choice that they understand.
38

39. Choice in charities
• We could be offering choice between charities
• We could be offering choice in how to support charities
• We could be offering better brand distinction
• We could be offering better choice of mechanisms to engage
• We could be offering better mechanism to help evaluation of impact
39

40. The talk in a nutshell
• Choice is mushrooming
• What do we think of this growth in choice
• This is driven by technology, regulation, competition and culture
• We learn to cope with this choice in a number of ways
• What choice do charities offer?
• So how do charities mirror and respond to this rise in choice
o With branding
o With motivations
o With products
o With supporter-centred strategies
40

41. Choice through branding
• What makes an organisation different?
• What is its niche
• What kind of people are mostly likely to support it
• What reasons would they have to support it
41

42. Choice through motivations
The motivations
Ideology
Beliefs
Capability
Specifics
Environment
42

43. Five motivations in more details
The motivation The descriptions
Ideology This charity shares my view of the world and
how it works or should work – my ideology
Beliefs This charity share my beliefs about a right or
wrong in the world and how to solve it
Capability This charity has shown they have the capability
to do the good that I want done
Specifics This act is a specific, achievable good thing
that I can do
Environment This act benefits me, my life or my immediate
world
43

44. Five motivations in more details
More about the Greater
cause and the loyalty
The motivation issue
Ideology
Beliefs
Capability
Specifics
Environment
More about More on
the donor & volunteering and
their concerns reactive support
44

45. Five motivations in more details
The motivation The examples
Ideology Political parties, Greenpeace
Beliefs Amnesty International
Capability Red Cross
Specifics Plan UK Child sponsorship, Smile Train
Environment Comic Relief, Local charities
45

46. Choice through productisation
• How much money is wanted
• Why is it wanted
• What sorted of feedback will donors get
• What impact will it have
• What kinds of people will value it the most
46