Multichannel Fundraising For Nonprofits - Bridge Conference 2012
•
3 likes•448 views
Moira Kavanagh Crosby of MKDM (www.mkdmc.com), Dennis Lonergan of Eidolon Communications (www.eidolonnyc.com) and Chris Helfrich of the U.N. Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign (www.NothingButNets.net) share how to create high-impact fundraising messages that work across multiple channels. View breakout campaign case studies, recession-busting tactics and tips for interdepartmental collaboration to help nonprofit organizations strengthen fundraising messages across channels.
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Multichannel Fundraising For Nonprofits - Bridge Conference 2012
Similar to Multichannel Fundraising For Nonprofits - Bridge Conference 2012 (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Multichannel Fundraising For Nonprofits - Bridge Conference 2012
- 1. Moira Kavanagh Crosby, MKDM @mkdm Chris Helfrich, Nothing But Nets @nothingbutnets Dennis Lonergan, Eidolon Communications @eidolonnyc #bridgeconf
- 10. #1. What you say and how you say it depends on the channel.
- 11. Channel Format & Content Tone Direct Mail 2 to 4-page letter, plus inserts with Person-to-person. More formal than supporting information and images online channels, but not institutional. In- (mostly 2-color). depth storytelling, case studies, facts. Reply device and reply envelope. Length and depth are often an asset. Email Series of 300- to 500-word messages Direct, often urgent. At times more with a central theme sent over a defined colloquial than direct mail. Focused on a period of time, often leading up to a single issue. Spam-filter conscious subject specific deadline/goal. Full color images, line language.* video screenshots, judicious linking to supporting content. Link to online donation page. Campaign Microsite or As long as needed. Full color images, Focused on a call to action. May be urgent, Landing Page video, donation form, information about inspirational, visual. issues, petitions and other engagement opportunities. Social Media (Twitter, Brief messages with links to content, Conversational and highly personal. Asks Facebook, YouTube, short wall posts with photos and links to questions, invites commentary, calls reader etc.) content, video with URL. to action and encourages sharing.
- 12. Channel Format & Content Tone Direct Mail 2 to 4-page letter, plus inserts with Person-to-person. More formal than 2-4 Pages supporting information and images online channels, but not institutional. In- In-depth story telling (mostly 2-color). depth storytelling, case studies, facts. Reply device and reply envelope. Length and depth are often an asset. Email Series of 300- to 500-word messages Direct, often urgent. At times more with a central theme sent over a defined colloquial than direct mail. Focused on a period of time, often leading up to a single issue. Spam-filter conscious subject 300-500 words specific deadline/goal. Full color images, line language.* video screenshots, judicious linking to supporting content. Link to online Urgent donation page. Campaign Microsite or As long as needed. Full color images, Focused on a call to action. May be urgent, Landing Page video, donation form, information about inspirational, visual. Easily absorbed issues, petitions and other engagement Focus on call-to-action opportunities. Social Media (Twitter, Brief messages with links to content, Conversational and highly personal. Asks Facebook, YouTube, 2-4 Sentences short wall posts with photos and links to Pure impulse questions, invites commentary, calls reader etc.) content, video with URL. to action and encourages sharing.
- 13. “When you’re writing for musical theatre, the story comes first. If the story’s right then the songs will probably come right.” Andrew Lloyd Weber
- 15. Carrier Letter Page 1 Insert Front Buckslip Premium Reply form Liftnote
- 17. Facebook Post Tweet Email 1 Email 2 Landing Page
- 18. DM carrier ≈ Home Page Callout
- 19. Home Page Callout ≈ DM carrier
- 21. DM petition Web Interactive Device ≈
- 22. Reply Device Web Donation Form ≈
- 23. DM Letter Email April 15, 2011 Dear Moira, As parents, we know that some things can go on the back burner, and others just can’t. You can put off the laundry until tomorrow ... get back to the daily run once the baby is a little older ... tackle those closets during the next school vacation. might ≈ But the health and security of your family? That’s a today thing. Always. Yet right now, with a decidedly anti-LGBT Congress flexing its muscle on Capitol Hill, you can be certain that YOUR priorities — the freedom to marry who you love, equal financial and health care protection for your family, strong anti-bullying policies in our schools — are way off the legislative radar (or if they are, it’s only to do the wrong thing, such as circumvent President Obama’s decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court). Some say that it’ll be impossible to make progress this year — that the LGBT community should sit back and try to remain invisible until the next congressional session. Are you kidding me? Here at Family Equality Council, we have no intention of being invisible during the current session of Congress. We plan to be walking those halls in force, educating friend and foe alike that our long list of serious needs isn’t going on anybody’s back burner. Delivering that message will be a pleasure. But it will also take resources. That’s why I am asking you for a special contribution — one that reflects the full force of your resolve that Congress has a responsibility to us ... we have a responsibility to each other ... and our families have rights and needs that will be recognized and acted upon with due speed. Your gift of $50 $75, $100 or even more will enable Family Equality Council to fight vigorously for our “Front and Center Agenda.” Before this year is over, you can expect a (over please)
- 24. DM Letter Email OR Dear Moira, might As a committed supporter of Family Equality Council, I am writing to share some very important news – and an extraordinary opportunity with you. ~ First, the important news: In partnership with the Movement Advancement Project and the Center for American Progress, Family Equality Council has just released the most comprehensive report ever on the state of family equality. The report, All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families, provides unprecedented documentation of the vast inequalities LGBT-headed families face in all areas of life. More importantly, it provides a legislative road map for correcting the legal and social inequalities that prevent our children and families from accessing our full civil rights. All Children Matter promises to be the most powerful tool of the decade in our fight for family equality on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures, in school, at work, and in our communities. It or presents an exciting opportunity to move the dial farther than ever for family equality in the coming year. And in light of this special opportunity, Family Equality Council has received another extraordinary opportunity that I am excited to share with you: ≠ A generous supporter has pledged to match all contributions up to $15,000 made to Family Equality Council by December 31, 2011! This means that your support now will be matched dollar-for-dollar through this challenge, doubling your impact for family equality. It also means I need your immediate assistance to take full advantage of this opportunity before it expires on December 31. Moira, will you help us meet this challenge with a tax-deductible gift of $xx, $xx, or even $xx or more if possible? I hope you will give my request your careful consideration, and that you will even consider increasing your support this year for Family Equality Council if you can. Because in … but still think through your creative at the same time.
- 25. #2. Different channels produce different types of results and serve different purposes.
- 33. More and more aid organizations are offering charity "gift catalogs" that offer tents, water cans, even livestock and poultry for families in need. For as little as Online $30, you can buy a flock of chickens for a needy family from International Rescue Committee as a "symbolic gift" for a friend or relative. The charity will Web Coverage often mail a beautiful holiday card to your loved one with a personalized message from you. So if you don't want another pair of slippers or scented lotion set this year, make sure to tell your family and friends about this great
- 36. Web Direct Mail Appeal Gift Catalog
- 37. #3. Multichannel means multi- part over a period of time.
- 39. DM ( ) $Ask 1 (plus $Ask 1 in matching funds = a total of $Ask1x2 ( ) $Ask 2 (plus $Ask 2 in matching funds = a total of $Ask2x2 ( ) $Ask 3 (plus $Ask3 in matching funds = a total of $Ask 3x3 Jane Q. Sample 123 Any Street Anytown, US 12345
- 40. December 7 EM December 13
- 41. EM December 22 December 27 December 30
- 42. Web December 7 December 20 December 13 December 26
- 43. SM
- 44. SM
- 45. SM
- 47. • Developing messages that work well across channels means working well across departments.
- 48. Multi-Channel Multiple Delivery Channels Delivering Multiple Messages
- 49. Omni-Channel Multiple Delivery Channels Delivering Unified Messages
- 50. Definition of MULTI- Definition of OMNI- a : many : multiple : much a : all b : more than one b : universal c : many times over c : universally d : diffuse d : converged
- 51. Controlled by a Unified Team Often a structure combining Development & Communications under a single External Relations department
- 52. • Developing messages that work well across channels means working well across departments. • Build your understanding of how your donors use the channels by using them yourself.
- 53. • Developing messages that work well across channels means working well across departments. • Build your understanding of how your donors use the channels by using them yourself. • Create space for new ideas.
- 54. • Developing messages that work well across channels means working well across departments. • Build your understanding of how your donors use the channels by using them yourself. • Create space for new ideas. • Don’t be afraid to fail.
- 55. How it all comes together for one organization.
- 57. Malaria Kills. Nets Save Lives. Spread the Buzz. Together we can cover a continent. Every 60 seconds, a child dies from malaria.
- 65. Chris Helfrich Dennis Lonergan Moira Kavanagh Crosby Nothing But Nets campaign Eidolon Communications MKDM United Nations Foundation dbl@eidolonnyc.com mkcrosby@mkdmc.com CHelfrich@unfoundation.org @eidolonnyc @mkdm @nothingbutnets Don’t forget to visit the Solutions Showcase! Many of the ideas discussed today are on display at the Solutions Showcase! #bridgeconf
Editor's Notes
- MoiraWelcome and kickoff with brief opening on how complex donor communications mix has become. DM remains hugely important part of our programs, brings in the most revenue for most orgs. Of orgs represented in Target Analytics 2011 Multichannel Benchmarking Report, direct mail comprised 79% of giving and online just 10%.
- MoiraBut it doesn’t happen in isolation the way it used to.
- Moira50% of donors surveyed in Dunham+Company study conducted by Campell Rinker said that they prefer to give online when they receive a letter in the mail from a charity. So when someone gets a letter from Chris’ organization …
- Moira… this is where they may head first.Plus there are many other channels at play that are all points of entry to your organization.
- MoiraHillary texts.
- MoiraThe Dalai Lama tweets.So it’s not just DM anymore.
- MoiraBut it’s not as simple as DM + Web + EM + Mobile + TM either …
- MoiraThe channels don’t stand alone.They work together.
- MoiraThis is what a campaign looks like now. We’re juggling much more complex mixes of DM, EM, Web, SM, and maybe TM and Mobile. And we’re creating messages across all of these platforms.(Don’t worry if this slide is a little hard to read; later we’ll walk you through a multichannel campaign & calendar)Connecting the media into cohesive campaigns is what Chris, Dennis and I do for a living and so we wanted to share with you some of the ways we approach multichannel communication. And we hope, give you ideas for how you can a) strengthen your messages and b) strengthen how well they work across channels. We are going to go fast so that we can share as much information with you as possible. If you have a question, by all means ask it! We’ll do our best to answer quickly on the spot, but we will be available after the session to talk about anything in greater depth that we don’t have time for in the session. Before we get started – tell us who you are. (Show of hands for things like: how many have multichannel programs already in place for your org or your client(s)? how many are just starting up programs? A joke somewhere.
- DennisWe need to be more versatile than ever, which I know all-too-well as a copywriter. You can’t just convert a DM letter into an email. The tone, language, length, format and imagery all have to be tailored to that form. And it’s possible that you shouldn’t even be asking for the same thing,.
- DennisThis slide sketches out the message, look and feel for a single campaign across four channels. Again, you’ll be able to read this more easily in your handout.Letter – 2 to 4 pages, plus insert and reply.Email – 3 to 5 hundred words, loaded with links, highly focused and urgent.Landing page – tightly focused on reiterating the call to action, and as easy as possible for donors to absorb and process.Social media – a few sentences, a link, a photograph – pure impulse and peer influence.
- DennisThis slide sketches out the message, look and feel for a single campaign across four channels. Again, you’ll be able to read this more easily in your handout.Letter – 2 to 4 pages, plus insert and reply.Email – 3 to 5 hundred words, loaded with links, highly focused and urgent.Landing page – tightly focused on reiterating the call to action, and as easy as possible for donors to absorb and process.Social media – a few sentences, a link, a photograph – pure impulse and peer influence.
- DennisWhen developing a multichannel campaign develop your story/issue/theme first, then imagine how you’ll apply it to channels in a way that makes sense for each channel.
- DennisOn these next two slide is a schematic I’ve started using to plot out each key element of a multi-channel campaign, to make sure I consider each on its own as well as part of a common whole.
- DennisOn these next two slide is a schematic I’ve started using to plot out each key element of a multi-channel campaign, to make sure I consider each on its own as well as part of a common whole.
- DennisOn these next two slide is a schematic I’ve started using to plot out each key element of a multi-channel campaign, to make sure I consider each on its own as well as part of a common whole.
- DennisMoira will show you how this kind of exercise plays out in some real campaigns.
- MoiraSo we know from Dennis to think about our story / issue first.And we know that we need consider components on their own AND as part of a common whole.But where do you begin when you’re sitting down to imagine, write and design your campaign and the pieces that make it up? Do you write your DM package, then your web page, then some emails?You could … but a better way to really make sure your materials hold together is to develop corresponding materials together. Consider a basic multichannel campaign consisting of web, DM and EM. In this scenario, the carrier envelope is to your campaign’s DM presence what your home page callout is to the campaign’s presence on your website. So develop them together. Here’s an example.While best practices for your website are going to say color, visual, image-focused …Best practices in direct mail say you’re usually better off with just words on paper.
- MoiraAnd here’s another example.Resist the urge to put that wonderful imagery on your DM carrier envelope though. There are times when image heavy DM carriers work, but more often than not it’s the simpler treatment that will work best in DM.
- MoiraCase in point: Which one do you think won? (Note: side 2 of the color envelope included the membership card teaser and both envelopes featured a tote premium on side 2)
- MoiraLikewise -- Develop your DM involvement device + web interactive piece togetherAs fundraisers, we’re always interested in finding ways for people to get involved in our issues.So how does involvement translate in different media?Example, the DM version of a Care2 name acquisition campaign might be a DM petition.
- Moira And when you think of yourDM Reply Device, you should also be thinking of your Web Landing Page or Donation Form
- MoiraDM and EM correspond closely sometimes.
- MoiraBut not always. One big considerationis that DM appeals are almost always single-notice events (talking about appeals, not renewals). In DM you build and express your case for support in a single package. In EM however, you build and express your case for support over the course of a series of coordinated notices. (EM campaigns are a lot like DM renewal series that way.)So while you are thinking of how to express your issue/case for support in a single DM package, you also need to be thinking of a way to bring that same issue to life over the course of a few emails. And like Dennis said the offer / ask may not be the quite the same as the offer in DM.Later, I’ll share an example of how to do this.
- Dennis
- DennisHere we’re going to take a look at last year’s year-end campaign for the International Rescue Committee, one of the most important organizations working on behalf of refugees and people affected by conflicts and disasters.
- DennisInternational Rescue Committee brands itself very carefully with colors, photo treatments, the “From Harm to Home” tag line, the Rescue.org web address, and the consistent application of third-party endorsements and percentage of gifts that go to program.This magazine ad captures all of the IRC brand elements in a single shot. (DL points out individual elements – photograph, logo, color, type, tag line, web address, third-party endorsements, percentages.)
- DennisA black-and-white variation for a newspaper ad. Notice here, IRC emphasized speed – “How FAST can you rescue a life?” – and then the extraordinary difference in this one child’s life, from emaciated and dehydrated to smiling and plump.
- DennisThis ad is more oriented to selling the online gift catalog, giving examples of what items are available, and emphasizing the powerful nature of these gifts that rescue real lives, as opposed to the ties and sweaters that so often get returned.
- DennisThe year-end campaign is reinforced here in online advertising. These examples are from Barrons.com and Christian Science Monitor.com. All are instantly recognizable as IRC.
- DennisWhen my company began working with the IRC, we inherited two tent pole acquisition packages, one signed by Tom Brokaw and the other by Paul Newman. Mr. Newman passed away and Mr. Brokaw did not want IRC to reply solely on his package. So into the external marketing mix was added a celebrity wrangler, who recruited and developed four up-and-coming “IRC Voices” to draw attention to IRC online, in news and pop media, and other settings. This web news item from the Huffington Post [DL – CHECK SOURCE] features Rashida Jones, the up and coming actress from Parks & Recreation and Hollywood films. She draws eyes to the IRC’s story and interprets it in terms that donors can relate to. Other IRC voices include John Legend, Sarah Wayne Callies and JencarlosCanela.
- DennisWhile the year-end campaign was pretty well locked-and-loaded, we did pivot when a particular opportunity presented itself – in this case, Minhaj, who was an IRC success story picked up by the wire services and networks. IRC promoted the story very heavily during drought coverage and it helped to draw attention to the IRC as a recommendable option for year-end giving by third party endorsers.
- DennisThis is news coverage of the IRC’s gift site on CNN.com
- DennisAnd this is the actual gift site. Any number of you out there, even much smaller organizations, can construct a gift site based on your programmatic work. For a year-end campaign, it lends itself to the omni- and multi-channel concept and gives you an appealing, donor-friendly and interactive campaign that works in the mail, online, on Facebook and Twitter, and other channels.
- DennisThe first renewal, which punctuated the year-end campaign.
- DennisAnd the gift catalog self-mailer, which has been a winner for IRC for three years.
- MoiraIt’s not just a single appeal on a single day; it’s a planned series of communications that work together to build a cohesive case for support.
- MoiraContinuing with the year end theme, since this is what we’re all working on right now … One big change driven by multichannel is that your year end appeal doesn’t just happen on 11/15 any more.Your year end appeal is a whole season of communication that merely kicks off sometime in November and doesn’t end until midnight 12/31.
- MoiraHere’s an example of a multichannel year end campaign for one organization. DM. This mailed mid-November. Conveys the message in DM vernacular.
- MoiraHere’s how the messaging translated in email. We go from one comprehensive message in DM to 5 messages in EM, all approaching the case for support from slightly different angles.You’ll see we are really working the year end deadline & sense of urgency in a way we simply can’t in DM, but that works REALLY well in EM.
- Moira
- MoiraLikewise, we refresh the home page throughout the year end season to echo the messages going out in DM and EM. One thing not demonstrated here (only because this particular org was going through a major site redesign at the time of this campaign), but that we’d recommend is a lightbox on your home page at year end. Don’t forget to have something queued up for January 1 to update your year end messaging. The number of orgs that still have year end messages up in the first week of the new year is surprising.
- MoiraAnd here’s a glance at year end social media for this org. We vary messaging from light to serious to urgent. It’s short format, matches the tone of the media:“Holiday gift idea: family equality. Better than a sweater and goes twice as far thanks to our matching gift challenge.” The levity of this particular tweet won’t necessarily be right for every organization, but it fit the personality of this org. There’s an important best practice represented on this slide. Can anyone see what it is?(The ratio of fundraising messages to good quality, diverse content.)
- MoiraHere are all the fundraising-related Twitter messages for this org at year end. Again, they were outnumbered by good quality program content by about 5 to 1.
- MoiraAnd here’s facebook year end fundraising messages for this org.
- MoiraWhat else you can do to turn your multichannel efforts up to 11 …
- Dennis“Developing messages that work well across channels means working well across departments.”Here’s how that happens at the IRC.
- DennisIn 2010, IRC began moving from a multi-channel approach…. through which multiple channels deliver multiple messages….
- Dennisto what’s becoming known as an Omni-Channel approach….where multiple channels deliver unified messages.
- Dennis:It’s a subtle but important distinction.
- DennisAnd it works because it is the product of a unified team –often in a structure where Development and Communications departments are combined into a single External Relations department.
- MoiraGive, subscribe, tweet, like, etc…
- MoiraMultichannel campaigns are more complex and rely on more original thought than single channel fundraising efforts. Free up mental bandwidth for new ideas.
- DennisTaking risks does not mean being reckless. It means being fearless in pushing boundaries. This is one of the beauties of omni- and multi-channel marketing. Email, telemarketing and social media especially offer us the opportunity to try things, however wild and untested, to get a quick read on how effective they are. That’s where breakout campaigns come from – the willingness to take risks and do things in bold, new and innovative ways.
- DennisWe’ll now turn it over to Chris Helfrich, whose organization, the Nothing But Nets campaign of the United Nations Foundation, is an exemplar of the clear, consistent, and effective use of multi-channel marketing.
- Chris(Chris, you can talk about how you knew about NBN even before you came to work there, from reading the Rick Reilly article to following its development through its effective use of multiple channels.)
- ChrisThese is the kind of simple, high-impact language that undergirds all Nothing But Nets communications, across all channels. Simplicity, stark truths, and relentless repetition are key to hammering these messages home and giving busy donors a clear understanding of why their support for Nothing But Nets matters and makes a difference.
- ChrisTalks about the Facebook page of use of social media.
- ChrisTalks about the Twitter feed.
- ChrisTalks about the You Tube channel.
- ChrisTalks about imagery and the Flickr page.
- ChrisTalks about the blog.
- ChrisTalks about collecting names and igniting direct donor action.
- ChrisSums up the amazingly comprehensive application of Nets’ messaging across every conceivable channel, and how that is working for you.