Media Planning in the Charity Sector: What do fundraisers 7need to know?

Transcription

1 First principles

2 Media Planning in the Charity Sector: What do fundraisers 7need to know?

3 Introduction The personal touch matters Thirty years ago, planning was pretty straightforward; a fixed budget to be split across a small number of campaigns with a mixture of two or three media. Yes, it could take a while and some hard sums to work out but it could be done in excel and you didn t need a masters degree to do the maths. Planners often ended up doing other jobs, like managing print and buying data because the actual planning job was not a full-time role. Fast forward to today and the planner barely has time to make themselves a cup of tea. What s changed and what hasn t? Planners often ended up doing other jobs, like managing print and buying data because the actual planning job was not a full-time role.

4 The rise of the planner in fundraising Today budgets are variable and can be changed on a whim; media has exploded in variety and options; campaigns have become about running multi-media engagements, and the volume of data to process and report on has grown exponentially. The media planner is now central to the success of any agency and, more importantly, any brand. The ability to make sure that budget is spent wisely and to plan where and when to invest is crucial to the success not just of a campaign but of the whole marketing year. For fundraisers, choosing an agency is a crucial part of their long term success. Selecting an agency with a planner who gets it is now vital.

5 The changing face of planning To help fundraisers consider which planner to work with. Here are some top tips: Play the Long Game There is a greater focus on long term strategies to deliver returns over an extended time frame. As such there should be a focus on consumers that will deliver real life time value, rather than short term income with a greater propensity to lapse. Manage the Pennies There needs to be a strong focus on cost reduction across the whole media plan from delivery to actual media rates; look at minimising costs through short term buying, commitment deals or consolidated media services. Holidays aren t all sun, sea and sangria In planning for future spend avoid large events that may harm response. The double bank holiday for the royal Wedding hampered response rates due to the inactive weeks around it and it is expected that the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee could have the same, or an even more detrimental effect. Go Integrated The main challenge for fundraisers is to truly deliver campaigns across platforms and linking acquisition material together. This can be done through PURLS on DM creative linking to specific landing pages or ensuring that online content carries the same messaging throughout a customer s journey. Many charities still treat the online journey as a bolt on rather than an integrated piece that supports below the line media. Other tactics include reminder campaigns or short code text on above the line media. It s all in the past you know Use the past to predict the future; strong and accurate planning uses knowledge from past campaigns to forecast future activity. Planners must make sure they take heed of past results in conjunction with expected effects of creative and current market conditions. Planners must also take into account multiple factors to provide accurate forecasts that give clients confidence to plan for future budget spend.

6 The changing face of planning Think Laterally Look for data efficiencies to drive reminder or follow-up techniques to improve performance. This can be done by using tactics such as multi dupes from data purchase or just by dual usage on data. Utilise low cost print options to drive cheaper reminder creative. Be Joined-up Consider warm and cold communications together. Many people don t really think about the customer journey based on the creative or messaging they send at acquisition compared with their warm programme. In most cases charities need to spend more time and effort on proper segmentation and communication planning to ensure that a customer stays with them for longer and has the greatest potential to upgrade. Sometimes the truth is staring you in the face Consider how channels of acquisition can effect future performance i.e. cash, RG and raffle and what is the best way to migrate these people through their life cycle. Sometimes the answer is pretty simple; keep them on what they came in on. In other cases this needs to be tested and a journey mapped to migrate the supporter over time. While a planner, in some respects, is only ever as good as the data they work with and the past performance they can build on, they also need to be able to, well, plan! This requires thought, organisation and consideration of many factors.

7 Conclusion The value a planner can add is huge. By attributing spend across the right media to generate maximum response the return on investment can be substantial. As with any numbers-based discipline, there is an element of science in this case the measured ROI based on past results and art in this case, experience of what will work and what won t for a brand. And, finally, this is someone you will work with for a long time. You will open your business to them, your investment, budget, and your brand. You need to trust them as your charity s year will be defined by their level of success. So, make sure you pick someone you like and are happy to spend time with! In choosing a planner to work with you, try and take both of these elements into the mix. Make sure that they demonstrate the science, and can back up their hunches with evidence where possible. But also listen to those hunches sometimes they pay dividends. The best media planners will know when to rely solely on data and when to trust their instincts (which is based on experience), take a risk, and watch as the rewards are reaped.

8 Principles in action Helping The Salvation Army march forward combining production schedules to maximise economies of scale, and by leveraging highly competitive rates through their buying power. The results The Salvation Army is a worldwide registered charity that works in 124 countries, demonstrating Christian principles through practical support; offering unconditional friendship and very practical help to people of all ages, backgrounds and needs. Extremely successful 5% increase in response rate Significant 15% increase in ROI, breaking even in single campaign Successfully rolled-out to over 50% of original campaign size The Salvation Army uses fundraising mailings very successfully to generate a large amount of money to help the homeless in the UK and overseas. There is a constant challenge to try and improve these mailings, in particular, mailings which reminded donors about giving. The planner improved targeting by identifying the best r prospects using ROI and response metrics. They also reduced data costs through a change in planning strategy,

9 Principles in action Giving more joy to Smile Train Smile Train is a worldwide charity with a mission is to provide every child born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without. As with many charities, Smile Train experienced a declining performance of direct mail as an acquisition source for new supporters. The challenge was to arrest this decline, reduce list costs, and boost the campaign management process to increase the speed of campaign to market. By implementing lifetime value planning, the planner was able to measure list performance on a three year ROI mode. This ensured that Smile Train could acquire the best new supporters and remove reliance on highly responsive data that delivered a high level of attrition. Key to the solution was an innovative data strategy. This included introducing free multi-use data and implementing a rolling r programme to uplift response and reduce costs even further. Finally, a one stop shop for list management, data processing and print post and production streamlined the campaign process and provided a fully integrated solution. The results Considerably reduced campaign production time and increased speed to market 80% success rate achieved in new tests Delivered 18% increase in response and 29% increase in ROI List savings of over 200,000 26% reduction in print, DP and postage Savings of over 500,000 in first year

10 Contributors Stuart Huke Planning Director Response One St Ives Group Stuart graduated from the University of Gloucester in June 2000 with a BA Hons in Marketing & Finance and has been working in the Direct Marketing industry ever since. Stuart started at HLB, where he gained valuable experience of data planning and purchasing through the range of clients offered through WWAV Rapp Collins. During his time at HLB, Stuart developed planning & forecasting skills for both consumer and B2B data as well as organising and SMS campaigns. Stuart has a wealth of experience in planning direct mail and insert campaigns and has become an expert within the charity sector. He has been instrumental in improving results with a strong focus on ROI and life time value. After three successful years, Stuart moved to Response One in January 2004 and was promoted to Data Group Head in December 2004 and then to Planning Director in 2010 where he manages the largest planning and buying team in the UK.

11 Further information For further information please contact: St Ives Group Marketing

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