how to create new fundraising products when a crowded market calls for a focused sell -
DESCRIPTION
How do you create new ways to fundraise? Where do you start? What are the key things to cover? This presentation covers the top nine tips we'd give based on our experience of developing successful new products, both within and outside of the charity sector. The IoF introduction was: The giving market is exceptionally crowded. 160,000+ charities compete for a portion of the measly 0.25% p.a. of household expenditure given to UK charities - a figure that's remained unchanged for almost 25 years. How do you create a stand-out ask and deliver growth? How do you create a proposition that educates about your brand? How do you create focus, generate compelling insight and create unique propositions that persuade supporters to give? How do you test new ideas in the market? Grab some tips on tools & hear the backstory on some fab innovation including Merlin's National Awards nominated PlumpyNut Challenge and Shelter's brand new mass participation events. Presentation given at IOF National Convention, July 2013 by Andrew Bathgate from Good Innovation (@good_Innovation), Imogen Ward from Merlin (@imogenward) and Nick Marsh from Shelter.TRANSCRIPT
A crowded
market calls for
a focused sell -
how Merlin and
Shelter turned a
smorgasbord
into a single
dish
Who we are
Nick Marsh
Head of Individual Giving
Imogen Ward
Director of Marketing and Communications
Andrew Bathgate
Partner
The plan for the next hour…
• Why we’re here and what we’ve done
• Our tips for doing good innovation
• Q&A
Not that Merlin
The Plumpy Nut Challenge
Shelter’s two events
Without giving too much away…
So… what are our top tips for good
innovation?
Develop the right product
and
Develop the product right
Focus
Christmas became Shelter’s area of focus
Generic ‘support homeless charity’
ask
Added “70,000 children homeless” statistic
50% increase
100% increase in propensity to support
Added “at Christmas”
30% increase
Who did Merlin want to recruit?
Introducing Alex…
• Difficult to identify differentiated target markets in international development
• Decided to take a different approach – the founders story & personality permeates the Merlin brand… • Pragmatic, no nonsense
• Wants action, not words• Seeking big solutions, not sticking plasters
Understand your market
The events market is very crowded, it’s difficult to find a gap…
…and to find a market in the gap
Use insight to
find problems to solve
What do we mean by insight?
I want my children to understand how lucky they
are
Create a pull, not just a push
Participants do the
event because they
care about the
cause
Participants get
something out of
participating as well
as supporting the
cause
Participants doing
the event solely as
they get something
out of it
How Shelter used insights
What people think we do
What people think about their home
I need to be able to
go back to ‘home
home’, its
safe, secure and
full of memories
I think my home is
more than the walls –
it is about having the
people I care about
around me
I believe my home is my launch pad to all the
other things I want to do in my life – the
foundation everything else is built on
Structure how you
create ideas
A day in the lifeAudience insights
What Christmas isOther events
Be commercial as well as creative
Competition
Buy one give oneTrial periods
Incentivising sharing
Tiered incentives
Recommendations
Rewards & penalties
White labellingRewards
Flexibility
Exclusivity
Gamification
Limited supply
Membership Choice
Freemium
Initial discounts LoyaltyBrokering
Peer to peer
Co-createCo-whittleCo-build
…but make a decision
ObservationGroupsIndividual
How do you involve supporters?
Pilot quickly, cheaply
and iteratively
Read this
(Free copies through us)
• Did it all in house
• Spoke to potential audience & people in the know
• Only focused on Twitter followers NOT existing donors
• Created buzz in build up to launch & got influencers behind it
• Was ambitious but managed expectations
• Was prepared for the weirdness of Twitter to be unleashed
How did Merlin pilot?
How are Shelter piloting?
• The pilots are designed to test the key assumptions:• Hosts will sign up and will recruit other participants who want to
participate
• There aren’t any communications or logistical barriers
• Competition and online social interaction enhance the event
• The financial assumptions are accurate
• Minimum viable products being developed
• One idea: One event every day or two to allow us to iterate as we go
• The other: Working with a corporate partner, getting them engaged at the creating stage and owning the outcome
Get buy in
Benefits for Merlin:
Culture key
Low cost. Managed in house
Pilot
Engage all of organisation – get staff to take part
Share results & the buzz
Benefits for Shelter:
On-going engagement with people across all of fundraising
Involvement in the narrowing down and building up of ideas created ownership
Bring the ideas to life, visualise them
Getting buy in
In summary
• Focus
• Understand your market
• Use insight to create reasons
• Structure how you create ideas
• Be commercial as well as creative
• Co-create, co-whittle, co-build
• Pilot quickly, cheaply and iteratively
• Get buy in
@imogenward
@Good_Innovation