BlueFrog Creative

Not about politics – honestly.

This week, I've been working on an engagement piece for donors that includes a questionnaire.

I've written here before, with scepticism, about what charities learn from sending tick box style surveys to donors. So when working on a piece like this, I'm always grateful for a little help from our in-house researcher, Amber. She advises on how many questions to ask and how to formulate them in a way that gets a meaningful answer.

But this week – hopefully for the first and last time in my life – I've had Lord Ashcroft on my mind.  

I've been thinking about the YouGov poll he commissioned, which phrased the question about Scottish independence in three ways.

1. Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?

2. Do you agree or disagree that Scotland should be an independent country?

3. Should Scotland become an independent country, or should it remain part of the United Kingdom?

If you don't know the results of the poll, now's the time to make an educated guess as to the outcome…

 

 …Well, version 1. got the strongest vote in favour of independence (41%). The results to version 2. were not significantly different. But when you compare the answers to version 1. and 3., you do see changes. 33% chose 'become an independent country', with the yes vote dropping most amongst men (more details here).

So what does all this mean?

People are agreeable

Apparently, or so it says here, questions using the phrasing 'disagree' or 'agree' tends to favour the 'agree' side. I'm assuming this is because (most) people prefer being agreeable, over being disagreeable.

People fear change?

The change of results with version 3. of the question is widely attributed to using the word 'become' rather than 'be'. 'Become' apparently emphasises change and people don't like change. It's also been pointed out that the third wording of the question was the only one to refer to the United Kingdom.

Beware of questioners with a vested interest

Wording poll questions is clearly a dark art, especially when you consider that Lord Ashcroft was asking a set of questions to illicit the response that he wanted. I'm making the not unreasonable assumption here that anything that calls into question the independence referendum is in Lord Ashcroft's interest, given his political stance. And this article includes some concerns about the methodology of the survey.

Leave no mistake about what you mean

So let's get back to what's relevant to us as fundraisers, it's no surprise that subtle changes in wording can have unexpected consequences. So if you've got something to say to a donor, I'm in favour of saying it loud and clear.

This piece of work from last year demonstrates that.

Adopt a Word is a fantastic fundraising idea from I CAN, which you might have read about previously. Adopting your favourite word for yourself or a friend is incredibly engaging, but a challenge remains. How do you get word adopters to then give their support to the charity? A similarly difficult job would be moving people from owning a colour to supporting UNICEF regularly. It's a tough job, but here's what we tried to do. 

We sent word buyers and word gift recipients a new word – one which described them and they could keep forever.

 

 

This certificate differs from the Adopt a Word one, as it comes from Matty, a boy who struggled to learn to communicate. His dad explained that, with I CAN's help, the change in his son had been phenomenal - and that was one word we wanted I CAN's phenomenal word adopters to keep.

Fun. Humour. Wit.

Three words that are not instantly associated with fundraising. Let’s face it, we’re more often dealing with the world’s weighty issues as we try and move people emotionally and inspire them to give.

I CAN, a UK charity that helps children with communication difficulties, has, however put fun, humour and wit at the heart of its fundraising. And I think it’s interesting to look at the new opportunities it’s given them to promote their cause.

Have you had a look at I CAN’s Adopt a Word scheme? If you haven’t, click here to have a look at how it works. You’ll be able to search for a word you’d like to adopt, find inspiration if you're lost for words and see some lucky words that have already been adopted by a celeb or two.

It’s a great way of getting people to engage with the cause. Words are often adopted as gifts (for a year), giving I CAN two potential leads to convert to committed giving.

I also like the way you can buy additional Adopt a Word gifts such as t-shirts, mugs etc. It’s another smart way of raising funds.

Follow @adoptaword and you'll find the fun runs right through to the Twitter stream, with regular word-based riddles, quizzes or facts to get you through the day.

At this point, I should declare my interest as we work with I CAN on parts of their Adopt a Word programme.

In the run up to Christmas, we came up with this advert, which is living proof that raising money via television no longer requires a big budget – especially if staff at your agency are in the ad and bring in the props from home!

  

We also produced these welcome materials, also on a tight budget, to go to word adopters and people who received a word as a gift.

 

(Click on the image if you want a closer look)

Fun, humour and wit run through this product (the welcome letter was really great to write). And you can see here how a donor responded to the instructions on how to care for their word (in this case, 'binoculars'). 'I love @adopt a word' - what an excellent start!

 

 When I was looking at the campaign results, I was a little surprised to see that one of the key drivers of traffic to the website was a small advert in the weekly popbitch email, not a communication much used by charities (!)

(Popbitch is, in its own words, 'a free weekly newsletter focusing on satirical celebrity gossip'.)

Which brings me to trying to sum up some of the advantages of coming up a 'fun' fundraising product.

1. A new audience – You have a new way of engaging donors (you often attract younger donors) and are occupying a less congested area of the marketplace.

2. New advertising spaces – You can promote your product in places other charities don't go (see popbitch).

3. Making donors feel good - If your product automatically puts a smile on a donor's face, it's a good starting point for building a relationship.