BlueFrog Creative

How do these adverts make you feel?

Have you got your donor hat on? Great, let's begin.

Here's a selection of adverts – old and new, online and offline – for you to look at. Then we'll see how you react to them...

(Help the Aged, press advert)

(ChildLine £3 pack)

 (DEC press advert)

(Smile train press advert)

  

 Sightsavers press ad

(Dogs Trust press advert)

(Cancer Research UK press advert)

(Friends of the Earth press advert)

 

(DEC press advert)

 

Unicef banner advert

   

 (Oxfam press advert)

You can take your donor hat off now. Did you notice what happened? 

They're in a (rough) order. I started with adverts that present you with a problem that you, as a donor, can solve. The sums of money being asked for vary, but all make the donor feel powerful.

Then the adverts start to change and present larger-scale problems with less tangible solutions. These can – worst case scenario – make a donor feel powerless. Their gift seems like a drop in the ocean.

At Bluefrog, we try to make sure that doesn't happen. For every piece of fundraising, we address four principle need states, one of which is 'combat helplessness'

So would we ask you to change the world? Or fix the system? Probably not, because it's more than most people can deal with – even if they are getting a helping hand from other like-minded individuals.

Mark sums it up in this post by saying 'Show donors what they can do, not what they can't'.

Of course, some causes lend themselves to straightforward propositions. With others, you have to work a little harder (or more imaginatively) to find a way of making the donor feel their contribution is a vital one. That's why I like the Goma DEC advert, where in the midst of a large-scale disaster, there's an attempt to breakdown the costs and combat a donor's feeling of helplessness.

The theme of helplessness came up in Adam Curtis's three-part documentary ‘All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace’. Did you see it? I suspect the series would have had a wider following amongst fundraisers if its title had more clearly revealed its theme – the death of altruism.

In it, Curtis looked at the rise of philosophies which either directly reject altruism or lead to it. One was Ayn Rand's Objectivism. Another was the belief system, associated with people like Richard Dawkins, which resulted from George R Price's mathematical theories. 

Price pioneered the idea that we are governed by our genes and even altruism can be understood via mathematics. He became convinced that an individual 'altruistic' act only exists to further the survival of the mass of human beings – in particular, those humans most like us. This is the genetic understanding of altruism. It is just a kind of self interest. And it leads to the belief that we are little more than genetically driven machines, who can do little to change the course of events.

If you watched the programme, you'll realise that particular philosophy pretty much drove George Price mad. It's certainly depressing. That's why I like adverts that make donors feel powerful.

All the pieces shown above are recruiting new donors, but combating helplessness needs to run through a donor communication programme. By proving donations are used to make a difference - in newsletters and feedback pieces – you can build a relationship of trust.

Did anyone convince you your donation made a difference?

It's just over a year now since the earthquake in Haiti and the great wave of public giving that followed. Aid organizations are now being asked to prove that the donations they received have been:

1. Used.

2. Made a difference.

As I wrote about here, I gave my donation to MSF and, just over a week ago,  they sent me this email.

I was really pleased that the email came from an MSF volunteer doctor, but the content didn't quite live up to my expectations. The thank you, for example, is a little underwhelming. Jonathan Grapsas had a rather better experience which he writes about here with MSF in Canada.

Still, in the interests of research, I downloaded the report and watched the short video. Despite picking it up a few times, I haven't managed to finish the 36-page report, but the film – as you'll see below – has some pros and cons.

Prompted by MSF's offering, I thought I'd take a look at what other organizations have produced. They all face the difficult task of needing to share achievements, but also acknowledge that the situation for many people remains dire.

My selection is random, based on what came up in Google and You Tube searches. So if you have other examples you'd like to share, I'd be delighted. You can use the comments section below or send them to me. It would be great to see what you liked – or didn't.

MSF – views 1,925

(If you have trouble playing the films, I found a double click into You Tube did the trick)

There are plenty of facts and figures in this report – and one particularly crucial one. MSF was the only organization I found which said it had spent all the donations it had received for Haiti within the year. That goes a long way towards convincing me I gave to the right organization.

The film is pretty comprehensive, covering the cholera outbreak too. But for me, it only really comes to life when the MSF medics are speaking. The voice over is, I guess, deliberately dispassionate, but isn't giving about emotion? Didn't we give because we care? There's one moment in this film which could (should?) move you to tears, but it doesn't. I'll leave you to find it.

Save the Children USA - 241 views

Isn't it nice to be thanked? Save the Children USA has two versions of this film - the longer one above is a thank you version for donors. From the first beats, you can see they've tried to create a more dynamic, upbeat mood. We see children in temporary schools and permanent schools being built, as well as other examples of what donations have helped to do. In contrast to MSF's films, we hear from Haitian children and parents.

Because the voice over comes from a person we actually engage with and have been thanked by, there's also a chance to make an ask for further support.

Plan USA -775 views

 

Once it gets going, this one is pretty similar to Save the Children's. It ends with this graphic which I liked to sum up their activities.

American Red Cross - 9,337 views

 

Very like the previous two, but slicker. Feels like a honest assessment of achievements and set backs.

Oxfam UK - 689 views

 

Content-wise this one is very light indeed. If you like upbeat music and images, this is for you.

ActionAid UK - 22 views

 

No voice over. No ActionAid staff. No mood music. Just footage of a Haitian family describing their situation. ActionAid has produced some lovely films in this way to show donors who bought their virtual gifts what they were supporting, which you can see here. I didn't think this one was quite as good though.

UNICEF  - 4,854 views

 

Am I allowed to say I hate the start, where I'm told I'm watching 'unicef television'? This is very 'newsy', but as a result feels distant and impersonal. I'm guessing this hasn't been produced for donors. 

Christian Aid – 111 views

 

This is a mix of film footage and slide show. I didn't mind that, but I didn't feel I really learned what Christian Aid has done in Haiti.

One thing you may have noticed is that most of these films have a very low number of viewings (even after I'd watched them repeatedly!). It may sound harsh, but I'd say they just aren't entertaining enough. Turn off the visuals and, in many cases you're listening to a list – there's no story to engage.

It's by no mean perfect, but I found a news report, which provides an interesting contrast.

Just like the films above, it sets out of report on Haiti one year on. But within a minute you have seen the difference that one year can make - it's a father who, against the odds, still has his little girl. The wound on her head and knee are healed and we're treated to her tremendous smile. The report goes some way towards the delivering the great feeling that a donor needs, before then looking at the areas where more help is needed.

You'll need to click here to view as it's on the BBC website.

I feel a bit sorry that the report I liked best didn't come from a charity at all. But what do you think? Have you seen/received anything better? Post below if you have something good to share.

* UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE *

Here's another kindly sent my way by Damian O'Broin of Ask Direct.

Concern Worldwide has this nice dedicated web page, giving feedback on their work in Haiti. It includes some films, a map and some facts and figures. Click here to view the live site.

 

 

Friday Fundraisers' quiz question - too easy

Despite my attempts to mislead you, I think this week's question was just too easy for you. I did try and throw you a red herring – detailing where the advert was placed – but you spotted that the new version on a white background was easier to read and therefore more likely to be read. 

Last week, I referred to 'fundraising truths' and one of them is that reversed out type can lose you up to half your readers. Of course, you might choose to ignore that, but you'd need a good reason. I like the way David Ogilvy put it (in Ogilvy on Advertising) - he knew a fair bit about press advertising after all.

"I am sometimes attacked for imposing 'rules'. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hate rules. All I do is report on how consumers react to different stimuli...I may say to an art director, 'Research suggests that if you set the copy in black type on a white background, more people will read it than if you set it in white type on a black background'. A hint perhaps, but scarcely a rule."

I wonder how long the art director who ignored such useful 'hints' would have lasted.

Earlier in the same piece, Ogilvy says "When I write an advertisement, I don't want you to tell me that you find it 'creative'. I want you to find it so interesting you buy the product." Wise words in this particular case.

As an aside, placement on a good page of the newspaper would also have been likely to increase readership. High traffic pages include: the front page (of course), the page with the crossword and the television listings. Placing the advert on a page with a related article would also lift response.

And if you are doing a press ad, this wonderful page on Sofii will provide some inspiration for headlines.

And so to the winner...I'm going to go for @gillmc who got the answer right and provided another good/bad example, which you can see here.