film/television fundraising
It’s an emergency, but is TV the answer?
Whether you operate at state level, nationally, or internationally, at times your cause may need to respond to an emergency. How should you decide if urgency DRTV is an option for you? Peter Muffett shares his experience.
D
irect Response Television (DRTV) fundraising is best approached as a true direct marketing channel. Test and learn. Test and roll-out. Keep testing. Keep learning. That’s how DRTV becomes a volume-driving, sustainable channel. But the reality is that not every fundraising initiative can enjoy the luxury of long-term planning, followed by a period of meticulous testing and tweaking, to arrive at the most response-driving campaign. One example is in the event of an unforeseen disaster with very immediate needs. This is when charities and agencies have to respond at high speed, applying every lesson learnt from experience along with gut feel to create high impact, high conversion campaigns. I’ve seen emergency DRTV generate a return on investment of up to 1:20! That’s extraordinary, although of course it’s not the sort of thing that can be predicted on a spreadsheet. So, how do you assess if DRTV should be part of your emergency fundraising armoury? Below are eight questions to help you decide. While many organisations are used to the notion of emergency preparedness, these questions will help prepare you for potentially using DRTV in an emergency. This is worth considering right now, since no emergency is a good time to start inventing new processes or new creative propositions.
1. What is an emergency? It may sound obvious, but it’s good to have an agreed organisational definition of what constitutes an emergency. For example, this may be about the scale of the need, or the scale of media attention, and thus public awareness. You would normally only carry out emergency DRTV fundraising if the issue was high-profile enough for the need to be well understood (such as a major humanitarian disaster).
2. What creative assets do I need? If the emergency is in the news, then you are more likely to run shorter, higher profile appeals than you would in a normal ongoing daytime approach to
DRTV. So potentially ads as short as 30 seconds, and potentially in peak time (subject to the response mechanism). Consequently, you can create a string-appeal visually with as few as 5-6 stills rather than needing to wait for footage. Securing stills can be faster than securing footage, and in an emergency every minute matters.
3. What about messaging and the ask? As a general rule, in an emergency people know that you need the money right now. So asking for a single gift often feels right to the viewer. Of course, you will then want systems in place to thank these supporters, give them feedback, and secure their ongoing support. It is also worth bearing in mind that in an emergency you have the opportunity to communicate directly with people on the ground via social networks, and thus you can access stills that may not even be available to news channels yet.
4. What about music and voice-over artists? You can’t really start negotiating music and voice-over talent from scratch in an emergency. These are things to line up as part of your organisation’s fundraising emergency preparedness. For a brief emergency appeal, you may well use some sort of sound-bed rather than any recognised track. And this can be sourced in advance. Likewise, you may agree on a roster of pre-approved voices for use in an emergency. It is then just a case of seeing which of these is available at short notice when an emergency arises.
5. What about sign-offs? These will fall into two categories: internal and external. Internally, processes need to be streamlined. Agree on the minimum number of people who need to sign off the appeal. And clarify what you are asking them to approve. In essence this will not be whether or not they ‘like’
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| F&P Magazine | June / July 2015
Insight, analysis and inspiration for nonprofit executives and leaders
When an effective appeal appears on air quickly, as with this recent earthquake appeal for Nepal by the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee, it is merely the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes are meticulous protocols and practices to get an accurate appeal out quickly. Client and agency alike need to be well-drilled in streamlined emergency procedures. As in this case, one iconic image symbolising both need and hope may appear across television and wider media.
the appeal, but whether they are happy that it is factually accurate! You will also need external approval from broadcast authorities. Some individual advance negotiation is likely to be required to ensure that they are aware you will at times need swift approval. It is then a case of ensuring that you provide full pre-emptive substantiation for all facts in your appeal to expedite external approvals.
6. How do I buy emergency media? It’s hard to start from scratch in an emergency. To make emergency DRTV work you really need an existing, ongoing program in place, so that your existing media spend (probably for daytime 60 and 90 second spots), can be diverted into emergency spend (possibly for 30 seconds in peak time ). 7. What about response handling? As with media, you really need existing relationships in place. It’s often a case of deciding on the response channel. If you are on air in peak times, in order to cope with higher volumes you may choose a web and SMS response. At other
times, phone will still be a critical channel, especially as it allows for immediate conversion of one-off gifts into committed support.
8. And the $64,000 question… How soon can you get on air? Of course, it depends…but I have seen causes go on air as quickly as 48 hours after a humanitarian disaster. Fundamentally, your speed of getting on air will depend on the quality of your existing relationships with partners (creative agency, media, response partners and broadcast authorities), and your internal organisational readiness. It’s demanding, but the potential rewards are great.
Peter Muffett Peter Muffett has 20 years’ experience in direct marketing and helps nonprofits boost their fundraising through TV and film, as chief executive officer of DTV Group.
Then drop a line to plain talking, fluent in fundraising DTV. Email info@dtvgroup.asia to speak with Alex, Kerri, Angeline, Derek or Peter. Or find out more at www.dtvgroup.asia
Insight, analysis and inspiration for nonprofit executives and leaders
F&P Magazine | June / July 2015 |
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