In the recent CIPR PRide Awards. Winchester based PR agency Remarkable won a Gold Award for their campaign for Dreams Come True.
...So I should start of by saying who Dreams Come True is and what they do. They’re a national children’s charity that fulfils the treasured dreams and wishes of terminally and seriously ill children.
Remarkable were appointed to increase the number of dream requests it received and create a buzz for Dreams Come True’s 20th Anniversary.
And they really did! They had celebrity Kelly Holmes and Theo Walcott onboard, hundreds of people running across Great Windsor Park and even journalists climbing Everest! All great PR tactics; no wonder why there was coverage from the BBC and National newspapers.
Dream- request are inviting carers and relatives to nominate children to have their dreams fulfilled.
This was made easier by Remarkable’s Dreams Generation Campaign. They designed and distributed posters, leaflet and leaflet dispensers to local hospitals and hospices.
It worked! They increased the number of dreams requests enormously!
So what is it that makes Charities so successful?
From looking at The Dreams Come True campaign and other charity campaigns; celebrity endorsement and large events is what seems to make them such a success, even in the recession.
But is it all becoming the same and repetitive..?
Last year, Comic Reliefs biggest campaign ‘Red Nose Day’ sent A-list celebrities such as Cheryl Cole and Gary Barlow up Tanzania’s highest peak mountain, Kilimanjaro. Dreams Come True did something very similar to this when sending a journalist up Everest.
Another comparison is the Dream Mile, a great idea to maximise coverage for Dreams Come True... but very similar to Cancer Research’s Race for Life.
Nevertheless, Dreams Come True had great success from Remarkable’s campaigning.
So some more questions to get your PR minds thinkingg... why do you donate to charities? Is it because it’s made easy to put money into a box or buy the charities T-shirt? Or is it because you have an emotional attachment to the charity?
What's your view..?
Walcott <3
ReplyDeletePerhaps the fact that they used ideas that have worked for other charities before is why they were so successful. People enjoy events such as charity mountain climbs and races, which is why they are done so often. However, I think that if Remarkable want to position Dreams Come True ahead of other similar charities they will have to come up with something original that people can get involved in.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of donating to charity, personally I would be far more likely to give money if it was made easy. If I had an emotonal attachment to a charity I would seek them out to donate so people with attachments are not worth targeting with PR campaigns - they will give money regardless. A charity PR campaign should target people who are currently unaware of the charity and I think it's imperative to offer easy and unique ways to donate.
I have found in general people tend to have one or two charities that the like to donate to. I think this is normally due to an emotional attachment they have to a certain charity.
ReplyDeleteBut I would say that the tactics are probably adopted by smaller charites from the larger ones such as Comic Relief as they have prooven to work. It would be great to see some new creative ideas though and I think this would get a better response from people.
I always say to myself, if I ever won the lottery I'd give a load of my winnings to charity, because really, all that money won't change my life as much as it could some other group of people who really need it. Seeing footballers earning the amount of money they do I think really? do you really need 3 houses, 5 cars and a maid? Surely alot of their salary could go to a good cause as I'm sure most celebrities do do.
ReplyDeleteI donate to charities if I feel emotionally attached to it, if I feel the charity is doing all its hard work for an amazing cause and especially when i see where all their past funds have gone to. This is why I usually donate when I see such programmes as Comic Relief and Children In Need- that make these heartwarming subjects into an event that everyone can enjoy (if that's the word), it shows you how your money can help and how everyone else is helping and how to get involved yourself. It's also how they talk directly to the audience, it actually feels like they need YOUR help. It's how it's made into such an important issue and that if people like us don't get involved, nothing will be changed. Yes it is easy to put a coin in a box or buy a t-shirt, but in the end every coin helps in some way and repetitative promotions for charities seem to be doing a good job as we see by the raising totals in Red Nose Day and Children In Need every year.
It's also nice to know in a time of recession people in our country are still kind enough to give.
I have given and would give to charity because of because I have an emotional attachment to it I think.
ReplyDeleteI am not really aware of what other charities do if I don't feel like I am concerned, and by concerned I mean that it is for a cause that affected someone around me. And I think that is mostly because charities mostly communicate the same way and don't really differentiate from each other so to reach to someone like me, I think they would need to be more creative to get my attention.
I donate to charities because i have an emotional attachment to that charity, I do believe that in this celebrity obsessed culture that it is a good idea to have celebrities front a charity as it will encourage people to donate, especially younger people. Jennifer Lebrument
ReplyDeletewell good question Kristina!
ReplyDeleteI have worked myself for Oxfam and am now a supporter, but i myself dont donate. I do sign up in the petitions and am a keen follower in their actions.
I think that money has a large part to play in this argument. At the end of the day, if you only have £10 to last a week for food etc you arnt going to spend £2 of that to a charity if it means you cant eat 3 meals a day.
So the recession perhaps can have an affect on whether ot not people donate.
As for whether they choose one or two main ones, i think that people decide on charities and actually start donating when something happens to someone close to tem. For example cancer reasearch UK.
But as i have mentioned its one thing to get someone to signup online in 2 mins for supporting a charity to a committed monthly dontation. Perhaps charities like Red Cross need to escape from the collection tin culture and move forward in the style of Oxfam in online donations and gifts.
I hope this adds an interesting angle to your question!
I don't (as yet) have an emotional connection to any charity in particular, so on the occasions that I have donated I think the reason is because I have been directly motivated/inspired to or 'called to action' by a charity marketing campaign of some sort, or a collection bag through the door. A time which I can remember most recently was on Red Nose Day last year and the reason I done it was firstly because I was really inspired and moved by the show, but mostly because it was as easy as sending a text which then added £5 to your phone bill!
ReplyDeleteI think although charities like Dreams come true have copied some fundraising ideas such as Comic Reliefs celebrity Mount Kili climb, for now it doesn't matter about becoming 'unorginal' because clearly from your case study tactics such as this are still working! If anything there aren't enough charities who use events, marketing and exciting fundraising ideas like this enough, however maybe things are starting to change slightly after the impact of the recession.
I really love what charity's do and really rspect the people out there fighting for the various causes.
ReplyDeleteI do always try when walking past donation boxes give any lose change, beacuse I feel that I am lucky that I havent been in a situatin where I have needed any kind of help, but deep down it would be nice to know that if I needed any help or my children in the future did then there is more that can be done, and that is only done by money.
I went to Africa, so I do feel I have an emotional attachement to aids charities, because I have seen it first hand how people die of it, and if I can do my bit then I will, I do feel howevere I am not doing enoug, and would definitely want one day to do something amazing for charity.
I feel personal experiences make you more attached, i.e I have had people die of cancer in my family therefore I feel more for that charity than I would for homeless people.
xx hope that helps xx
You have to keep in mind not everybody has been affected by the recession so charities mentioned above with publicity such as celebrity endorsements will attract a lot of people with more than an average amount of money, as well as those who look up to celebrities. If you have a celebrity heading your campaign it is expected to benefit from it as celebrities have a fan base and these people take on board their actions.
ReplyDeletePeople also tend to give to charities that have an easy way of donating. For example, charity boxes collecting any amount of money from pennies to notes and buying merchandise such as t-shirts and keyrings that are infront of you. The easier it is to donate the more people will help the cause.
Also, the more passionate you are about charity, the more you donate. From an average person with an average household income to billionaires. There have been plenty of celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Angelina Jolie that have donated millions and millions to charities over the years. There are also other celebrities that donate but are not as passionate about charity as others so their donations will not be as huge as some. For people with an average household income, a lot of the time, even if they are passionate about charity, it comes down to what they can afford to donate and give as they all have their own needs and bills to pay.
Furthermore, religion can also be a factor. One of the main pillars of Islam is to donate a proportion of your income to the poor therefore making giving to charity compulsory for some.
Charities are good when they are not intrusive to you as an individual, when you choose to help a charity such as participating in a walk/run etc or give loose change in a money box by a shop till. But it's when they chase you on the street, write to you and almost forcefully get your money that annoys me. Everyone can benefit from charities at some point, and when that time comes i think it makes people respect charities alot more. Like anything, it takes something personal to happen for people to change! Getting celebrities etc involved is brilliant as it shows everyone and anyone can make a change.
ReplyDeleteThe main charity close to me are ones to do with cancer, what with my dad etc. i always feel obliged to help out the charities that helped him :)
hope that helps in some way hunxx
I believe that people tend to donate to causes that they know affect people for they have felt or have seen the affects of that cause and are therefore more likely to donate to it. E.g Pet lovers are likely to donate to the RSPCA, and people who have had a loved one pass away due to Cancer are likely to support Cancer Research UK. For they know that the affects are real and therfore people are likely to pay money in order to help that cause.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of the times i have given money to charity (which admittedly isn't a lot) is when i have felt obligated to do so. For instance if a friend is running a marathon, or climbing a mountain in aid of a charity or an organisation.
ReplyDeleteOther than a small sample of us, i believe that people will generally donate their money to charity if they feel obligated to do so, or if they have a personal attachment to a particular cause.
i think that charitable giving for the most part is done at the convenience and ease of the giver. if for example a coin pot is place at the till of a shop people will do it because it is there and right in front of them. also in the case of Red Nose Day stated above, people can sit at home and give all that they want. it is therefore vital in my eyes to create very easy giving channels that people dont have to make alot of effort to use.
ReplyDeleteSaying that within the culture that we live in role models play a huge role, so if a celebrity is used it may gain a few extra givers. i feel a very clever way to gain a emotinal link with the giver is through the use of comedy, as in Comic Relief. People love to laugh and making a joke of a situation like that of Comic Reliefs shows annullaly produce great levels of donations.
i think people all have different emotionally linked charities for different reasons and i think these cannot be altered but with clever use of PR and marketing they can be made aware of more credible organisations.
charity is a very interesting subject in advertising as much as in PR. the goals are the same, to raise awareness and to increase donnations and givers. this can be achieved by big events such as comic relief and children in need, or just by placing a small pot by the side of a till.
ReplyDeleteemotional attachement will keep people connected to a cetain cause, but only if it has affected them directly, i have been fortunate enougth that nobody directly attached to me has needed the help of these organisations, and as a result of this have no attachment to any of them.
i also feel that there is negative attachment to charity. personnaly i wouldnt think about giving to children in need as it has become stale and boring, it no longer kept my attention, and i think this feeling was felt across the country and is a reason that they fell well below last years total. so the use of big celebs and other such famous faces doesnt influence me into giving to a charity.
dont get me wrong i'm not against large events as they manage year after year to make huge sums of money to help people who really need it. but is giving once a year because a number at the top of a screen doing the most we can?
If I choose to give money to a charity it is because I believe in it's work. All charities do good (as long as they are well organised and their money is spent wisely) but it is my personal outlook which determines which charities I favour over others. I am more likely to donate money to a charity close to my heart than any other unless I am supporting a friend or family member by sponsoring them. I would not necessarily be inclined to give money to a certain charity simply because it was made easy to donate.
ReplyDeleteTactics employed by PR companies and the charities they represent to encourage members of the public to donate money do seem to be getting more and more similar. Obviously they are tried and tested methods and if they deliver results then the objective has been fulfilled but I do think that this highlights a lack of creativity in coming up with new and exciting ideas which will capture the public's imagination and (hopefully) make people more likely to donate.
When I do give hard cash to a charity organization it will usually only be to those representing the welfare of animals or children. Neither children or animals are in a position to help themselves!
ReplyDeleteI am also inclined to support cancer charities because of the impact it has had on friends and family memebers.
I personally don't really have a particular charity that I like to give money to more, however I can see why this is what motivates people to give money. I think nights such as red nose day and children in need are so effective as people give up so much of their time to make it happen so I personally would be much more likely to give to these charities because of nights like this. However I am equally just as likely to put any spare change I have into charity boxes when I see them!
ReplyDeleteI think that more people would give money to charity if they could see the direct affect they were having on helping others or advancing medical systems. I think that some people can be reluctant to give to charities because they feel their money will get swallowed up and won’t go towards what it is meant to. I agree with an earlier comment which says that giving to charity needs to be made easier. I text in for the Comic Relief Kilo last year – it was probably because I had Chris Moyles telling me every morning on the radio for a week or two about what the money will help to do, it was so quick and simple to do! Dreams Come True has done a fantastic job – a worthy winner in my opinion!
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