Enthuse have treated us this holiday season with two insightful reports. One exploring campaign spend and planning this Christmas, whilst the other summarises how giving has been conducted by consumers, asking questions surrounding socio/economic factors that have impacted us all.
Planners and clients are having to consider all the factors mentioned in the reports, especially with these economic changes fluctuating, it’s important to be strategic and mindful when organising campaigns. We encourage this of our charity sector clients. Convincing people to give when they have less to offer than years before can seem intrusive and stressful.
The below are some key outtakes from both reports. It’s worth bearing these snippets in mind for establishing consumer behaviour shifts, especially for Christmas and moving forward into the new year:
Winter Report
“Despite this ratcheting up of economic pressure, supporters are continuing to give, and in fact the number of donors has stayed steady…”
“Gen Z and Millennials were the most likely to give to multiple charities with 60% of both age groups doing this…”
“Children’s charities have risen to the top spot, and those causes supporting poverty have also seen an increase to move up to fourth position…”
“The amount of online giving has reached the highest level this research has recorded with 46% of UK citizens giving in this way, meaning 61% of donations last quarter were done online…”
“donors are 37% more likely to remember the name of the charity if they donate directly…”
“two thirds of people (63%) feeling worse off today…”
“the donation of items over this period is more popular than a financial donation…”
“quick to deploy tactics like social media ads, emails and text messages prove effective in driving donations from younger age groups…”
Christmas Report
“Christmas campaigns are a crucial part of the year’s fundraising and pinning the budget on week one rather than three or four might not maximise fundraising. What’s more, as Giving Tuesday is closely linked to Black Friday – its performance often mirrors that of the discount day…”
“Understandably, people tend to focus their weekend outgoings on catching up with friends and family, shopping, going out for food and other forms of entertainment. This leads to less time for getting involved with charity and means that disposable income is often being used up elsewhere…”
“The distribution of donations has noticeably shifted, which suggests a change in donor behaviour since the pandemic.”
Consumers need to consider their wants and needs; does the immediate gratification of their wants minimise the causes of charity and its needs? For example, is buying a new coat a good investment, in comparison to taking some of that money and donating. Perhaps consider donating an old coat, and replacing it with your new one? We are all in a pinch and establishing boundaries and compromises can help yourself and potentially others.
As explored during Giving Tuesday, financial aid is not the only means of supporting a charity. Time and voice are also strong means of giving. You can give up your time to volunteer or bake something for a charity sale. Or you can advocate a charities message by talking about it and making yourself/others aware of its cause. Yes a donation can make a difference, but so can partaking in other means of giving – it’s all dependent on what works for YOU – your finances should not limit the goodness you can share.
But for people to give, we need to make sure they are engaging with the messaging we broadcast. The winter report stated: “quick to deploy tactics like social media ads, emails and text messages prove effective in driving donations from younger age groups…”. Consumers attention is fleeting and to keep them engage, we need to understand what they consume and why; for example, Tik Tok is quick and to the point so brands should be keeping their advertising the same to compete in this market.
Lastly, how we advertise and position campaigns in the market is more crucial than ever before. All businesses are facing economic strain; budgeting wisely and setting attainable objectives are needed at the forefront of planning. As planners, we value these factors highly when developing media campaigns.
As always, to keep consumers engaged, understanding their behaviours is crucial and we need to be mindful of any strains that may prevent them for said engagement. It’s an obstacle but not something that can be deemed as impossible to overcome; using an effective media mix and strategic planning can help brands continue to thrive, despite any apprehensions in the market.
If you want to find out more on how to plan your media, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help!
