100. Some Personal News (SPN)
Re: thank you
I feel extraordinary fortunate to write SPN every week. Thank you for your continued readership.
To celebrate the 🎈100th🎈edition I’d be enormously grateful if you’d engage with this celebratory post on LinkedIn. Any social proof you can throw SPN’s way would be fab.
And a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers. I’m particularly thrilled to have you join the SPN community this Birthday week!
Gain the insights you need to make smarter fundraising decisions, optimize your strategies and transform your Org’s fundraising initiatives by using Fundraise Up’s comprehensive Insights Dashboard.
It gives you instant, easy-to-understand data on how your fundraising is doing, saving you time and the hassle of putting together endless reports.
Game changer? It was for me.
In this week’s SPN:
Creative Inspo: how PG Tips executed a superb Ad + takeaways
Email Retention Marketing - my approach - how retention boosts acquisition and monetization
Fundraising and Marketing - viewing growth as a system
Jobs & Opps that caught my eye this week
Let’s dig in!
Build or Buy?
A pointless chart? The latest 2024 Marketing Technology Landscape map was published this week and demonstrates a world gone mad. 14k products - up by 25% YoY. We’ve over complicated marketing, and that complexity is a huge waste of time and money.
My favorite Charles Mingus quote comes to mind “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple - that’s creativity.”
Sure, there are lots of useful tools in here but how does the industry sustain this (apparent) oversupply? Maybe the missing 15% in Programmatic that we covered in depth inSPN77encourages this complexity?
Creative Inspo: Fancy a Cuppa?
The old model of advertising was quite simple. Produce a 30-second ad and run it on TV to build cover - ideally reaching 80% of your audience - then use cheaper media to remind people of the ad - building frequency. Often the end frame of the commercial would be used as a press ad or a poster.
The last decade or so has seen this model adapted for the digital world, with digital cutdowns used as reminders. But that doesn’t work anymore - linear TV viewing has collapsed.
If people don’t see the ad in the first place, there’s little point reminding them of it. So Orgs need to develop digital video ads that work as well as the old TV ones used to.
A solution: TikTok. But that’s easier said than done.
Tangent:
Where do you go for help on next generation creative?
There’s a huge opportunity for the incredible talent around to build a service business here. Seems this is an area Orgs are finding it hard to navigate. Where are you looking? Curious if any of the holding companies solve this problem or if this is more 5-person shop territory.
In our 100th edition it feels appropriate to use a British example to illustrate my point. In fact, a British icon and pastime in one. Drinking Tea. And specifically, drinking PG Tips tea.
The Ingredients
PG Tips launched an advertising campaign recently - first time in over 8 years. They’ve a wonderful heritage of TV ads and their Chimps were truly iconic. This time around the music is by Ezra Collective and the ad is shot by Steve McQueen - a truly talented crew - and the ad is superb.
They went to the top drawer of influencers too with Top Boy star Ashley Waters, and have him playing a little against character, extolling the virtues of making time for a cup of tea. But using Ashley the talent, rather than his most famous characters, gives the ad its appeal.
If this was a traditional marketing activation, the campaign would pretty much begin and end with that hero content.
However, TikTok enables and really encourages Orgs to stretch their content even further.
Enter stage-left: TikTok.
PG Tips made a behind the scenes (BTS) with Ashley on a tea break, getting set for the day.
They used all the TikTok tropes - his fit, his skincare, etc. - with a pinch of what an SPN friend calls the TikTok sense and sensibility. It’s clearly part of the same campaign as the hero film, but it just fits TikTok.
Multi-Modal Execution
TikTok, more than any other digital media platform, can most naturally serve as the repository for numerous pieces of content. There are several other video clips showing Ashley getting ready for the shoot, talking into the camera about his day, answering rapid-fire questions, and short previews.
They executed something on TikTok that connects more deeply with their target audience. And where their intended audience are really spending time.
It’s a classic example of how TikTok enables Orgs to extend the life and surface area of their creative - highlighting preview content and a long-tail of content types that support the main premium video. I’m sure the hero ad will be seen on TikTok, but it’s complemented so well by this BTS approach.
The opportunities for BTS content - program, mission, volunteers-centric - is immeasurable across our sector. And offers so much opportunity. I also think it’s the easiest to film because it doesn’t need to be polished. Tell your Org story. Show Supporters how the sauce is made.
The only thing this campaign is missing is selling those tea cups through the TikTok shop!
Jobs & Opps 🛠️
Action Against Hunger: Director, Resource Mobilization ($175,000-$185,000)
Dana Farber: Assistant Vice President, Corp Partnerships
Special Olympics: Director, Global Health Comms
WFP USA: Deputy Director, Planned Giving ($96,200 - $108,800)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Director, Strategy, Planning & Management (CoS) ($313,000 - $485,300)
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): Managing Director, Fresno ($101,400 - $126,700)
Associated Press: VP, Philanthropic Development ($200,000 - $350,000)
WWF: Manager, Donor Comms & Stewardship
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI): Director of Digital Business Platforms ($116,000 - $175K,000)
United Nations Foundations: Director, Development, US Climate Alliance ($140,000 - $160,000)
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: Content Strategist/Digital ($80,300 - $144,500)
The Seattle Public Library Foundation: CEO (Starting $200,000)
Wikimedia Foundation: Senior Digital Fundraising Specialist ($91,000 - $137,000)
Funraise: Director, Marketing ($115,000 - $140,000)
UNICEF: Strategic Communications Consultant - 12 Months, Evaluation Office
Inside Look: Retention via Email
When it comes to digital fundraising, it’s all too common for donor acquisition and donor retention to be siloed.
There needs to be a lot more internal understanding of how each affects the other and how they both feed into an Org’s overall fundraising strategy.
It seems just as common for marketing teams to use overly simplified benchmarks to measure performance, never accounting for the unique factors that define their contribution.
Looking at retention through a fresh lens might help.
High Retention Rates Correspond to Being “Best of Show”
If you look at any category among SaaS companies, B2C, D2C and… Nonprofit Orgs too, you’ll find that the companies and the products that are the category leaders in their space are always the ones with the highest retention.
It starts with seeing growth as a system. And there’s a clear correlation between Org growth and donor retention.
Growth has 3 parts: Acquisition, Retention and Monetization. They don’t work in silos; they work together as one system. If you change one part, it affects the rest of the system. Orgs need to understand all of these relationships.
How Retention Boosts Acquisition and Monetization
Retention is the center of the growth engine - the thing that moves everything else. Retention moves acquisition. As you increase retention, it typically flows through to your various acquisition mechanisms (upgrades to monthly pledge giving, for example).
Most importantly, as you increase retention you also increase fundraising. The longer you retain a donor, the more support you’re going to receive from them.
Retention marketing is about mastering the art of conversation with your audience. In a world of fleeting trends and momentary buzz, Email stands out as a cornerstone of enduring donor relationships. Rather than just sending emails to the donor file, switch gears and approach the activity a little differently.
At UNICEF we made the move towards thinking in terms of crafting personalized journeys that captivated and converted, and we tried to turn every inbox touchpoint into a powerful opportunity for growth and engagement. It paid off handsomely. And our donor retention rocketed.
Email Campaign Strategy
Everything we did revolved around understanding the audience and delivering content that resonated.
I’ve broken it down across 6 areas: Focus Areas, Segmentation, Content, Flows, Deliverability and Pop-Ups.
Focus Areas
Creative Excellence: We were constantly A/B testing elements like subject lines, header images (people vs. program vs. program impact numbers), and email length to discover what truly engages our audience. Our emails stood out with stunning visuals and compelling copy.
Optimized Cadence: We maintained a balanced email calendar, sending out three evergreen campaigns weekly, with increased frequency around Org-wide campaign moments. As we honed our approach and our expertise, donor cohorts were given Engagement Scores and moved in and out of workflows so we could keep the entire list engaged without overwhelming them.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Despite high open and click rates, there was always room to improve conversion rates. We leveraged insights from our regular audits to refine our messaging and calls-to-action. We had to learn something from every email (and every web visitor, for that matter, was part of a cohort in which we were testing something).
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
Segmentation
Understanding your audience is key to any marketing and fundraising success. One way we did this was with a tiered segmentation based on recency, frequency, and monetary value (RFM), so we ensured messages were tailored to the engagement level and interests of each Supporter.
This approach helped with 3 things - not only did it maintain list health as we built our revenue engine, it also maximized the relevance and impact of each email sent.
Also, sunsetting and suppression are your friends here.
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
Content
The beating heart of the effort. We strived to do the following.
Showcase Brand Story: From welcome emails that introduced new subscribers to UNICEF’s heritage to transactional flows that reinforced our value proposition, every piece of content was crafted to enrich the donor journey.
Leverage Social Proof: Emails featuring donor testimonials, donor-generated content, and a smattering of influencer endorsements built trust and encouraged conversions.
Refresh Regularly: We kept our content fresh and relevant, in emergencies we had templates that allowed us to be out the gate in lightning speed with all agreed upon messaging, and we took donor feedback in terms of email frequency and topics we covered very seriously.
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
Flows
Our email flows were designed to guide Supporters through a personalized journey, from the moment they signed up to post-donor engagement:
Welcome Series: We made a memorable first impression with well designed emails that highlighted UNICEF’s uniqueness and told the story of the journey of their donated dollar. We incorporated animations and different visual elements in a way that captivated and, ultimately, converted more single gift donors to monthly pledge by the end of the series.
Abandonment Flows: If they’re good enough for ecommerce then they’re good enough for me! We deployed separate cart and browse abandonment flows nudging Supporters towards completing their donation with targeted messaging and sometimes a Match incentive.
Post-Donation: Segmentation helped a lot here. It made surfacing tailored program updates, posing relevant asks and sharing inspirational content to keep top-of-mind plenty easier. These flows organically drove repeat donations.
Win-back: Imperative in maintaining the quality of any list. And they gave us one last chance to engage Supporters with a deeper insight into our programmatic work. If they didn’t bite we took them off the list.
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
Deliverability
This is the foundation upon which successful email marketing campaigns are built. It ensures you’re landing in inboxes, rather than getting lost in the spam folder or blocked by ISPs.
Here's how we ensured optimal deliverability:
Monitoring Metrics: We kept a close eye on open rates, unsubscribe rates, click rates, and spam complaints. Healthy metrics are a good indicator of good deliverability. For instance, an open rate of 30% and an unsubscribe rate of 0.14% in our sector are considered excellent and indicate emails are being well-received.
List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list by removing inactive subscribers and those who haven’t engaged with your emails over a certain period helps maintain a healthy sender reputation.
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
Pop-Ups
Pop-ups on your website are a powerful tool for list growth and engagement. I’m stating the obvious here but they can be optimized to convert web visitors into email subscribers.
Here’s how I’ve optimized pop-ups:
Welcome and Exit Intent: We designed our pop-ups to engage visitors both when they arrived and when they showed signs of leaving the site without taking action.
Mobile Optimization: Ensuring that pop-ups are optimized for mobile users is crucial. This means making them easy to close and ensuring they don’t disrupt the donor experience.
A/B Testing: Regularly testing different elements of our pop-ups (the ask, design, timing) helped identify what worked best for web visits.
Engagement-Based Triggers: Setting up pop-ups to trigger based on specific supporter behaviors, like spending a certain amount of time on a page or viewing a particular number of pages, increased the relevance and effectiveness of the pop-up.
It was a constant Work-in-Progress.
There’s one bullet I intentionally added to every area. Our approach was a constant Work-in-Progress. These bullets all contributed to driving retention and ultimately better Supporter experiences. Some we got right straight away. Others we kept chipping away at.
That’s all for today!🎈
Here’s that celebratory post on LinkedIn again!
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And huge thanks to this Quarter’s sponsor Fundraise Up for creating a new standard for online giving.
Now onto the interesting stuff!
Reads From My Week
This Much I Learned: Asos’s top marketer on transforming a brand (Marketing Week podcast)
I/O shared all the new toys from Google and it’s well worth watching the 10 minute keynote to understand the range and breadth of services. The key takeout is they want people to see that Google is deploying AI everywhere and for everyone.
The Consumer trends report from Jungle Scout is always interesting (Jungle Scout)
Dollar-a-day Amazon ads (Blitz Metrics)
Google SGE a top threat to brand and product search terms (MarTech)
Media and advertising in 2024 (The Quality Era)
The Trade Desk Reframes Its Open Internet Vision as ‘The Premium Internet’ (AdExchanger)
An Open Letter To The Advertising Punditry (BK On Ads)
Search ad costs rise, conversion rates decline again in 2024 (Search Engine Land)
Ad Tech’s Week on Wall Street Underscores Critical Industry Challenges (Digiday)