Good fundraising is about more than just showing need
I've found a short film of a story that's often attributed to David Ogilvy. David was on his way to work and he saw a blind man sitting on the pavement with a sign that said… I am blind. Beneath the sign was a hat…
Why donors don’t want to hear from you
A report has just been published that adds to the growing body of evidence that shows many charities are still getting something wrong when it comes to donor communications. The study, commissioned by the REaD Group, asked 1,500 UK adults about their attitudes to charity…
Charity ads from the archives
I recently signed up to Pinterest and soon realised that it was a great way to put my archive of charity advertisements online. It goes back to the beginning of the last century and features ads from Save The Children (UK and USA), Oxfam, The…
Five idea killers and how you beat them
Tom Fishburne, The Marketoonist, has just released a video presentation that looks at some of the problems you might face when trying to turn a great idea into a finished product. At just over half an hour, the video is a little long, but half…
What’s wrong with charity advertising?
Howard Gossage is my favourite Mad Man. If I have an advertising hero, it's probably him. Howard didn't particularly enjoy coming up with ways to sell more cars and airline tickets, he was just rather good at it. What interested him most was making the…
Reinventing the collection box
I've always thought that we have a great deal to learn from the humble collection box. Even with something as simple as a container with a hole in the top, testing shows that design, copy, and positioning will have a major influence over how much…
What can you do to make your ad go viral?
One thing that the Kony 2012 phenomenon has created is a renewed interest in viral advertising amongst charities. Seth Godin and Jeff Brooks have some words of advice on your chances of achieving the same sort of impact as Invisible Children, but if you are…
The battle of the sans-serif versus the serif font
If your communications director won't allow the use of a serif font in an appeal letter because the brand guidelines demand you use sans-serif Frutiger, here's a piece of research that might help you win them round. Daniel Oppenheimer and two colleagues, Connor Diemand-Yauman and…
The day George Smith showed me the finger
I've not always been the all knowing guru that I shamelessly pretend to be on this blog. It may be hard to believe, but I was once a fundraising cretin who thought that putting a good appeal together was simply down to listening to your…
Value Vs cost
I'm rather proud to say that I'm a Colonel. Not just any Colonel. I am a Kentucky Colonel. For people who don't live in Kentucky, let me explain in a little more detail. "A commission for a Kentucky Colonel is given by the Governor and…
