Offensive Charity Advertising?

Given my blog entry just last week it's timely to see some research on this front.  A report on offensive advertising issued just this month in the UK by ASA and Ipsos MORI provides the hard numbers behind the sense that charities need to "break through" the media noise, but can sometimes go too far.

The key stat for me?  Only 16 per cent of adult respondents said they had been offended by an advertisement in the previous year.  Perhaps that's too high, but when balanced against the need to ensure vital charitable messages get heard it seems a fair price to pay from my point of view.

Top 5 Reasons Why Charity Marketing Is Different

When the same questions come up several times in a short span of time it usually means it's time to write about the topic. In this case both with clients and friends the topic of charity advertising came up, particularly with respect to why it looks like it does, and why in particular it can be so "edgy", so provocative and (for better or for worse) so memorable?

In no particular order here are the top 5 reasons why charity marketing can be so different:

1. Charities want to break through the other "noise" of all the other advertisers but don't have the financial resources to do so with the purchase of large media weights. And even if they did have the funds for large media buys it might not be advisable to do so. So charities need to be innovative, "edgy" and perhaps a little provocative just to stand out and break through.
2. Charities are passionate about their cause. This creates a sense of urgency and almost a feeling of "we've got nothing to lose" in terms of inspiring new donors and prospects to respond and share the sense of urgency. Obviously this creates a willingness to consider more provocative messaging.
3. Charities are often not as bound by a particular "brand image" than traditional advertisers. Tide, Cheerios or Pampers would take a long time to consider significant changes to their media messages, but charities are less locked-in and willing to try a new direction after one campaign has ended.
4. For charities that can afford (or have donated) advertising agency / professional creative support, charity ad campaigns present a great opportunity to showcase new thinking for that team. The same sense of mission that motivates the charity often infuses the creative team and results in truly memorable work.
5. The corollary of the first reason (breaking through the "noise") is that with limited resources charities are forced to be creative in the ways they communicate.  If you don't have much money then by definition you will seek new ways to market your message - after all, necessity is the mother of innovation.

So in the end, charity advertising looks often looks so different simply because it has to!

Social Enterprise: The REAL Truth

Accuse me of false advertising if you will, but while I've got some very interesting data to share, the fact is the "real" truth isn't in yet about Social Enterprise. So bear with me for second before we get to the interesting data...

Like Social Media (and apologies to all the evangelists out there who will disagree) I'm not convinced that Social Enterprise is a panacea either in terms of profile, fundraising, or any other metric for charities or for-profit organizations.  I'm currently consulting with an organization that is testing the waters of Social Enterprise, and so far so good.  But it's a vanishingly small part of the organization, and since the organization is so small to begin with there are barely enough systems and processes in place for the Mission-driven parts, let alone some little projects that make just a little bit of money.

So clearly any organization considering starting Social Enterprise(s) needs to think critically about:

• Size and capacity (including systems and processes) of the organization
• The "opportunity cost" versus other initiatives
• Natural "fit" of the proposed Social Enterprise projects
• Skills and acumen required for success (lots of regular for-profit enterprises fail every year!)
• Whether the goal is profit, profile, Mission, experience for participants, or some blend thereof - just be clear about the desired outcome(s) so you know when you've succeeded!

Now on to the data.  The good folks at the Ontario Nonprofit Network shared their "Social Finance Census 2010" back in December.  The full Executive Summary can be found via a link on the page here.  I just saw it the other day and one chart jumped out at me.  Turns out that in this survey (not sure how random and scientific it was) over 50% of respondents reported 10% or more of their revenue was from Social Enterprise.  Interesting.  That is more than I would have guessed.  

So is Social Enterprise the way to riches for your charity?  Maybe not.  But as Governments and and the economy continue to whittle away support, perhaps a prudent, measured introduction into Social Enterprise is in order for your organization.  It certainly looks as if a lot of charities are already trying to find the real truth about Social Enterprise.