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Striking Ideas | |
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| A Word From Dick - Are you planning...or preparing? Fundraisers are quite faithful to the act of planning and usually have detailed calendars and budgets at the ready. But are we as prepared as we should be for the unexpected – including seizing success? Click here for “planning vs. preparing” ideas. Campaign of the Month: SMS Campaigns Worldwide Pop Quiz: What do voting for elections in Thailand, protesting a court case in India and stopping the seal hunt in Alaska have in common? Well, nothing - except that each can be done using text messaging. Here are some examples of SMS campaigns around the world. The International Fund for Animal Welfare used advertisements in UK tubes urging activists to text “Ban It” to a short code listed on the ads. In Thailand, the Election Commission sent text messages to 25 million cell phone users reminding them to vote. In India, 200,000 signatures were collected via SMS to protest the acquittal of suspects in the Jessica Lal murder trial. In Belarus, political parties sent text messages warning of upcoming political violence to cell phones across the nation. Want to see more examples of SMS campaigns? Visit MobileActive.org (http://www.mobileactive.org/node) Ready to try a SMS campaign? There are numerous organizations that can manage the entire process, such as Frontline SMS (http://www.frontlinesms.com/). Say
My Name! Women Respond to Personalization
Jennifer. Ms. Jennifer Thomas. Ms. Thomas. No matter how you say it, one thing is clear: women respond better to appeals that are personalized, says a study done by the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation. This is a natural conclusion, given that many of the same women also have an affinity for personalized accessories, engraved memorabilia and jewelry bearing their initials. This may mean that direct mail pieces need to be increasingly more personalized. Studies show that approximately 66% of the people who open the mail (and are responsible for the split-second decision to keep or toss your appeal) are women. Does this also mean that mail should be more “feminine?” If women respond better to personalization, will they also respond better to colors from a softer palate? How about images that are specifically designed to resonate with them? Only time and testing will tell whether or not tailoring communications
to these women “mail CEO’s” will be beneficial.
However, designing mail that will impress the ladies may yield
some impressive results. Making
Podcasting Profitable
ESPN knows sports – and how to make them profitable. The company just announced plans to launch a new PodCenter featuring 11 new podcasts. Along with using them as a marketing tool, they have also found a way to make podcasting profitable. Their new model touts a 30-second pre-content spot following by a 60-second post-content spot, occupied and paid for by advertisers. Click here to read the entire article. This model is not original in the realm of new media. MSN.com regularly offers streaming video on their Web site, each clip preceded by at least one and sometimes two advertisements. The New York Times Web site now charges users a “subscription” fee to read archived articles and “additional features,” services that for many years were offered for free. Yet, their online subscription base has grown because of the nature of the content. Podcasting is similar in that individuals first need to be convinced of their content quality before they will begin paying for the service. Until then, ESPN will be using advertising and underwriting to defray production costs – and is viewing podcasting as a complement, not competitor, to their brand. Friday E-Mails get Highest Open Rates Here at McPherson, we’re conducting a study, and just by reading this, you are now a part of it. It’s common knowledge that on Fridays, in between planning for the weekend and watching the clock inch toward 5, many individuals spend their time perusing e-mails. According to a new study by ExactTarget, e-mails sent on Friday have the highest average open rates, while Sunday’s have lower open rates but higher click-thru rates. Click here to read the complete study. And while it seems individuals are paying closer attention to your e-mail at the end of the week, there is also evidence to show that open and click-thru rates also depend on other e-mail competition in the inbox. This inconclusive data led ExactTarget to retain their initial assertion made in 2004 that there is no “universal best day” to send e-mail. Because, let’s face it, if there was, everyone would use it – which would quickly make it the universally worst day to send e-mail. So, do Friday’s work better? We’ll let you know if they work for us. About McPherson Associates, Inc. Founded in 1984, McPherson Associates, Inc. has successfully guided hundreds of nonprofit organizations to improved fundraising efforts. We provide innovative fundraising consulting and high-performance direct response marketing tools that focus on an integrated, targeted approach to raising money and building support. To find out how McPherson Associates can help your organization get to the next level of fundraising, contact Tim Oleary, Vice President, at 610-640-1555 x102 or send him an e-mail at toleary@mcphersonassociates.com. |
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