10 ways DRTV can help your supporters live longer

Great fundraising is rarely about simply asking for something, and more often about offering people the chance to do something they will feel good about. Across the world, we’re working with great causes to make giving through gifts in wills an irresistible opportunity.

Let’s be honest, you probably can’t help your supporters live longer, but you could help ensure their values will make a difference long into the future. Head of DTV Australia and New Zealand, Nicola Long, offers 10 steps to get you started with gift in wills (Legacy/Bequest) DRTV and digital.

Save the Children New Zealand Free Guide

While all fundraising is to some extent legacy fundraising, what do you need specifically to get started with DRTV or digital legacy film fundraising?

1.     Do you have a strong legacy proposition and message framework?

You will need first to develop a core proposition and subsequent messages that link ‘The Why’ of your cause with ‘The Why’ of the potential supporter. Does this have the optimum balance of emotion and reason? Does it engender long-term trust? Is it built on a need that will still exist 20-30 years from now?

2.     What creative resources do you have?

As for any TV or digital campaign you will need raw materials to work with. Do you have good existing footage? Or ambassadors who can deliver your message with gravitas? Partners and field-staff who can vouch for your work or existing bequest / legacy pledgers who can tell their own stories to inspire others to give?

3.     Who do you need to involve in your organisation? 

Let’s face it, when you take your cause onto TV, lots of people are interested. So be sure to involve them early so that you can gather all opinions, gain buy-in and avoid potentially expensive re-edits mid-way through the process.

4.     Digital or DRTV or both?

There is no right or wrong here. As a generalisation, digital can deliver cost-effective niche targeting, while a (daytime) TV audience is more likely to match the profile of an older, potential legacy supporter.

5. Get your landing page and online journey ready

No matter what you direct people to do in your TV or digital appeal, some people will simply head over to your website. So be sure that your website messaging around Gifts in Wills is as inspiring as your TV and digital messaging, and creatively congruent so that people understand where they are and can seamlessly continue the emotional journey.

6. Get organisational alignment on what success looks like…

The eventual income from a gift in will campaign may be many years away. How will you know if you are on the right track? Are you intent on planting the seed of an idea with potential supporters, or starting active conversations?

7. …and how you will measure it

Can you develop specific indicators or measurements to assess success. This might, for example, be about how much it costs to generate a response? Or a response that turns into an active conversation? Plan these metrics in advance.

8.  Consider the ‘barriers to action’ for audiences

Depending on which country you are in, there may be different barriers. In the UK, too many people have simply not yet made a will, so there is a barrier there. In Australia, a much greater portion of people have made a will already, but including a charity is far from the norm, so that’s a different hurdle to overcome. In Korea, people don’t actually need to make a will, so again a different issue to deal with.

9.  Consider your offer

Are you offering information, a free guide, a free will-writing service? What can you offer that will be meaningful and useful to your audience and inspire them to raise their hand? 

Save the Children NZ - Free Guide TV ad

UNICEF - Free Guide TV ad

10. Remember Digital and TV creative is the conversation starter

Someone is interested, so what do you do now?! Of course, that’s a question to answer in your early planning stage to ensure you have the information, resources, journey, and skill-sets to steward your relationships with the truly amazing people who are kind enough to leave a gift in their will.

If you would like a copy of our recent webinar on DRTV and Gifts in Wills – packed with ideas on strategy, tactical implementation, and creative examples – just email helloDTV@dtvgroup.co.uk

Bio

Nicola heads up DTV in Australia and New Zealand. She has worked with most Australian and New Zealand charities helping them to grow their individual giving through Direct Mail, Digital Campaigns, Events and DRTV over the last 20 years.

Filmmaking is a passion and Nicola loves the power of visual storytelling, coupled with data-driven insights to drive impact.  

Nicola is also the Chair of the Program Committee for the FIA Conference 2022.