In an increasingly volatile world, is it time for us to change the way we think about ‘emergency’ fundraising?
Exploring sustainable approaches to ‘emergency’ film fundraising.
In the last few years, we have seen an unprecedented number of emergencies around the world. And this shift is something that has a huge impact on us, both as fundraisers and in our own personal lives - we are now in an era of ‘perma-crisis’. Here we explore how the fundraising world can move with this shift, touching on:
How we can explore more sustainable approaches to ‘emergency’ appeals, primarily through DRTV and Digital fundraising.
How different organisations and fundraisers are responding to and approaching this new period in emergency fundraising
So, let’s start by looking at the big picture: where we currently stand (the trends we’re seeing, what they mean for us as fundraisers), and how we can respond with effective and relevant fundraising approaches.
Where do we stand?
There is a lot of discussion in the sector around the risk of ‘Emergency’ losing its meaning or even risk of declining response because of ‘overuse’. When emergencies become more common or even a part of everyday life, as with Covid and The Cost of Living Crisis - might we lose the emotional impact of appeals more broadly and lose cut-through?
Unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we’re in a state that feels like ‘permacrisis’ - where, in addition to natural disasters, we are seeing ongoing urgent need as a result of conflict and climate change.
And yet, from what we have seen in the sector so far, we are not likely to lose the emotional impact of these emergencies in the near future. Not only are there no signs of ‘empathy fatigue’ but we are actually seeing ‘emergency’ bolster campaign results. People continue to have a strong desire to do something to help, and continue to respond to appeals that offer them the opportunity to do that.
A couple of examples from The Smith Family (in Australia) and UK for UNHCR.
The Smith Family
In 2022, The Smith Family adapted several of their standard sponsorship appeals into cost of living crisis emergency appeals - using ticker tapes to highlight the urgent need for additional support.
The ticker tapes helped to stabilise response at a time when performance was fluctuating and they have since helped maintain a steady response throughout the cost-of-living-crisis. They acted as a visual shortcut that people associate with emergencies, boosting response and avoiding the need to adjust the script and voiceover to incorporate ‘emergency’ language. Beyond improved response, ticker tapes were a simple and low-cost way to build a bridge between the ongoing sponsorship appeal and the daily reality of the cost-of-living crisis.
UK for UNHCR
In 2023, UK for UNHCR launched a Horn of Africa ‘emergency appeal’; which rather than running for short bursts around the news cycle, runs as BAU appeal.
As with The Smith Family, the film was hugely successful for UK for UNHCR, resulting in a strong DRTV ROI on a BAU creative, and sustaining that long term.
How else can we respond?
So how could you begin to respond to this seismic shift? Of course, we can run emergency appeals as events arise, but how can we look at this in a more long term way? Now more than ever there is a need for a sustainable and ongoing fundraising response to emergencies - It’s for this reason that at DTV, we have developed two emergency approaches; Templated (with ongoing conversion journeys) and ‘Bespoke’ appeals.
Emergency Templates
An emergency template is a short 30” pre-approved TV ad ‘ready to air’ for the onset of any emergency. It uses a non-specific VO and structure so that all it requires for launch are the emergency-specific captions and images dropping in at the last moment. The biggest benefit of this approach is the speed with which you can get on air - it can be as quick as 24 hours!
Bespoke Emergencies
A bespoke appeal takes a more conceptual approach, it runs throughout the year and is not necessarily reliant on the news, but is more focused on an ongoing crisis (malnutrition, shelter etc). It can effectively act as a BAU campaign whilst still aligning with the urgent need and ‘emergency’ that the public are becoming increasingly familiar with. It is also worth considering that this could be switched on or given more airtime whenever the subject (famine, conflict, etc) is in the news, capitalising on boosted awareness and giving people the opportunity to donate to the emergency.
Of course, there is no one correct answer - ‘emergency’ appeals may not be appropriate for all causes and this certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all response. However, we do see excellent results from both of these approaches for many organisations, and it largely depends on your objectives:
Consistency: Emergency campaigns are short bursts of high response, but they won’t be live for long and you cannot plan around them. Whereas, a bespoke emergency can be a more long-term campaign, responding to ongoing flare-ups of an emergency or need.
KPIs: An emergency template is likely to get a higher ROI, attracting one off donations plus ongoing RG gifts with the right conversion journey, whereas bespoke emergencies are easier to convert straight to RG donors but are a longer journey toward ROI.
Footage and content: An emergency template is the quickest and cheapest ad that you can produce - it is as simple as possible and doesn't require any footage beyond a handful of powerful, relevant still images. A bespoke emergency requires more footage and the production process is far closer to a ‘normal’ DRTV advert.
Processes, teams and capacity during an Emergency: A bespoke emergency ad can run as a BAU campaign, whereas an emergency template requires a fast approvals and launch at the time of an emergency.
If you’re interested in exploring your emergency response options and how you can approach urgent appeals in a way that is sustainable and aligns with the global shift toward ‘permacrisis’ that we are seeing, we’d love to discuss this with you. Please do let us know your views, if your experiences reinforce or differ from our own, and if you’d like to discuss what might be the best approach for your cause.
Bio
Poppy is a Creative Strategist at DTV and has worked in fundraising for more than 5 years. Poppy works closely with a large range of charities globally, developing creative propositions and approaches for a variety of campaigns and products in the sector.
