We’ve just helped the Brooke to launch a new campaign which draws attention to the humanitarian side of their work. The HelpBoth campaign positions the Brooke as “The animal charity that helps people too” and highlights the dual impact the Brooke has in making a lasting difference to the working horses, donkeys and mules most in need across the world, along with the poverty stricken communities that depend on them.

The campaign is across inserts, press, online and outdoor media and we’ll give you more of an update on this later!

Part of the campaign was to develop a DVD that explains the Brooke’s work and how it benefits both animals and people. Send off for your copy and watch a preview at the www.helpboth.org website. Visit it now!

Alex Wordsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 08:59 AM | Permalink

Over the last couple of months a lot of charities have been reporting difficult starts to the year - no surprises there when you couple the current economic climate with the empty wallet delivered without fail by January each year...

But our first big Donor cash appeal of the year for the RSPCA has bucked this trend completely, sailing past the targets and giving us the best possible start to the year. Gross income is almost 50% above target and still rising!

In many ways the creative approach went back to basics; talking to donors about the issues that we know they care about. We told it as it is and our donors responded - have faith and ye shall be rewarded!

Richard Halliday

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:38 AM | Permalink

RSPCA reminds public of emergency number

The RSPCA is launching a new campaign today to publicise the work and contact telephone number of their 24-hour Cruelty and Advice Line.

Developed in conjunction with charity direct marketing and fundraising specialists Whitewater, the new doordrop pack promotes the hotline number 0300 1234 999, which has been in use since October 2007. To provide a lasting reminder for when the number is most needed, the pack contains a useful fridge magnet with the telephone number printed on it. To enhance retention, the magnet has also been die-cut to provide a attractive heart-shaped frame for photos of the recipient’s own pets or beloved.

The creative for the doordrop employs a teasing ‘Call me’ message handwritten on a plain red outer envelope with no outward branding to uplift the number of packs that are opened. The signatory of the letter is a Cruelty and Advice Line Operator, who implores the recipient to use the fridge magnet and to use it to call her and her colleagues, should they ever become aware of an animal in distress.

The RSPCA Cruelty and Advice service operates 24 hours a day and 365 days a year and receives almost 100,000 calls every month. The pack also contains a request for cash or direct debit donations to help support this critical emergency service for animals in England and Wales

Louise Richmond, RSPCA Donor Recruitment Manager says “It is important to make the wider public beyond our immediate supporter base aware of the emergency service for animals in distress. It is also important that we make them aware of some of the costs involved in running this essential service, since we receive no public funding for any of our core work”.

Whitewater Creative Director, Nick Couldry added “Engaging the public in a fun and friendly way is most likely to capture their attention and ensure that the pack’s important message gets across. Including a fridge magnet here isn’t a gimmick. It’s a really great way to ensure the RSPCA number is front of mind at all times”.

Jonathan Jacques

Posted by Whitewater Team at 02:33 PM | Permalink

The NSPCC is breaking with fundraising tradition by moving away from asking for legacy pledges from donors. The move will see a shift towards measuring what donors say through conversation, rather than the drive to get people to reveal their gift, as a first move towards a more donor friendly legacy strategy.

The change in direction follows extensive research with the agency Whitewater, as part of a review of legacy strategy based on donor insights. The move is the first in a range of initiatives designed to recognise what donors are saying.

Development Director for Legacy Fundraising, Stephen George said: “Whilst many donors are happy to let us know they have left a gift, the vast majority don’t like it, understand it or want to do it. We believe it’s time for a new approach, where we are free from the tyranny of the pledge.”

The NSPCC’s new approach will no longer measure success by the number of legacy pledges but by the number and quality of legacy conversations across all media – both face to face and direct marketing. Future DM strategy will be developed with this new approach in place. The legacy plan builds on the NSPCC’s Donor + strategy.

Chairman of Whitewater, Steve Andrews said: “The tail has been wagging the dog. Our need to measure has driven the whole sector’s obsession with pledging. But donors told us that our desire for a pledge put them off. We have come up with a new approach and way forward.”

To find out more, contact me on 020 7336 9700 or michelle@whitewater.biz

Michelle Taylor

Posted by Whitewater Team at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whitewater has launched a radical new fundraising website for an innovative new charity called SolarAid.

SolarAid is a new charity that has been set up to fight climate change and global poverty. It achieves this by bringing clean, renewable solar power to the poorest people in the world.

The website puts donors and what they really want at the heart of the site.

It enables donors to contribute to a specific project, and allows them to talk directly with the charity and people in the field. Through blogs and videos, they will be able to see exactly how their money is being spent and the difference they are making. This is a website that gives donors choice and control over their gifts, making them a real partner in the work, bringing them closer to SolarAid.

To see the great work SolarAid does and the new website, visit www.solar-aid.org

SolarAid Director Nick Sireau said: ‘SolarAid’s new website puts our donors directly in touch with our programmes, giving them unprecedented access to what is happening on the ground. Thanks to Whitewater’s ground-breaking approach to digital marketing, we hope to pioneer a new form of fundraising that will change the way charities relate to their donors and beneficiaries.’

Steve Andrews, Managing Director of Whitewater said: “Solaraid’s website has raised the bar for how to put the donor at the heart of the charity’s strategy; and how to put digital media at the heart of the fundraising strategy. We expect Solaraid to be one of the great charity success stories of the next decade.”

Posted by Whitewater Team at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have only been with Whitewater for a short time, but I have already been fortunate enough to work on a new and exciting project with one of our clients, the Brooke, a charity which helps working horses and donkeys in the world’s poorest countries.

Whitewater has helped Brooke launch a new initiative in the way of a cold mail sponsorship pack, where potential supporters will be given the opportunity to become a Founder Sponsor of a mobile vet team, situated in Baghpat India.

We see this as an innovative way of giving, as supporters will not only be giving to a charity, but will also be contributing towards a specific project which has a far more engaging and tangible feel to it. Once someone becomes a Founder Sponsor, they will be sent a fulfilment pack containing a thank you letter, information on the Baghpat team, a set of postcards and a certificate congratulating them on becoming a sponsor of their own mobile team.

Supporters will receive regular updates as well as new information about the project from Brooke, and there will also be a special section of the Brooke’s website just for sponsors. This will enable them to watch videos of the Baghpat team in action and read updates written by the team members. These extras are a way of involving and rewarding supporters for helping in such a worthwhile cause

The benefits of this feedback and involvement are that through regular interaction, supporters will grow with the programme and get the satisfaction of contributing to something specific and measurable It has been proven time and time again that supporters far prefer giving to an earmarked cause than to a generic pool of funds, and this is very evident in the success of the MS society’s recent September mailing campaign which was earmarked to raise money for a new MRI scanner.

The whole aim of Brooke’s new Febraury, cold pack is to focus on supporting a long term infrastructure, which has the ability to prosper through continuous and increasing support. Sponsoring a mobile team not only helps horses and donkeys in distress, but also concentrates on training their owners, from which both communities and animals will benefit.

Animals never complain about their suffering, they just wait patiently for something better to come along. So here’s to a different way of supporting a cause that means something to you where you see first hand how your contribution is making a huge difference.

Michael-John Van Vuuren

Posted by Whitewater Team at 12:37 PM | Permalink

If you’re wondering why Whitewater’s Planning department is looking a bit wide-eyed and scratchy-headed at the moment, it might be because we’ve been in something of a research phase recently. We’ve been in places like Manchester, Leeds and Brighton, focus-grouping and talking to donors like mad. They have fascinated us, surprised us, inspired us and, at times, rendered us speechless.

We’re still in the midst of conducting all kinds of research - on behalf of the NSPCC, Brooke, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Christie’s, Mental Health Foundation and Fauna and Flora International. We’ve been testing strategic directions, brand positioning, alternative fundraising propositions and regular giving products. We’ve been understanding attitudes, motivations and prejudices. We’ve identified some significant barriers to giving and some very exciting fundraising opportunities.

Of course, some research topics are more challenging than others. The NSPCC’s legacy project saw me encouraging a roomful of women in their eighties to talk to me about death and money. Nervous? I was trying to remember everything I learned during my First Aid course! I needn’t have worried. One of the ladies was quite deaf, and another a little bit feisty, but they were all absolutely charming. Terry Wogan didn’t come out of the discussion too well though – accepting a fee for Children in Need was ‘scandalous!’ apparently. Poor old Tel.

I’m so pleased our clients are investing in their own primary research, because the depth and quality of insight you get from truly, carefully listening to real people is priceless.

And it’s priceless in more ways than one. As anyone who has ever sat on the darkened, ‘Big Brother’ side of a viewing mirror will know, giggles are practically guaranteed. And the good news is, our new office in Old Street has room for us to equip our own qualitative research facility later this year. So there will be plenty more opportunities for us to delve into the donor psyche – an enlightening but slightly scary place to spend a few hours… even with sandwiches.

Michelle Taylor

Posted by Whitewater Team at 04:47 PM | Permalink

Earlier last year Whitewater started working with the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In order to propel our communication messages, we needed to establish what supporters and members felt was most important to the cause of the charity.

Surveys sent in the welcome packs identified that supporters and members were most interested in;
Research into treatments to help with the day to day symptoms of MS and; Research into a cure for MS.

As a result, we put research at the forefront of our DM campaigns. For example, our September 07 warm campaign was based on purchasing a new MRI scanner, a fundamental requirement for improving research.

By adopting an important principle in direct marketing appeals, the use of a ‘highly tangible item’ (the MRI scanner), this assured donors that their funds where being allocated towards something specific and real.

The result…one of the most successful campaigns ever in the history of DM at the MSS. The campaign surpassed all expectations, with response rate, net income and ROI all smashing target.

Give the supporters what they want and you will be amazed at the results!

Andrew Sabatino

Posted by Whitewater Team at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For me, the fantastic thing about campaign-led approaches to fundraising isn't just that they get great financial results for the charity. They can fulfil charitable objectives too. One great example of this was when Chinese grandmother Rebiya Kadeer was freed by the authorities, held up Whitewater's Amnesty International insert and said, "This is what helped free me".

Now, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body which approves drugs for use in the UK, has performed a volte face over making available drugs to prevent wet-macular degeneration. And it's in no small part due to the responses to a campaign-led fundraiser Whitewater produced for RNIB a few months back.

RNIB's head of campaigns, Steve Winyard, said "NICE has given thousands of people the best Christmas present they could wish for - hope that their sight might be saved."

Marie Sauve-Rodd, RNIB's Head of Fundraising, added in an email to Whitewater, "We are thrilled at the news, and just want to acknowledge that you and your team had a part in that! Many things contributed to the decision of course, but certainly the volume of response from the 'public' got their attention. Well done, and once again, our thanks and appreciation".

Now that's a result!

Nick Couldry

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:46 PM | Permalink

Whitewater has today announced the launch of a revolutionary new initiative, which we believe will have a big impact on the charity direct marketing sector. Called "No Win, No Fee", Whitewater will undertake one donor acquisition campaign for each of our clients, plus ten new clients... and only accept our fees if the charity wishes to use the campaign again, presumably because the results were good.

Click here for more details:

Email Steve Andrews on steve@whitewater.biz to apply.

Steve Andrews

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:11 AM | Permalink

We are really proud to announce that Home for Life, a legacy product we developed for the RSPCA along with MC&C, won Silver in the Fundraising category of this year’s DMA Awards on Tuesday night. And because there was no Gold awarded in this category, we actually came 1st. To our knowledge, it’s the first time an award has been won at the DMA Awards for Legacy Fundraising. A huge well done to everyone who worked on this launch at Whitewater, MC&C and the RSPCA.

Juliet Fennemore

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:41 AM | Permalink

Never ignore – or underestimate – the opportunity to communicate with those nice people who send you money. Even the humblest form of communication has remarkable potential.

Recently Emmaus, the homelessness charity we work with, asked us to look at their newsletter and bring it into line with their new branding. We re-designed it in a new, friendly format and put in as much inspirational content as a very tight print budget would allow. We also wrote a short, simple letter to accompany it, with the meerest suggestion that a further gift would prove helpful.

As a result Emmaus received, from one enthusiastic supporter, a cheque for £25,000! Our client was bowled over, and by return sent a letter of… well, just a bit more than common or garden thanks. And the recipient was so touched by the care taken in writing this second letter, that another cheque for £1,000 arrived in the post!

Very often, as a charity supporter myself, I get the feeling that newsletters are a convenient dumping ground for inconsequential information – viewed, in communication terms, as the ‘runt of the litter’. We helped Emmaus to prove that even the humble newsletter has the power to elicit a stunning response.

Barry Evans

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:21 AM | Permalink

We're really proud to announce that Home for Life, a legacy product that we developed with the RSPCA, is one of just two nominees in the Fundraising category of this year's DMA Awards.

The DRTV ad that we developed and blogged on recently has been an integral part of Home for Life's success, along with inserts and press ads, all placed by media agency MC&C.

Home for Life offers pet-owners a genuine benefit; giving them the assurance that, should they pass away, the RSPCA will do its best to find a suitable new home for their bereaved pet. It's the embodiment of a progressive legacy strategy with the supporter at its core, and we're really happy to see this approach not only working so well, but also being recognised by the prestigious DMA Awards.

The awards are on 4th December. Cross those fingers now...

Richard Halliday

Posted by Whitewater Team at 04:52 PM | Permalink

In 1982, Terrence Higgins passed away. Through the will of his friends, dedicated to his memory, the Terrence Higgins Trust was born. Fast forward 25 years to the charity’s silver anniversary year, 2007, and this spirit of remembrance has been reignited, through an exciting initiative conceived and developed by Whitewater and Our Lasting Tribute.

On behalf of THT, we have created a significant and touching tribute to all 17,000 people who have died with AIDS in the UK. The memorial exists online at www.remember17000.org

Those who have lost a friend or loved one to AIDS are invited to create a digital red ribbon in their memory, leave a message and post a photo. The site went live a few days ago, and is soon to be promoted to the charity’s warm donor base, via Direct Mail. Whitewater has also created an email and promotional postcards, which will be distributed to key audiences.

We are hopeful that the email in particular will have a quick viral impact and fuel word of mouth so that the url is shared among peers of those who have died from the disease. The web site allows an individual to be remembered by as many people as wish to. They can each create a ribbon and leave their own personal memory.

Please forward the link to anyone you know who may like to remember someone special.

Michelle Taylor

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:43 AM | Permalink

We've been working with the RSPB for five years now, producing regular warm appeals for this conservation charity with over 1 million members. Often the focus is on land purchase, since a key part of their strategy is to acquire and manage critically important wildlife habitats - the best way of securing their preservation for future generations. In October 2006 we produced a breathtaking appeal pack for Sutton Fen, which went on to win a prestigious IOF award.

Successful as such land purchase campaigns can be, there's a need to ring the changes. Chris Madden, our client, is always on the hunt for the right RSPB project to fundraise for. Recently, we turned our attention to issues relating to the marine environment.

The RSPB has been involved in marine conservation for many years - the UK's seas and coastline are of international importance to seabirds which use them for nesting, over-wintering and feeding. Over half the UK's total bird population depend on our seas.

Whitewater was asked to produce a quick-turn around appeal mailing, mailing in July, based on the need for a Marine Bill to be included in this autumn's Queen's speech. Such a Bill has been promised but, as we all know, politicians sometimes need to be held to their promises. This was also an opportunity to communicate with members about RSPB's campaigning work, to help them understand the link between membership subscriptions, ad-hoc donations and other areas of RSPB's work.

The problem with an appeal based on such a vast habitat and range of wildlife is the likely lack of focus. Too large an objective can lack the tangibility that we know donors want. The appeal needed a recognisable and iconic species to give it emotional leverage. We know that the puffin is one of the UK's top three ‘most-loved’ birds. So the puffin it was – to act as a kind of spokesperson for its own kind.

The pack had a joint fundraising and campaigning ask (send a campaign card to PM Gordon Brown) and even offered a cute puffin pin badge as an (optional) reply incentive – which increased response by 15% across segments.

We've had many successes now on campaigning asks for a range of clients (a route that, just three or four years ago, many clients were reluctant to test). This was another. At the last count, income is 30% up on target and rising, average donation is 20% higher than usual and over 2,000 lapsed donors have been reactivated - whoopee! Clearly we're not the only ones who find the puffin's clown face truly engaging. Now lets just keep an eye on Gordon - and that he remembers his promise in the Queen's speech.

Helen Hamilton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:45 AM | Permalink

A number of factors may have contributed to the success of the pack we developed for ORBIS supporters that mailed in June. We don't know if it was one factor or a combination that made the difference - but testing in future campaigns will teach us what made this pack a winner.

This pack presented the Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) – the instantly recognisable symbol of ORBIS's work – in a new way. Brainstorming at the planning stage led us to the proposition: "You're central to the commitment behind that special moment when the FEH lands, opening up immense possibilities. Please give again."

From the use of a deadline, to an emotive and dramatic excerpt of the letter on the outer, the rules of DM were used to give a real flavour of the drama and need awaiting the donor once they opened the pack.

Inside, the letter came from a veteran FEH volunteer eye surgeon. He recounted his experiences, bringing to life the grave importance of ORBIS's work. It's a fascinating account that demonstrates the commitment and determination of the volunteers and the conditions they work in.

The lift piece is not for the faint-hearted. With unflinching images of some of the most challenging cases that volunteer surgeons face, the leaflet carries a warning on the cover, and is a powerful tool in communicating the reality of untreated eye problems.

And the results speak for themselves. Current response is beating target by 50%, total income to date is almost double the target, and ROI is 3.48 (target 2.93).

All in all a great pack and definitely setting the mark for results to beat in the future – well done to all who worked so hard on developing this winning pack.

Sarah Albuquerque

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Meningitis Trust has just launched its Tribute Fund scheme and is going great guns! In just six weeks, 45 Funds have been set up. Doug Edwards, Tribute Fund Officer at the Meningitis Trust, reckons that at least one person is setting up a Fund every day at the moment. Doug is doing a fantastic job of getting the Tribute Fund message out to his supporters (he's just mailed all those who have given to the charity in memory over the last five years, with a response rate of 1.39% so far) and has had some lovely feedback from his new Tribute Fund holders.

But what's really interesting for us is that the Meningitis Trust is one of the first charities to offer its Tribute Fund holders a 'privately consumed' commemorative gift. All OLT's members have heard us wax lyrical about the 'graveyard gap' (that with the decrease in burials and therefore graves and headstones, people no longer have a memorial to their loved one or a place where they can go and spend quiet time) and we have encouraged our members to offer a 'publicly consumed' memorial to their Tribute Fund holders - something that everyone can see. These are proving very popular and are helping the bereaved to close the graveyard gap.

We've always thought, however, that it would also be nice to offer (once a Fund has reached an intermediary level) something personal for Fund holders to remember their loved ones. Doug and his team are doing just that. They offer a rose once a Fund has reached £500, to plant in memory of their loved one. The Meningitis Trust supporters love the sentiment, as this excerpt from a letter they received shows: "Many thanks for the beautiful rose. It arrived safely and looks lovely. Thank you for all your kindness and help with the setting up of Adam's Tribute Fund. It means more than you will ever know!"

Of course, the Meningitis Trust aren't stopping there - they have plans to open a memorial rose garden in their local park and take their Funds online. I can't wait to hear from Doug with his next update in a couple of months' time!

Sarah Radburn-Smith

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:27 AM | Permalink

It was a big night for Whitewater and our clients at the Institute of Fundraising National Awards yesterday. We had three packs short-listed, in two categories, and came away with a double win!

It seems the judges simply could not choose between the welcome pack we developed for ORBIS, and last year's Sutton Fen land purchase appeal for the RSPB (which I wrote about here). So they gave a joint first prize in the category of Best Donor Development Campaign!

Of course, our unbiased opinion is that both pieces richly deserved to win, and we hope that the client teams, account teams, creative and production teams involved are delighted with this recognition of our work.

Anna Crofton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

How do you beat the banker? This was the problem facing the ORBIS team here at Whitewater. The banker in question - a powerful cash insert, unbeaten in all previous creative tests - had been raking in the cash since 2003. It was based on emotive case studies, including one sourced by our creative director Nick on a trip to Bangladesh.

Yet the team was unfazed. A productive creative brainstorm with ORBIS, led by planner Michelle, resulted in a proposition that got to the core of ORBIS's work: 'Send the Flying Eye Hospital to save children's sight and help save lives'. The Flying Eye Hospital is ORBIS's USP; a fully-equipped hospital on board a converted DC10 airplane, complete with training facilities, that can fly into countries around the world, perform eye surgeries and, in the process, train local surgeons in the skills needed to go on saving sight long after the plane has left. The insert would need to focus on the iconic Flying Eye Hospital, but also retain the moving case studies that made the banker such a success.

The concept that ORBIS chose to proceed with featured an unusual format – a sheet of paper that folded into a paper plane – an instant and involving physical demonstration of ORBIS's ability to fly the latest optical surgery techniques to those who need it most. The paper plane concept gave the insert real standout in the saturated charity market and aimed to add a rare bit of fun to what can be an very serious industry.

The insert also featured the emotive case study of six-year-old Santosh, whose sight was saved after ORBIS-trained doctors removed the cataracts in his eyes.

We tested the new insert against the control during the February to July campaign. The campaign isn't finished yet – but the initial results see the new insert outperforming the control on response rate, average gift, net cost of acquisition and ROI! We're hoping this paper plane will really soar.

Alex Wordsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Have you noticed how, these days, we compete to be the person with the most legitimate claims to tiredness? Maybe it's worst among new parents, because I've definitely noticed it more since having a baby. Mothers at playgroup talk of numbing tiredness after six hours of (interrupted) sleep. Then the stakes are raised: "Six hours?! I only got five!" "Five hours is a luxury! I get four hours - and that's on a good night!"

This is a game I can never win. Thankfully my daughter takes after me and loves her sleep - but that’s not the point. The point is that anything that upsets what is 'normal' for you will of course have an impact on how you function. If you're used to eight hours sleep, being forced to get by on six will make you suffer. A bad cold and a sore throat makes you feel ill and unable to function; it doesn't matter that it's not penumonia.

Happiness, or rather the lack of it, is another example. I’m not a big Robbie Williams fan but I never understood the line, peddled in some of the papers, that he's essentially a big crybaby. The argument seems to be that someone with all that money, fame and privilege has no business being emotionally troubled. Whoever knew that bipolar disorder was so disciplined in checking people's bank balance before settling on a life to disrupt?

The Mental Health Foundation knows a thing or two about happiness. Founded in 1949, they provide information, carry out research, campaign and work to improve services for anyone in the UK affected by mental health problems. Their primary aims are to help people survive and recover from mental health problems – and find ways to prevent it in the first place.

They know all too well the scale of the problem and the fact that anyone can suffer at any time from mental illness – whether or not you or I think they 'should'!

The Mental Health Foundation is also one of our newest clients. We've been working on a press campaign, linked to Mental Health Action Week which starts this Sunday (the 8th) and runs until 14th April. This year the week celebrates the value of friendship, and MHF are offering a free booklet to the friends and family of people coping with depression and other mental illness. (Download your copy here.) We’re helping them spread the word.

I’m adding to this my own, one-woman campaign: the next time someone tells you they're tired, ill or depressed, don’t start a private assessment of whether they are justified. Take them at their word. Listen, and try to be sympathetic.

Helen Hamilton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 01:00 PM | Permalink

If our furry friends could speak they would be bending our ears right now - the laws about how people treat their pets has changed. The Animal Welfare Act came into force on 28th March in Wales and on 6th April in England, and it gives more protection to our pets than they've ever had before. For the first time, owners are legally obliged to care for their pets properly, saving thousands of animals from serious abuse and neglect. Most owners won't need to change the way they care for their pets but it will mean that people who persist in neglecting their pets will finally be forced to change their behaviour - or face legal consequences.

Our lovely client, the RSPCA, have been instrumental in driving this law through parliament, and they're always there to give advice to anyone who might be unsure about the care their pet needs. They've put together a set of 'care cards', which give basic information what to feed different types of pets, the kind of housing they need, when to consult a vet - and many other great tips.

We've been working closely with the RSPCA to get the message out about this new law - not just to current supporters, but to a wider audience through cold mailings and doordrops. What's more, we've got plans in the pipeline to help widen the knowledge about the new law even further - to make sure that all animal owners learn about their new responsibilities.

It's such a pleasure to see a hard-won success to this long and difficult campaign. We're privileged to have played a small part in making this a better country for animals.

Juliet Fennemore

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:08 AM | Permalink

Fewer than 50 people are thought to have walked on Sutton Fen, an area of pristine fenland nestled in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, in the last 50 years: less than have seen Earth from space. Nick, Alex and I are among them - that's what I call a perk of the job. My notes from the visit on a brooding, sultry day last summer, scrawled as we squelched through marsh, vegetation shoulder-high, record the barrage on our senses: "scent of watermint… bog myrtle… 'Sedges have edges' sharp ones!… waterlilies, ranunculus, crystal water… sound of insects, quiet enough to hear wings… red admiral butterfly sits on hemp agrimony… marsh harrier on v-shaped wings."

The brief was to raise more than £400,000 towards the RSPB's purchase of Sutton Fen at a total cost of £1.5million. After a string of similar land-purchase-based appeals, our challenge was to bring to life the truly immense conservation value of this place.

"Let's write a letter from the Fen!", said Nick. We were muddy, sweaty, covered in horsefly bites, and on the train back to London. I dismissed his outburst as the raving of a lunatic, or possibly heat-stroke. Back in the office, cleaned up and rehydrated, he remained adamant. I was, I admit, unconvinced, but willing to give it my best effort. But as our concept developed I saw a chance this approach could work.

Our client wanted to be challenged, frightened even, pushed to take a risk with the creative. We took him at his word. The RSPB responded magnificently, and their courage paid off: the appeal has raised almost £500,000 to date.

The outer envelope invokes the reader to 'Listen… can you hear my call?' Inside, supporting elements include a short letter from the manager responsible for the area, and a briefing on the decline of Britain's wetlands. But the main piece is a poster, the call from Sutton Fen, which you can read below.

Personally, I'm proud of everyone involved in the success of this piece. The visit to the Fen was critical – if we hadn't experienced this magical place for ourselves, there is simply no way we would have come up with this creative execution. Nick's idea trod the line between insanity and genius and together we tipped it over to the positive side of the equation. The RSPB trusted their donors to respond to a very different kind of mailing than they were used to - we tried to touch on the spiritual relationship that some people have with wilderness, balancing it against the risk of losing this unspoilt landscape.

I'll leave you with the call of the Fen, below.

Anna Crofton

Continue reading "Crafting a call of the wild" »

Posted by Whitewater Team at 11:41 AM | Permalink

"How," asked Nancy, "do you engage with audiences who are overloaded with marketing messages and images?"

Well that's quite a question - one we grapple with every working day, on every job. Where a prior relationship exists between charity and donor 'cut through' is easier but by no means inevitable. Recruitment of new supporters is an even greater challenge.

Our pool of prospective donors is more knowledgable than ever about marketing techniques, and quite possibly fatigued by the glut of choices presented to them. So we try to reach out to them with honesty and authenticity - with an integrity that some corporates might find difficult to muster. Our most successful recruitment materials ask for more than just donations. They ask for action, and promise the donor that they too can make a difference.

Our insert for Amnesty International UK asked the reader to send a message to the governor in whose Chinese prison languished Rebiya Kadeer – a mother jailed after speaking out about her community's needs. At the same time, they were offered the opportunity to join Amnesty. Thousands returned postcards to the prison official: most signed up to a monthly donation to Amnesty at the same time.

By returning to its original mission – asking supporters to write those holding prisoners of conscience, demanding their release – Amnesty presented readers with a genuine, and proven, way they could affect positive change. And they did: Rebiya Kadeer is free, and said that the postcard campaign probably played a part in her liberation.

The journey of the Animal Welfare Bill through British Parliament provided a similar opportunity to the RSPCA. 170 years ago, the Society backed the passing of an Act of Parliament prohibiting cruelty to domestic animals. With a mailpack based on the case of Barney, a dog who died from neglect due to legal constraints on RSPCA Inspectors, readers were asked to 'help change the law', by giving their support to to the RSPCA and their campaign.

The Bill has now passed into law and will be in force in just a couple of months. I hope we'll be writing back to everyone who supported the campaign with a simple note of thanks.

The messages are simple and compelling. The aims are real and achievable. Any ideas too complex to be made digestible and comprehensible by a good brief and a competent copywriter have no place in donor communications. The results of packs like this make me sure that, by relative spend, non-profit fundraisers are at least as creative and persuasive as our for-profit counterparts. Last financial year Whitewater raised over £9million in revenue for our clients - without a 'must-have' product in sight.

Anna Crofton

PS: This post was included in the Carnival of Non-Profit Consultants, this month hosted by Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention. Head over to this month's round-up for links to incisive and insightful comment on the topic of 'Cutting Through'. You won't be sorry.

Posted by Whitewater Team at 02:18 PM | Permalink

This isn't about ways to spend a huge fundraising budget, but what you could do if you had the cash knocking about your bank account.

Sadly I suspect none of us have that much loose change: most of us will not even earn it over our entire working career. But let's not get downheartened - what would you do with your £2.5m?

Let me share an idea with you, in case a lottery win in the next few weeks makes you feel like splashing out.

This Christmas the RNLI have launched their virtual gifts catalogue, with a test mailing to half their members and donors. Lifesaving Gifts offers supporters a new and exciting way to help the RNLI save lives at sea.

Running alongside the existing gift catalogue of RNLI-branded merchandise, Lifesaving Gifts has inspirational present ideas to reduce the stress of present-buying. We're hopeful that the RNLI's loyal base will take to charity gifts for Christmas like ducks to water - in the way the wider public has embraced the 'goat-for-Christmas' gift offerings of overseas development charities in recent years.



Gifts range from £12 for three cans of self-heating meals for crew – including sausage and beans and Irish Stew - to RNLI lifejackets for £500. You can get hold of a copy for yourself through the website, and some of the gifts are also being sold on ebay, to raise extra funds.

So far so good, but what's this got to do with spending £2.5m? Well, if you want to make waves this Christmas you can buy a state-of-the-art, super-sophisticated, custom-designed, computer-controlled Tamar class lifeboat. Quite simply the best all-weather lifeboat in service in the world.

Imagine one of those in your Christmas stocking! Perhaps some extremely generous individual will buy a Tamar for the RNLI this Christmas. For the rest of us, who just want to show our support for the ordinary men and women who do extraordinarily brave things as volunteer lifeboat crew, there's always sausage and beans.

John Turner

Posted by Whitewater Team at 05:30 PM | Permalink

It's a brave charity that risks valuable budget on a concept that includes sending a length of cut steel cable to its most valuable donors. Practical Action deserve great respect for having the confidence to go ahead and be different. This mailpack, sent to their high value donors, was a winning and unforgettable combination of audience understanding, lateral thinking, first-class creative and a ballsy fundraising team.

The ask was to help construct gravity ropeways in Nepal, to help villagers living in remote mountain communities to get their produce down to valley markets quickly and safely.

The whole execution feels unusual and authentic. The Jiffy bag outer ensures attention on the doormat. The copy tone quietly reinforces the need without resorting to charity histrionics. The prompts are expressed as lengths of the steel cable needed to construct the ropeways. The presentation of the background material is simple and real.

And the candle on the cake was a six-inch length of 8mm galvanised steel cable. You hold in your hand what your money is helping to buy.

The pack was a finalist in this year's international ECHO Awards, but even better than that were the results... target income was beaten by 59%!

Nick Couldry

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:18 PM | Permalink

Breakthrough are enjoying some great results from their Crocus Fund programme, with almost £150k having been raised from 90 Crocus Funds since the establishment of the programme in 03/04. Last year alone saw income double - not bad growth considering that, by their own admission, the Tribute Fund team had not done much active promotion of the scheme.

Gary Kelly, Breakthrough's Senior Legacy and Tribute Fundraising Manager said: "We are very excited about the potential of our Crocus Fund programme. The scheme is showing some great returns, and we believe things can only get better as we focus more on this area. We are particularly pleased with the performance of Crocus Funds that have a website function. On average these Funds are worth about 25% more than those without a website."

Spring may seem a long way off, but for Breakthrough the Crocuses are already blooming!

Clare Hallsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:30 AM | Permalink

Millions of birds are illegally killed every year in Europe. Mainly for sport - despite EU laws prohibiting it. One of the worst places for this is Malta.

The RSPB and its partner organisation BirdLife Malta tackle the hunters (despite violent threats) by collecting evidence of illegal hunting, defending nature reserves and encouraging Maltese people to value their wildlife.

When we were given this subject for the RSPB's August cash appeal, we knew it was an emotive but complicated subject. The traditional RSPB focus is within the UK - land purchases or helping UK species. This was something altogether different, and there was a concern that RSPB members might be reluctant to give money to be spent overseas, not on ‘our’ birds. So we needed to present a clear, convincing rationale for giving.

Campaigning and fundraising appeals work well for the RSPB – for instance the ‘No Airport at Cliffe’ campaign and their ongoing appeal to save the albatross. So Barry (copywriter) and Simon (art director) came up with a powerful dual ask:

Sign a petition to pressure Maltese Prime Minister Laurence Gonzi into respecting EU wildlife protection laws
Send a donation to help the fight to protect Europe’s wild birds.

The outer boldly and immediately triggered some primal motivations: a large window showed a shocking image of dead blackcaps cruelly massacred for sport. Plus this text: "A message to Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta: YOU CAN STOP THIS NOW". The dominant colour was, of course, blood red.

Inside, copy took the reader on the amazing journey of UK songbirds each summer, across two continents to our back gardens. But also through the Mediterranean, where over 100 species are at risk of being hunted. How can the reader stop this? By signing the petition form and sending a gift to help the work on the ground.

Of crucial importance, the donation form and protest card were on one piece – making it harder to return the signed form without including a gift.

So how did it do?

Over 92,000 members signed the protest form and the appeal raised over three-quarters of a million (against a target of £600k)! The petition forms allow the RSPB to send a strong message to Malta that illegal hunting will not be tolerated, while the funds raised will continue to help support the brave work of BirdLife International staff against illegal hunters.

Alex Wordsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:29 AM | Permalink

Question: How do you get donors to give to a disaster that hasn't happened yet? Or worse, give to a disaster that happens time and time again, and so seems a pointless cause, because nothing can be done to stop the inevitable.

This has been a problem that Chris and I have faced a few times, for clients who had asked us to do disaster-risk-reduction (catchy title, no?) - or DRR - mailings for them. The answer seemed to be: "you can't".

Disaster risk reduction packs had just not worked. So when Christian Aid wanted us to come up with concepts for this type of pack we were a little wary because of knowledge gained from previous attempts.

But we love a challenge, so we took a close look at the lessons learned from DRR packs that hadn't worked before, stripping out anything that might have stopped them working harder. We also looked at traditional emergency mailpacks that had done really well, and applied lessons learned from these. The result, our latest disaster risk reduction donor appeal.

We're really excited about this pack, and feel it has all the right ingredients to do really well.

The bright red outer with the words 'Flood. Drought. Cyclones.' in bold lettering has real emergency presence and begs to be opened. Inside, the letter asks the donor to help poor communities prepare for floods in Bangladesh, drought in Malawi and cyclones in India.

The ask is a monthly/cash gift to help provide three simple solutions that will help protect lives.

To reinforce the need, the lift piece uses a powerful pictorial message. Over thirty black and white disaster images from around the world have been used on one side, with minimal copy which, at a glance, gives the sense that 'enough is enough' - we must act now.

Will it work this time? We'll keep you posted (pardon the pun).

Bee Clarke

Posted by Whitewater Team at 02:51 PM | Permalink

There’s nothing like a challenge to get the creative juices flowing. Our first project for the RNLI provided just that. We were asked to upgrade supporters on regular gifts, and convert staunch cash supporters onto direct debits. The RNLI had not mailed supporters with this type of ask for quite some time. Could we persuade their supporters to respond eagerly? Or would they simply stare, nonplussed, at the packs?

With two such different objectives ('give more' and 'give differently') we would usually develop two distinct packs. But it quickly became clear the central message was relevant to both audiences – "2005 was our busiest year ever…and our income failed to cover costs."

Focussing on the growing demand on the Lifeboats' service and their need for additional income to keep pace with this growth, we illustrated the need with the story of an outstanding rescue by the volunteer crew of the Appledore lifeboat station.

A careful balance had to be struck: we needed to convey the urgency of the ask, without creating concern amongst donors that the organisation was struggling. People support the RNLI because of the extraordinary bravery of the ordinary people who volunteer to crew the lifeboats and save lives at sea. So the last thing we wanted to do was imply that a lack of funds might put crews in danger, or that lifeboats might be unable to launch.

The conversion pack communicated the benefits of switching to a monthly donation, particularly in the savings that the RNLI could achieve on administration costs. The upgrade pack asked supporters to increase their gifts by 30% - in line with the growing number of lifeboat launches over the last five years.

A total of 370,000 members and supporters were mailed, with the aim of generating £330,000. The response has been phenomenal, with the supporter care team at RNLI working overtime to process the conversions and upgrades that have flooded in. The income generated has been far, far in excess of our predictions.

The combination of a genuine and tangible need, clearly communicated in a simple and appropriate manner, to a fiercely loyal supporter base has delivered a fantastic return.

John Turner

Posted by Whitewater Team at 12:00 PM | Permalink

The Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association helps all those affected by MND. This is a devastating illness, which destroys the body’s motor neurones, the nerves that send messages from the brain to the muscles that control voluntary and involuntary activities: speech, mobility, breathing, swallowing - all the things which most of us take for granted. About half the number of people diagnosed with MND will die within 14 months.

The MND Association does incredible work, supporting people living with the disease, their carers and their families and funds research into the disease so that one day their vision of a world free of MND will be realised.

The Association launched its Tribute Fund programme in 2004, and to date has 327 Tribute Funds with a collective value of well over £800,000. There are several contributing factors to the scheme's success, but crucially, it has been implemented and managed extremely well.

Legacies and Tribute Fund Manager, Stephen May, told us: "Our Tribute Funds are a highly personal service provided by a small, dedicated team and supported by streamlined processes and timely, relevant communications. We are also constantly developing and enhancing our programme. For example, after a year of in-house development, testing and pilots, we introduced a new, optional service in August this year - Branch Tribute Funds.”

MND Association - honouring a loved one

Clare Hallsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:49 AM | Permalink

'Earmark.' 'Ringfence.' Words to strike fear into the hearts of fundraisers. But used carefully, earmarking can give rise to truly inspiring creative.

And so it was with ORBIS’s Zithromax pack. We had previously failed to make a generic proposition work for recruiting regular givers - but we had a feeling that a more tangible ask might work better.

After some intense brainstorming with the client we settled on ORBIS's distribution of the trachoma-preventing tablet Zithromax – and the simple, powerful ask: £1.22 a week will protect a mother and her child from trachoma in Kembata Tembaro, Ethiopia. This simple statement also allowed us to talk about the ‘bigger picture’ of ORBIS’s work – and their aim to eradicate trachoma from Ethiopia.

Crucially, ORBIS committed to earmarking the funds raised from this pack. No caveats, no get-out clauses. Just a promise to every new donor that their gift will help eradicate trachoma. Authenticity in a nutshell.

Steve and Chris, the lead creative team on ORBIS, came up with a pack that really stands out – the outer resembles a prescription packet from a pharmacist, illustrating that a monthly gift of £4.88 (or £1.22 a week) is less than a UK prescription. Inside, there are details of the distribution programme for Zithromax, some background information on trachoma, and a meeting with a mother who almost lost her sight to the disease.

The results aren’t in yet, but the pack looks great and hangs together really well. In time we’ll know if all our efforts have been in vain but our instincts are, it’s going to do the business. If not? Check back here for a public eating of humble pie.

Simon Cromey

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:20 AM | Permalink

Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are approaching the quarter million pound benchmark for their Tribute Fund scheme, proving beyond doubt that this kind of fundraising can work for charities which aren’t medical causes and don’t deal with cause of death.

Guide Dogs have implemented a well-executed programme, staffed by professional and enthusiastic individuals who wholly believe in the scheme. Their systems and processes work, the Guide Dogs staff are happy to be on the end of the phone, and are very comfortable dealing with the bereaved in person – all contributing factors to this fantastic success.

They also have the ‘Name a Puppy’ trump card, which ticks so many boxes for Tribute Fund supporters. When a Guide Dogs Tribute Fund reaches £5k, the family of the deceased can, if they choose, name a guide dog puppy; most name the puppy after the person the Fund remembers. This has proved a massively popular ‘commemorative option: it literally allows the name of the deceased to live on through the good work of the charity. The family grow closer to the charity, enjoying regular ‘Pupdates’ and the chance to meet and cuddle their named puppy early in its training.

In fact, once the once-daunting £5k target has been reached, many families feel so inspired (and have been looked after so well by the Guide Dogs team) that they go on to reach for £10k and beyond. Brilliant fundraising.

Quarter of a million – if I had a tail I’d wag it!

Clare Hallsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 07:05 PM | Permalink

Well – the fruit of our labours is finally out there and we’re waiting with bated breath for mature results to chew on. Earlier this year, Brad and I went out to India with the Brooke, who provide veterinary services for working horses and donkeys in developing countries. We were there with the Brooke's Sharon Schofield, shooting their first DRTV ad in the brick kilns on the eastern outskirts of Delhi.

It was an amazing trip, and several things will stay with us. Firstly, the dedication of the Brooke's veterinary staff, who show the animals they see such kindness and respect. Also, the way they show the animals’ owners how to treat and prevent some of the conditions that are common to working animals in such a hot climate. Which brings me to the heat. 42 degrees was bad enough, but add to that the heat generated by the earth-covered kilns, where tens of thousands of hand-moulded clay bricks baked in burning coal and woodchips – the soles of Brad’s boots were melting off as he filmed a heat haze sequence on top of one of these. And of course, the stars of the ad… you know the saying ‘never work with animals or children’? You ain’t been there until you’ve tried directing a donkey!

Some snapshots: the fountain of pus released as a vet lanced a 2 litre abcess on a horse’s back… the little 4-year-old kids helping their dads by fetching heavy barrow-loads of clay to make bricks… our hero donkey steadfastly refusing to drink from the specially positioned water trough after a hot day at the kilns (he just wanted his usual old bucket back at his shelter). That's what happens when you cast starring roles based on looks instead of acting ability.

It was really hard work but such an experience and it’s made me into an advocate for the Brooke. If you can really show people what you do, you’ll have supporters for life. If you want to see the ad, just click here.

Nick Couldry

Posted by Whitewater Team at 07:02 PM | Permalink

Christian Aid's mosquito appeal was a simple, emotive and powerful pack, based on the proposition "Your £2.25 can protect a child from a deadly killer, every month." The pack explained the severity of dangers of malaria in sub-saharan Africa - where the disease kills a child every 30 seconds. Christian Aid provide a simple and tangible solution to this problem – a mosquito net costing just £2.25.

The subject matter is new and fresh, with stark, shocking statistics to back up the need. So the pack stands out from the usual overseas development subjects (drought, food scarcity and safe water etc).

In response to the brief, Bee and Anna developed a pack with the urgency of an emergency appeal. The clear, focused copy provokes outrage in the reader, that so many children die when there is such a simple solution to the problem. The oversized outer communicates the scale of the problem with immediacy - a tiny image of a mosquito and the large, stretched typography of the word MONSTROUS.

Results
The pack was sent out as a cold CoG pack, warm CoG conversion, upgrade and also had a follow-up appeal. All activity was successful, however it was the upgrade that stood out as the biggest success.

The upgrade appeal ROI was 8.01, 473% above target, while the response rate of 4.17% was 248% above target. The average upgrade value was £5.07 - again over target this time by 281%.

Alex Wordsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:19 AM | Permalink