It’s time to start spending money properly on communications. Let me explain…
Allocating budget to marketing and PR is getting ever-tougher to justify, and the rise of social media and earned PR has amplified this issue. With so much free exposure seemingly up for grabs, it’s tempting to wonder: why buy it when media outlets are giving it away for free?
But like most things in this world, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The current landscape
When you work for, or with a charity, free stuff happens all the time. People volunteer, donate or work pro bono; it’s part of the fabric of day to day life. And even when they do they get paid, it’s often at far below the market rates. A marketing director or creative director for a significant FMCG brand will earn well over 6 figures, the same role in a charity comes in at around a third to half of that.
So you could argue that a charity is saving 50 or 60 thousand pounds straight away and that’s a good thing, but is it really?
No one criticises P&G for spending millions of pounds globally on communications, hiring huge internal teams and employing multiple creative agencies, but if a charity were to spend a significant portion of their income on marketing, people would be up in arms.
“How could you do that when people/animals/the environment need that cash? You are wasting our donations. I’m not giving you my money”.
Let’s look at it another way
Would you rather have 80% of a £50,000 annual income or 40% of a £500,000 annual income? Which one does the most good for the beneficiaries of the charity?
One charity has really changed the game in this respect is CALM. Armed with an ambition to push boundaries, engage people in conversations that no one thought they wanted to have, and with a desire to bring on board brilliant people to support them, CALM have grown by almost 500% in the past 4 years. They have picked up international awards and recognition for their outstanding creative work, partnerships, insightful ambassadorial connections and innovative media buys.
We know it’s really tough for charities to commit to significant creative development or marketing spends with no guarantee of income, but the alternative is much worse – essentially hoping that with conservative creative output and minimal coverage, income will magically generate beyond forecasts.
Be the change you want to see
For me, charities should start acting more like brands, utilising the same insight and creative techniques that commercial companies do to encourage people to engage. It’s not an easy transition – too many charities can see themselves as charity cases, but this is the time to be brave; to consider putting a larger slice of income into communications in order to raise profile and revenue.
But of course spending money can’t guarantee instant income. It might provide legacy support which could take years to hit your bottom line or brand engagement which leads to alternative revenue streams.
Money spent has to be used wisely; based on research, data, strategy and delivered with exceptional creativity across the correct media for people to engage.
All of this takes time, costs money and requires effort, and even then, there are risks involved; but not doing anything that changes the game is a far bigger risk. In today’s world, standing still is going backwards.
Charities: please don’t act like you need charity. Act like a visionary brand that wants to be seen, needs to be heard and who truly wants to make a difference.
