Employing the Five Ws (and one H)
Charity communicators need to ask questions about the communications they produce, says freelance copywriter Trina Wallace The Five Ws (and one H) have served my career well. They’re not self-help mantras, a team of favourite…
The power of accurate targeting
John Pooley from The Data Partnership talks about how you can ensure your marketing messages are seen by your target audience Corporate and consumer donations are declining sharply, consumers are cancelling their direct debits to…
Going global: creating an international brand identity
CharityComms director Vicky Browning considers branding challenges What links an obscure Welsh village with a choice between red or blue packaging for a type of condom? The problems of international branding, naturally. The in-house joke with…
Being powerful without looking powerless
It’s not rare in charity communications, particularly during human disasters where suffering and death is a reality, to be treading a fine line between expressing a vital need for awareness (and hard cash) and maintaining…
Posters on the Underground
In January this year, 430 posters featuring children with disfigurements were displayed on stations throughout the London Underground, with the potential to reach 2.2 million commuters. People were curious about how we had secured a…
Sticking to strategy
A simple communications strategy can keep you, and your colleagues, stay on course to achieving your aims, says Amazon PR's Kirsty Kitchen You’ve worked for months to create a strong, comprehensive communications strategy and everyone’s…
Maximising return on investment: seven tips for a successful anniversary campaign
We’ve just celebrated our 25th anniversary with a campaign that generated a return of investment (ROI) of 94:1; this means that for every £1 we spent on the campaign we earned £94. I’m going to…
Please, no, not a marketing director
There's one job title that Joe Saxton, driver of ideas at nfpSynergy, thinks we need to rethink There are some job titles in the charity sector that make my heart sink. Procurement officer is one…
Banking on branding: what charities can learn from corporate marketing
Dan Dufour summarises lessons we can learn from HSBC's marketing HSBC is the largest European bank in the world. Its international network comprises around 8,500 offices, based in 86 countries in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Americas,…
A strategy for brand success
Copywriter Trina Wallace reports on lessons learnt from Mencap's 2008 rebrand You can understand their disillusionment. One minute, potential supporters and donors are told that charities desperately need their hard-earned cash to change lives. The…