Charities must stand out through branding and targeted communications, Paanisha Lad explains

"Creating loyalty to a particular charity brand can be difficult"

Donating to charity is something the majority of us have done at some point in our lives: running a charity race; dropping some pennies into a collection box; setting up a direct debit to pay a set amount to a charity of our choice on regular basis. In 2012, 55% of UK adults donated to charity and the estimated total amount raised last year was £9.3 billion.

We are a nation of givers. But with 170,000 registered charities in the UK alone how do we choose which to support? Brands that are highly visible, appeal to me, talk to me in a way and on a device that suits my busy lifestyle are the ones that will influence me and make me seriously consider donating or at least researching the cause in question. However, charities must invest time, effort and thought into building a brand and cannot take their target market for granted.

Creating brand loyalty can be difficult. There is no ‘one size fits all’ for charity supporters, which is why shared information is critical to make branding less challenging and produce tangible results. If understanding your charity and sector’s donor database is crucial, visual identity is just as critical. Many brands struggle to find an instantly identifiable image like those of Apple, Coca-Cola and Facebook. Most people would struggle to pick out the logos of Oxfam, UNICEF or Amnesty International. Charities need to look at what FMCG and technology brands have done to create clear, distinct, recognisable brands.

Charities operate in a crowded and competitive marketplace; cut-through to get consumers to part with their hard-earned cash is now more important than ever. This sort of brand communication is especially important when attempting to secure the 16- to 30-year-old ‘donor of the future’ generation as long-haul, committed supporters. Though young donors aren’t the most valuable today, according to research we conducted recently, they have great potential to be significant supporters as they get older.

Some charities have begun to recognise this. WaterAid’s ‘The Big Dig’ campaign focused on investing in the donor of the future. Using Instagram to help raise £2.5m and bring clean water to 134,000 people in Malawi, the charity tapped into the social media site, popular with 18- to 29-year-olds. Supporters could follow the progress of the Big Dig in real-time up to the moment when the borehole was dug and clean water appeared.

Depaul UK, the youth homelessness charity, has in the past spent its £6,000 annual marketing budget on advertising. To make that budget work harder, Depaul reinvested that money into the iHobo app. The app allows users to interact with a virtual homeless person. The app was downloaded 575,000 times and monthly traffic to Depaul’s website increased by 59% through the app’s use of push technology, live footage and one-click donations. The campaign provided exposure to a difficult to reach donor base.

Our recent research confirmed that using social media can help engage donors with charities. Some 20% of those questioned said a charity’s use of social media would encourage interaction with an organisation. A further 20% said that use of social media would encourage them to seek to understand a cause.

Charities must recognise the value of investing in the overall brand image, and how different people interact with that brand through specific media, rather than on simply raising funds. As technology offers more ways of reaching out to and researching organisations, creating a brand that resonates with supporters will become more essential.

 Paanisha Lad is the group marketing manager for the St Ives Group