by Sarah Harris, Account Director, The Harrington Agency

It’s time to move away from the same old funnel and curated linear journeys. Instead, create an environment where prospects and donors are exposed to surround sound treatment at every step of their journey. Brand Awareness and fundraising campaigns should not be mutually exclusive campaigns. Both should support and promote the other.

Consider adding one or two more ingredients to your direct response campaigns and programs.

Over the past year, The Harrington Agency has deployed support campaigns including an exotic selection of ingredients including Connected Television (CTV), and radio ads Face to Face Canvassing, digital signage,  PerformanceMax and YouTube.  All have promoted the organization’s brand building awareness and creating that surround sound and also included an ask. These support campaigns flanked or ran concurrently with traditional direct mail and online campaigns.

Adding new channels is a great way to spice up results. We’ve seen website visits grow 25% while support campaigns ran. And an impressive 15% increase in new donor conversion while branded multi-channel efforts were active. Branded awareness is a great option for organizations looking to optimize spend while supporting philanthropic giving and brand awareness.

It’s important to allow for sufficient planning time when rolling out these initiatives. Consider allocating a percentage of your budget or request additional funds for new channel testing when building annual projections. Development teams and agency partners should work closely with their organization’s marketing and communications teams in these efforts. Collaboration with key stakeholders and across departments is a crucial component for success.

Looking forward, we’re excited to continued testing and exploring new opportunities to continue these efforts. Are there any new testing opportunities you’re excited about? Let us know at [email protected]