Brand x Legacy: 3 golden rules for avoiding the biggest campaign mistakes
Your budgets are under increasing pressure. You need to deliver more each year. So how can you make your precious budgets work harder?
There is a lot of insight out there that explores the relationship between brand and legacy, as well as how to tap into brand budgets to deliver brand-style legacy campaigns. It’s no longer a new idea and it’s becoming more commonplace in the sector, but how do we make sure that these campaigns really deliver for your charity?
This blog focuses on the key considerations and potential pitfalls of brand-style legacy campaigns, and how to navigate them!
Starting with how we measure success of brand-style legacy campaigns
Creative approach should be informed by how you’re measuring the success of the campaign.
Whether it’s volume, CPL, quality of lead or legacy income. There is no wrong answer, but the answer should inform your ask/offer and creative approach.
When your target is more focused on CPL or volume there is a greater need to focus the creative concept on the audience, what you’re asking them to do and what you’re offering them (whether an incentive or a ‘legacy’ in a more symbolic way).
Whereas, if your targets are more around consideration, brand or generating fewer higher quality (more engaged) leads, there is more space for a concept to speak to your cause, vision, mission and the values you share with your audience.
Creative approach and losing sight of the heart of legacy
On one level the connection or ‘synergy’ between brand and legacy is simple. It’s the focus on your organisation, your vision and your mission. And, it’s the intersection with their life, personal legacy, values and identity.
However, there is a massive potential pitfall when taking this creative approach: you risk focusing too much on your organisational brand or a big ‘conceptual’ message and losing sight of the key elements that make legacy campaigns responsive.
When we develop brand-led legacy campaign we follow three golden rules:
Number 1: People give legacies to organisations they share values with, are touched by, or grew up with. Therefore, we need to talk in the language of the donor, not the charity.
Number 2: Head and heart matter. Legacy giving has the same passion drivers as lifetime giving but with a rational counterbalance. It’s the biggest gift you make, so it takes thought.
Number 3: No one plans on dying soon. Legacy vision must be tangible, but a generation or two ahead.
The key takeaways…
Starting point: How do your objectives for legacy align with your organisational mission / vision / voice?
Plan around your KPIs and how the success of the campaign is going to be measured long-term.
Don’t lose sight of the ‘golden rules’ of legacy fundraising.
If you’re thinking about whether a brand-style legacy campaign might be right for an organisation like yours, please get in touch. We offer free creative workshops to help charities navigate and explore creative and strategy opportunities for their legacy programs.
Bio
Poppy is a Creative Strategist at DTV and has worked in fundraising for more than 5 years. Poppy works closely with a large range of charities globally, developing creative propositions and approaches for a variety of campaigns and products in the sector.