Sometimes fundraising is all about who we are…

DTV has worked with WWF for nearly twenty years and throughout this partnership we've collaborated to produce some incredibly responsive DRTV campaigns for UK and international markets, including Norway, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Poland, Italy, and Holland. 

In the UK, our original focus was on animal adoption DRTV ads which were instrumental in acquiring thousands of new regular givers for the charity. Very product-oriented, highlighting the cuddly toy and a fun, educational adoption package, they proved enormously popular with children and as a gifting product.

The big idea

After years of massive success with adoption DRTV, WWF sought to diversify their DRTV portfolio and asked us to consider their membership product for television.

We knew their existing membership donors were deeply committed to the cause and demonstrated strong retention rates. Within this existing audience, we identified a series of deeply held values like stewardship, a love for nature, a sense of responsibility and the desire for a better world.

This represented a massive opportunity for recruitment: to speak directly to the deeper values that motivate people to support a cause.

Our creative and planning teams at DTV worked closely with WWF to truly capture the essence of their membership offering. We framed it as a journey, inviting individuals to become part of a growing global community striving to make their voices heard. This deep collaboration, rooted in understanding the core values, led to the production of their first membership TV campaign, ‘Who are we?’

The bold creative

‘Who are we?’ was unlike anything we had produced for WWF before. Opening with this confronting, galvanising question, the script unfolds in a series of further rhetorical questions that connect our identity and values to the survival of the natural world. This direct address and powerful tone served as a call to arms, highlighting a shared responsibility and a collective commitment to the planet.

It wasn't about a cuddly toy or a specific animal adoption; it was about the fundamental values that drive people to protect our world and be part of a powerful global movement, inviting them to ‘show the world who you really are.’

The fantastic results

The campaign performed brilliantly in the UK, exceeding expectations and clearly demonstrating the power of a values-driven narrative. Its success led us to produce more membership creatives for WWF, and the ad itself was adapted for other country markets worldwide, proving the universal appeal of its values-led approach.

The success of the campaign has shown that for an organisation like WWF with a strong identity and loyal supporter base, a fresh creative strategy that builds on existing insight can be the key to reaching out to a wider audience. The project challenged us to think more profoundly about WWF, why people give, and how we can inspire not just donations, but a true, lasting connection.

Bio

Tim Corbett-Winder is a Producer for DTV and has worked in the sector for over 15 years.