Award Winning Blog - Agitator

GOTV Works. GOTV Doesn’t Work.

There was a field experiment a few years back using social pressure mailers that increased voter turnout by around 8 percentage points. That’s a massive lift. But averages, even big lift ones, can hide a lot. Nothing works the same with everybody. There aren’t universal “nudges” or other tactics that apply evenly to all people. […]

Learn More October 28, 2024

Here’s Your Year-End Bonus!

This isn’t a year-end bonus check. It’s better. It’s a gift that will sharpen your results, build your reputation, and grow your organization’s bottom line for years to come. That’s what Thankology, Lisa Sargent’s new book, is. A gift for you, your team, and your donors. Simple, clear, and worth more than any check. Even […]

Learn More October 25, 2024

Multichannel Cart and Horse

This bar chart is not multichannel. Well, it is in that I can see a blue bar labeled as such. But this is a very limited, narrow view of the outcome/revenue side of our business focused entirely on where transactions occur. It’s putting the cart before the horse and the cart has a busted wheel. […]

Learn More October 23, 2024

The Trap of Complacency and Denial

Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975, but the company’s leadership was so attached to their profitable film business they ignored it. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and emerged a year later a much-diminished enterprise, significantly downsized today with a focus on printing and digital imaging technology. Kevin’s post, Pogo Was Right, reminded […]

Learn More October 21, 2024

Pogo Was Right

Cartoonist Walt Kelly is credited with the line, “We have met the enemy and he is us” uttered by his Pogo opossum character in a 1970 Earth Day poster highlighting human impact on the environment. Ironically, the very brands responsible for societal good are polluting the fundraising rivers with a sea of gimmicky, transactional sameness. […]

Learn More October 18, 2024

Commitment Redux

People in highly committed relationships judge alternatives as less attractive compared with single people. This devaluing of alternatives carries over to brands too. Consumers who strongly prefer a brand evaluate the competing brand more negatively. Higher commitment causes people to focus on how the brand is dissimilar from their preferred brand, low-commitment consumers focus on similarities. […]

Learn More October 16, 2024