For Fundraisers, Is Love In The Air?
According to this report in the NY Times, advertisers are turning up the dial on emotion in their appeals. Perhaps nonprofit fundraisers should do likewise.
Says one ad exec:
“There are left-brain and right-brain approaches to advertising,” said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive of the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Publicis Groupe. “For a long time, there was a left-brain approach” that highlighted “rational reasons and good selling points, but in the last several years studies have shown that emotional attachments really are a crucial factor in purchasing decisions.”
I’m astonished that Ms. Kaplan Thaler has only so recently discovered the "studies" that show emotion matters … to say nothing of the fact that she needed "studies" to arrive at her conclusion. But I digress.
It seems the "in" emotion for 2010 is love. The Times article gives various illustrations of the concept put into advertising practice. Here’s my favorite:
"In an ad for Subaru — by Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, part of the Interpublic Group — a man drives his Forrester for two days to “Subaru Heaven,” a junkyard where Subarus are left for parts. “You don’t just let some wrecker haul off your 300,000-mile Forrester to who knows where,” says the driver. “You give that car a chance to live on — one part at a time.” The commercial is based on a letter sent by a customer."
I can understand that.
So here’s the question …
How can your nonprofit win the "love" of your supporters? Like the Suburu example, could "love" be undying gratitude for unfailing service and performance? And if not "love," what is the emotional connection that will bond your donors to your organization?
Love ya,
Tom
One response to “For Fundraisers, Is Love In The Air?”
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