You Tanned, You Missed
If you spent the end of August sunning, you might have missed a flurry of media discussion about how online tools are impacting political and issue campaigning. As we hunker down for the 60 day or so sprint to Election Day 2006, here's some of the prognosticating about online campaigning.
Guess what, TV still rules as far as professional campaign consultants are concerned. This report describes polling of 155 political consultants on behalf of the E-Voter Institute. Takeaways:
- 44% of consultants estimated that only 1-5% of campaign budgets will go to online initiatives in 2006 (another 38% said 6-20%);
- The favorite online means of campaigning are ads on newspaper websites, candidate websites, e-mail and blogs … all with a dose of rich-media content;
- Looking to 2008, consultants' preferred media to win, in order, are: TV, direct mail, radio, web sites, e-mail, blogs, podcasts, newspaper ads, online ads;
- Consultants regard online tools as more useful for raising money and attracting volunteers than for influencing voters.
At the same time, as the NY Times reports in “The YouTube Election,” practitioners are becoming very sensitized to the 24/7 exposure their candidates must survive as citizen-generated “coverage” blossoms on social networking sites.
The “racial slur” incident involving re-election candidate Senator George Allen (R-VA) is described, and a number of politicos, not specifically referring to Allen, warn of “the death of spontaneity” and even stronger attempts by managers to encase candidates in “scripted bubbles.” The point raised …
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
Read Full Answer
Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
Read Full Answer
Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
Read Full Answer
There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
Read Full Answer