Charity DRTV - The best time to test is now. updated

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way Fundraisers work, and the channels used for supporter recruitment. With countries under lockdown and social distancing here to stay possibly for a number of years, the dynamics of fundraising for supporter recruitment is moving away from Direct Dialogue. Events fundraising and Community fundraising income will also be impacted.

The next three to four months offer an opportunity for charities across the world to test DRTV for recruitment. Media rates are at their lowest in recent history, possibly ever. Larger audiences are watching low-interest TV in the middle of the day and results have been very strong for many charities as a result. Quite simply there has never been a better time to test.

I have managed DRTV campaigns for several charities and spent three years working as DRTV Specialist for OXFAM International, working largely from home. In this article, I am sharing some of my experience on how to set up and optimise a DRTV campaign and dispelling some of the myths and preconceptions around DRTV.

1) Creative costs

You do not need to spend up to ￡85,000 on a DRTV advert. Some of the most effective adverts I have seen produced cost less than ￡20,000 to produce. If you have some footage of your own a 60' second advert can be produced working directly with a production company. By saving between ￡40,000 to ￡60,000 on creative we will have given ourselves our media budget. Below is a link to an example of an advert I produced for OXFAM International from existing footage and a minimal cost achieving Cost per Donor of better than ￡100.

OXFAM Australia Advert

2) Media costs

Media costs are key for an effective campaign. You need around 200 spots for an effective level of insight into performance. In the current market place of a budget of ￡15,000 to ￡20,000 a month is enough to test and optimise.

3) Integration & Digital

DRTV still reaches the widest audience of any channel and drives online performance. Therefore when testing include budgets for Social, PPC and retargeting. Look at results in the round, not just the linear results attributed to phone calls. Around eighty percent of the response will be online.

I have seen online uplift of around 500% following a DRTV campaign being launched.

4) High volumes of regular donors

With a cost per regular donor between ￡140 to ￡200 being realistic with an optimised campaign which is competitive with Direct Dialogue. When combined with optimised planning and attention to detail DRTV can bring in thousands of regular donors and go a long way to filling the gap in supporter recruitment caused by the loss of Direct Dialogue.

5) Optimisation is key

Essential for DRTV is the ongoing management and optimising. So ensure you have a testing and development plan to work through for the three months of testing and optimising the media mix and creative approach.

6) Homeworking (yes you can create a DRTV program from home)

Adverts are still being produced even with the current restrictions, currently, I am coordinating the filming and production of an advert internationally. Online platforms like Vimeo, Basecamp and others allow people in multiple locations to feedback to cuts of footage and filming is still possible observing social distancing. I built up a global DRTV program through homeworking for three years with OXFAM.

Next steps - Updated

Having had mixed results with Zoom I will be recording some ten-minute presentations. In the coming weeks. In the meantime if anyone wants to contact me directly you can e-mail me or contact me via my website at.. https://www.jamesallport.com