Slides from a session at the NCVO Campaigning Conference 2018, presented by Edmonds Elder

1. Seven lessons for charity
campaigns from the world of
politics

2. The same challenges…
Not much
budget
Navigating
difficult
contexts
Sooooo
many
stakeholde
rs

3. …and many of the same objectives
Getting
people to
take an
action
Inspiring
passion or
emotion
Achieving
policy
change

4. It’s better to reach 5 people that
matter than 5 million people that
don’t
Lesson 1

5. Focus on your
supporters and
‘swing voters’
 Know your audience
 Find where they are online
 Tailor your message to them
 Ignore everyone and
everything else

6. The half-second rule
(aka ‘the doormat to the bin
rule’)
Lesson 2

7. Land one point
well rather than
three not at all
 Keep your message clear
 Make one point – and make it
over and over again
 Make sure people know what
you’re asking them to do

8. Big numbers don’t matter
(no matter how good they make
you feel)
Lesson 3

9. Don’t caught up
in the numbers
game Identify – and make
happen – the actions that
count
 A letter/email is more
impactful than 1000
tweets
 No more thunderclaps

10. Thank you – now take the next
step
Lesson 4

11. Don’t miss your
window
 Capitalise on people’s
attention and interest
when you have it
 Always give people a
second step
 But first - find lots of
small steps for people
to take (and make them
as easy as possible)

12. Give something to get something
Lesson 5

13. A value exchange to
start relationships
 Email remains one of the most
powerful digital channels
 Give people something in
exchange for an email address
 Make it genuinely useful
 Always consider the longer-term
engagement plan

14. Make your supporters
part of the team
Lesson 6

15. Your success is their
success
 Give them insider
knowledge – briefing
documents etc
 Find an easy way for them
to have a stake
 Create assets that they can
easily share
 Use incentives to
encourage ongoing
engagement
 Show them the impact of
their support

16. Digital is not magic
(sorry)
Lesson 7

17. Digital is just one channel
 Digital can’t do it all – must be
combined and aligned with other
communication channels and
activities
 Recognise what digital can do
and what it can’t do
 Don’t overpromise (it will catch up
with you!)

18. Thank you