the power of interactive marketing and creative positioning to improve donor loyalty
DESCRIPTION
How much do you really know about your target audience? And how effectively are you reaching them in a sea of competing interests? This session will provide insight into the creative positioning, marketing strategy, research and planning that every educational institution must consider for their annual giving initiatives. Featuring learnings from two major California universities (CSULA and National University], we will discuss the importance of target audience definition (e.g., who are the most active donors and what is their cumulative impact over time), competitive analysis and using innovative engagement tactics (e.g., social media) to create a lasting bond. From there, we will share various successful interactive marketing strategies which the Annual Giving Professionals audience can use.TRANSCRIPT
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Creative Positioning & Interactive Marketing Best Practices
Presented at Annual Giving Professionals Network
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INTERNAL & EXTERNALRESEARCH
INTERNAL & EXTERNALRESEARCH
MARKET SIZING &
SEGMENTATION
MARKET SIZING &
SEGMENTATION
COMPETITIVERESEARCH
COMPETITIVERESEARCH
BRANDING & POSITIONINGBRANDING & POSITIONING
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS
CREATIVE DEV’T
CREATIVE DEV’T
SEOSEO
PPCPPCSOCIALMEDIA
SOCIALMEDIAINT’L
MKTG.INT’L
MKTG.
GO-TO-MARKET
STRATEGY
GO-TO-MARKET
STRATEGY
MARKETING ANALYTICS
MARKETING ANALYTICS
ONLINE ADVERTISING
ONLINE ADVERTISING
OFFLINE MARKETING
OFFLINE MARKETING
e-storm’s Focus – Holistic Marketing
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Clients: 10 Years – 100 Organizations Worldwide
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• Fine Tune Your Marketing– Target audience– Understand the competitive landscape– Develop “differentiated” messaging to market
yourself
• Case study – Cal State LA by
• Interactive Go To Market Strategies– Social media– Centralize analytics & attribution– Search engine marketing
Positioning & Interactive Marketing Strategies to Help Annual Giving
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Walk before you run – Strategy fine tuning
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Segment and focus on the most attractive target audience
Understand their mindset, purchase process
Leverage deeper knowledge of competitors’ practices & messaging
Position yourself effectively against competition
Develop and execute more distinctive message (content, copy)
How to differentiate your annual giving efforts? Walk before you run
These steps leading to a focused, simple annual giving strategy
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How to research & differentiate?
Organizati
on
•Who are you, what is your organization best at, what makes you different? Thinking, feeling, doing and sensing dimensions of the latent brand•Meth
od: Executive interviews
Alumni/
Other Dono
rs
•Who are you targeting, how do they approach giving?•Meth
od: Customer interviews
Competition
•Where is the white space? Where can you point your arrows?•Meth
od: Competitive message assessment
Culture
•What macro-trends can you ride to propel your organization’s success?•Meth
od: Database search
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Look for genuine insights
Previously unrecognized truths
with the power to propel change
Change in your relevance to
trends
Change in your competitive
leverage
Change in your understanding of the
customer
Change in your organization
focus
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Development of Strategy
Begin to express 3-4 positioning ideas
Together analyze their pros and cons
A large, unmet customer need
That leverages you at your best
That gains power from societal
trends
That no competitor can or will be able
to deliver
Look for naturally inter-locking pieces that, together, form an unassailable advantage
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Development of Strategy
Prefer a projectible sample size of 400+
On-line surveys are very inexpensive and quick
Learn what idea drives the most “donor” interest, is most
distinctive and believableProfile respondents
Develop and test several positioning concepts to express these ideas
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Case Study – Cal State LA
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CONCEPT MAP
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Creative Theme
To inspire both immediate online giving and gift planning, the creative direction/theme aims to:
–Establish a strong, vibrant sense of place.–Make it feel personal and real.–Promote inclusion.
Creative Theme = Be a part of it.
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Creative Theme
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Creative Theme
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What is IT?
To Be a part of it, potential donors must first know/feel what IT is.
CSULA is a…–Dynamic, architecturally interesting
campus.–Populated by motivated, personable
students and faculty.–And supported by active, progressive
alumni and donors.
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Prove IT.
• How do we make it dynamic?– The black-and-yellow challenge.– Invite interaction and exploration.
• How do we make it personable?– The use of story.– Compelling characters.
Goal = Engage, Form Emotional Connection
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The use of story.
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How can you be a part of it?
Both messaging and navigation answer this question.
–Get Involved = Attend an Event; Join a Group
–Annual Giving–Designated Giving = Give to Your Passion
–Planned Giving
At any level = Make a difference.
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Four Stages of Giving
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Four Stages of Giving
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Four Stages of Giving
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Four Stages of Giving
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How do we keep them coming back?
• Renewable Content–Events filtered by interest.–Relevant stories.
• Develop Marketing Campaign in line with Creative Theme/Messaging
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With Clear Positioning, Differentiator – Can Social Media Help?
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What About Social Media?
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Why should you care about Social Media
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Are consumers really using social media?
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Are consumers really using social media?
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Are other professionals or donors really using social media…?• You bet
–Professionals• http://doteduguru.com
• http://www.bloghighed.org/
• http://www.annualgivingexchange.com/
• http://www.bizbabble.org
• http://philanthropy.com/
–Alumni/Donors:• http://financialfellow.com/2009/01/16/
poll-do-you-donate-to-your-alma-mater/
• http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x491120
• http://www.wisebread.com/it-pays-to-be-true-to-your-school-5-ways-your-alma-mater-can-save-you-money
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• How can you start & get better with social media?–Use trackur, google alerts, radian6,
google/yahoo/bing blog search to understand:• Who is talking about:
–Your university–Your competitors–Tax issues–Giver’s needs–Etc
• Listen, then engage• Measure against benchmarks
Are other professionals or donors really using social media…?
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Understanding and Reaching Out to Donors• Social media is a perfect way for many
organizations to:– Learn from customers first hand what they want & expect
from you
– Before launching any campaign – check with your end customers - donors
– Make “consumable” content available – let donors spread the word
– Develop relationship with alumni/donors, instill trust – annual giving will follow
– Lower cost per acquisition – increase conversions
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Central Analytics – Key To Marketing Optimization
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Centralize Analytics – Multichannel Optimization
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• Use Google Analytics, Yahoo Analytics, Omniture, or WebTrends to “centrally” track:
– SEO
– Paid search
– Emails
– Surveys
– Direct mail – use “info.universityX.edu” to track “offline” results
– Social media – use Bit.ly & Google Tracker
– Other offline campaigns – lead them to landing pages
• Then run attribution
– Example of findings:• 20-30% of paid search “credit” comes from other marketing• “Offline doesn’t work” – Not true – tracking is usually at fault!
– Save 30-40% on marketing & re-invest
Centralize Analytics – Multichannel Optimization – Simple Steps
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SEO and Paid Search
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Consider investing in:
– Search engine optimization – SEO
– Paid search - PPC
– Geo-targeted
– Related search – competitors, advocacy
– Contextual – University X announces….
Cal State LA
80% of consumers find information through search
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Search – Leveling the playing field for you
Opportunities?- Not a lot of
advertisers
- Good relevant and authoritative pieces can “rise” to first page of Google
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Search – Leveling the playing field
SEO
PPC
+29% Higher Return
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Mobile Search & Micropayments
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Is History Repeating Itself?
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Mobile Marketing - Opportunities
What?• Reach alumni/donors (and
other constituents) no matter where they are
• Encourage sharing of content (videos, podcast, etc.) through mobile platforms
• Engage!
Results?• Generate good awareness at
lower costs
• Buzz through social networks about your efforst
• Generate traffic to mobile landing pages
• Sign ups & donations!
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Mobile Marketing WorksIncrease in Key Metrics after Exposure to Campaign A
*Source: Dynamic Logic, Dec 2007
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Use Mobile Marketing to Generate Micropayments?• Sponsor all relevant keywords:
– “Like Cal State – LA? Can’t give big, consider a simple $5 donation!”
• Resources:– http://www.singletouch.net/index.php
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micropayment
– http://www.mobileaccord.com/
– http://www.sonicmobile.com/case_studies/
– http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/01/15/haiti-text-donations-to-red-cross-pass-5m/
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Thank You!
e-storm international
William Gaultier
Tel.: +1-415-352-1214
www.e-storm.com
twitter.com/wgaultier
linkedin.com/in/williamgaultier
beyondform
Melinda Maerker
Principal
Beyondform.com
Tel: 323.667.3366