Case Study 2
Production Services: Breaking Through a Crowded Marketplace
The animal welfare and relief services charitable fundraising marketplace is a crowded space. It is dominated by such organizations as the Humane Society of the United States and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose names are synonymous with both the protection of the well-being of, and being a voice for, animals. And if neither of those organizations fulfills your philanthropic urges towards animals, then you can pick from literally hundreds of national, regional and local organizations, all with missions dedicated to helping animals in some way, shape or form of service.
Challenge
The fundamental question a new animal welfare organization needs to have answered is: How does the organization clearly articulate to potential supporters the difference of its mission from hundreds of others that are servicing the needs of animals?
For Animal Save International, the difficulty in answering this question is compounded by their mission. Their mission is to serve as a grant-making organization that supports a number of lesser-known yet highly responsive organizations that simply don't have the means or resources to reach broad audiences and markets. Their mission as a grant-making organization is finite and definable; the organizations which they aim to serve are broad and comprehensive of virtually all animal welfare organization missions.
From a direct mail fundraising perspective, the challenge was daunting: how do you differentiate in the mailbox this brand-new animal welfare organization from every other well-established animal welfare organization? What compelling reason can you give the donor to support this organization and not one of the many they may already support?
Solution
Through extensive testing of appeals, package formats and many different lists, Convergence Direct Marketing used the market to help define and differentiate Animal Save International from other organizations. Convergence created two categories of appeals. The first category was general and spoke to animal welfare on a broad level. The second appeal category was focused on making the appeal relative to the recipient by making the connection between animal welfare issues and how they affect people.
Results
The results of the tests were clear - Animal Save International could differentiate itself through educating and helping to show how animal welfare issues have a direct impact on people as well. Now, with the market dictating where it believed there was a void in addressing animal-related causes, Animal Save International could clearly define itself in a crowded marketplace.
By utilizing carefully planned and executed package appeals, as well as multiple format and list tests early and simultaneously, Convergence was able to quickly discover market opportunities for the organization, without wasting precious time and resources.