Rule changes for charity advertisingfiled in: advertising
written by David on May 7th, 2010 |
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A recent rule change means that charities can now use comparative ads on TV and Radio. Whilst initially this may seem positive as it brings this sector in line with industries the fact that it will allow charities to compare how they spend donations and their working methods with others may well lead to divisions and conflict within the sector.
A spokeswoman (as reported in MarketingWeek) for the Institute of Fundraising, says the new rules could help charities “educate the public further about the charity’s work”, but charity marketers need to be careful they do not “denigrate” other charities’ work.
The recession is continuing to hit charitable donations. The latest Charity Commission study available from September 2009 found that 56% of charities have been affected by the recession, up from 52% at the start of 2009 and there is every likelihood that this will have continued into 2010 when the figures are available.
It is important that charities use the new rules sensibly although the one area we may find them highlighting is the “unfair” advantage the BBC’s charities gain by having a continuous stream of free advertisng and promotion available to them, if air time and production was given free to some of our smaller to medium sized charities they may well be able to raise a enough money to survive 3 or 4 years in one campaign, but unfortunately this will not happen, but if one of the larger charities was to compare costs of advertising to raise money with say Sport Relief then the public might be a little more sympathetic to their cause.
No doubt many of the larger charities will use this to their benefit and hopefully as a result benefits will filter through to local and smaller charities although if you are one of these do not rely on it but develop a clear strategy to increase your profile and even piggy back where possible on national events to help you raise money.
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