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Charity shop windows - missed opportunity?
Submitted by howardlake on 15 July, 2008 - 09:54.
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Charity shop windows offer a great opportunity to promote the charity even when the shop is closed. And, given the difficulty of recruiting and retaining shop volunteers, charity shops are never going to be open seven days a week, into the evening, to accommodate all shoppers.
Yet how effective are those shop windows on the UK's high streets? Most or all of those charities have websites that *are* open 24-hours a day, with details of many ways of supporting the charity, and in some cases buying charity products online.
So, why is it still so difficult to spot a charity web address in a charity shop window? It's 2008 and many of these charities have been fundraising online for over 10 years. Why are charity shops, the public face of charities to so many people, missing out on this low-cost method of promoting their online presence?
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Further to my previous comment...
I hadn't viewed your slide show Howard when I wrote my comment. Now I see the problem. All the ones you photographed (apart from Demelza) were the BIG BOYS (national charities). It takes the small fry to know the real value of free advertising, such as displaying your web address!
Graham Richards - Freelance Fundraiser
Specialising in Legacy Marketing and Donor Development for small, medium and local charities.
Remember: Small is Bountiful!
Big boys
Yes, they are mostly shops belonging to national charities. But they were simply all the shops I came across as I walked along the main shopping streets of Canterbury and Whitstable. Not a scientific survey of course, but still quite telling.
There are of course charity shops that do promote the URL, so well done to St Gemma's Hospice for achieving this with some of their shops.
I don't think it's an issue of waiting for a rebrand or shop front to be redecorated. As I suggested, a poster or even an A4 (or larger) piece of paper with the domain name on it stuck in the window would do pro tem. That might not meet with some charities' brand guidelines, but I reckon the fundraising opportunity alone should justify the transgressions.
Don't write them all off
I thought I'd check the St Gemma's Hospice website for their charity shops and, sure enough, several of them do carry the website address under the main shop name.
You can see an example at:
http://www.st-gemma.co.uk/shops/oakwood.htm
I know when I worked there, we were careful to make sure we did get the website address on the newer shop fronts. I guess the rest will happen, as and when they decorate them outside.
Graham Richards - Freelance Fundraiser
Specialising in Legacy Marketing and Donor Development for small, medium and local charities.
Remember: Small is Bountiful!