# Institute of Fundraising National Awards 2008 - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/04/04/institute-fundraising-national-awards-2008/ - Published: 2008-04-04T10:16:01+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake Well here we are again. It’s time for the best entrants for the Institute of Fundraising National Awards to get an airing on UK Fundraising. The judges had a tough job judging the record 275 entries, but they did it and came up with three shortlisted for each category. Between now and the beginning of July we’ll be showcasing one category a week with a run-down of the three shortlisted entries in each – except the Lifetime Achievement award – and if you want to know who’s won that, you’ll have to come along to the Awards dinner on 7 July (www.nationalawards.org.uk/bookatable.php). ## Advertisement So, here’s the first category **Best use of e-media** For the campaign that demonstrates the best use of either one single form of e-media or the successful application of a range of techniques to acquire, renew or upgrade donors. Applications might demonstrate the use of blogs, websites, viral marketing and podcasts, mobile phone technology and digital TV. Here are the three shortlisted entries, in alphabetical order: **Crisis** Christmas Card Challenge – Send a Singer This is Crisis’s annual corporate fundraising Christmas campaign run with the FT which asks companies to donate their Christmas card budget to Crisis instead of sending cards. In return, each company’s Christmas greetings are communicated via a double page spread in the FT UK and worldwide editions. The objectives in the campaign’s 12th year were to raise £1m and attract new audiences as well as retaining warm donors. The concept was ‘Send a Singer’, providing a creative focus and integrating the client group into the campaign. Each singer featured in the e-cards and throughout the campaign was a homeless member of Crisis’s learning and activity centre, Crisis Skylight. Companies could become involved at three different levels in return for a donation of £3,000, £15,000 or £25,000. Companies received a singing video e-card featuring a small, medium or large choir and their company name or logo featured in varying degrees of prominence in the FT ad. Marketing and creative concept was carried out by WWAV Rapp Collins. Digital media was chosen because it brought the creative concept of the choir of homeless singers to life in a way that no other medium would have allowed. All digital marketing complemented other marketing and recruitment methods used, and included a Flash microsite, e-card, a rich media banner and HTML recruitment email. The campaign hit its ambitious £1m target and improved donor retention from 66 per cent to 70 per cent. The microsite achieved 47,139 hits against a target of 34,000. Ninety-seven companies took part and the campaign achieved £12.12 return on each £1 spent. **Everyman Male Cancer Campaign** TacheBack ‘Tache Wars 2007’ In its fifth year the target for TacheBack was increased to £200,000 with new branding created by agency Steel. The main goal was to use online channels to promote the campaign and allow users to interact more. The creative was totally focused on involving participants in a fun and competitive online environment and the online channel formed the central hub of the campaign and brought it to life. A viral email campaign and promotion via social networking websites including Facebook used more online channels to increase awareness. All participants were emailed weekly with message of support, updates on key TacheBackers and useful bits of information, all in a tongue-in-cheek way. This has been the most successful TacheBack campaign so far, raising over £215,000 by the beginning of March 2008. Registered participants increased by 136 per cent and website sessions increased by over 300 per cent on the previous year. Almost all participants said they would get involved next year. **WSPA** 2007 programme of acquisition and development of donors recruited online WSPA made a strategic decision in 2006 to shift all cold DM acquisition into online and digital recruitment with the result that in 2007 it recruited 64.5 per cent of new donors online compared to an industry average of around 15-20 per cent. This meant adapting donor development strategy and developing an integrated mail/email communications strategy for all new recruits coming into cash appeal and upgrades programme. The online acquisition campaign is centred on twin pillars of display ads and an affiliate programme. Online marketing allows the charity to reach a whole host of new demographics and has elicited a large number of donations driven from social networking sites. To help understand the lifetime value and behaviour of donors recruited online WSPA has set up a cell of 5,000 donors who will be removed from the DM programme and will receive only email fundraising asks during 2008. At the end of the year the charity can monitor responsiveness and year-end RoI and compare these with donors recruited more traditionally. Targets were 12,032 new recruits, 10,480 direct debits, and income of £563,436. Results were 12,234 donors, 10,563 direct debits and £720,785 income. WSPA achieved 389,615,186 impressions of its banner adverts and in February and July last year received the 7th highest number of impressions in the UK market. The email database grew from 15,000 names to 48,000 during 2007. This is an ongoing strategy for WSPA and emarketing is completely integrated into its appeal programme, acting as reminder and teaser for mail appeals as well as being a standalone ask in its own right. * **[Institute National Awards shortlist blog launches on UK Fundraising](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/04/04/institute-national-awards-shortlist-blog-launches-uk-fundraising/)**( 4 April 2008) * **[Institute seeks participants for Fundratios project](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/04/14/institute-seeks-participants-fundratios-project/)**( 14 April 2008) * **[Most innovative fundraising campaign](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/04/18/most-innovative-fundraising-campaign-445/)**( 18 April 2008)