Jewish Care – First in Third Sector Excellence Awards
Howard Lake | 20 November 2008 | News
On Tuesday 18th November Jewish Care emerged triumphant at the Third Sector Excellence Awards helped by values based marketing and communications specialists, The Good Agency. Recognising its work in the voluntary sector, judges awarded Jewish Care first prize in the Direct Marketing Campaign category for their Post-It note campaign.
Jewish Care needed to raise funds to help support the charity’s work for older people by highlighting challenges faced by those living with, and caring for those with dementia. The financial objective of the campaign was to raise £150,000. It was launched around Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, when Jewish giving is traditionally concentrated. Balancing need, emotion and quality of service, it was essential for the campaign to stand out among other Jewish charities at a busy time for appeals.
A warm direct mail was decided to be the most cost-effective way to raise the money. This was supported by a highly targeted and relatively low cost press campaign in local Synagogue magazines and other Jewish press followed by a reminder mailing 6 weeks later.
The Good Agency’s creative strategy revolved around the earlier stages of dementia, when carers are encouraged to place Post-It notes on everyday objects as a reminder of what they are. This provided a strong visual image to work across different elements of the campaign.
The results were outstanding and exceeded financial targets by over a third. The campaign received more than three thousand donations in total with an average value of £60 and return on investment of 6.9:1.
Judge Mike Barnes, Director of Marketing and Business Development at the Direct Marketing Association, comments on the campaign’s success, “The campaign was highly targeted, distinctive and had an edgy streak”.
Justine Harris, director of communications at Jewish Care said, ”We are delighted that our appeal, which was so successful for us, also appealed to the judges. Working to make a difference to people’s lives is at the heart of what Jewish Care does and this appeal really highlighted the difference we try to make in a way that stood out.”
The Good Agency Account Director Micky Stemmer comments, “We have had feedback which shows the appeal helped carers to feel they are not alone and this is what makes it all worthwhile. One Rabbi was moved enough to write and congratulate us, describing the ad as one of the most attention-grabbing pieces ever to run in the synagogue.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.