Debate: have viral fundraising campaigns had their day?
Howard Lake | 18 March 2015 | Newswire
Viral campaigns such as the Ice Bucket Challenge and No Make-up Selfie are passé and have had their day.
“Viral campaigns are like lottery tickets. Every so often someone hits the jackpot. But for every winner there are tonnes of losers.”
So said Sean Triner, director of Pareto Fundraising, Australia, during the Resource Alliance’s online debate that took place yesterday.
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He said: “It’s hard to make them work and they are a distraction. Rather than following best practice, doing the hard work and targeting specific audiences, charities are wasting time trying to get the next big viral campaign. Yet for each one that is successful there are tonnes of failures. It’s not a good strategy to pursue.”
Kirsty Marrins, content and community manager, of Justgiving UK, countered Sean’s argument by highlighting how success can mean different things to different people.
“While some charities have been less successful than others, that doesn’t mean they have been unsuccessful. #smearforsmear was a viral campaign. It wasn’t about fundraising, it was about awareness, which it succeed in raising. Jo’s Trust, the charity behind #smearforsmear received 15,000 mentions on Twitter with a reach of over one million – in just one week.”
She said that viral campaigns were not something charities can always make happen, but that they can be ready for them, if and when a campaign takes off. “Think about what you are going to do with those supporters. Can you turn them into lifelong supporters? Yes you can.
The debate was held to mark the launch of the registration process for Fundraising Online, the free virtual fundraising conference, hosted by the Resource Alliance, which takes place on 13 and 14 May 2015. Fundraising Online helps charities of all sizes integrate digital techniques into their fundraising strategies.
The debate title was: This house believes viral campaigns such as the Ice Bucket Challenge and No Make-up Selfie are passé and have had their day.
– Arguing for the motion: Sean Triner, Pareto Fundraising, Australia
– Arguing against the motion: Kirsty Marrins, Justgiving, UK
– Debate chair: Howard Lake, editor of UK Fundraising
The debate took place on Google Hangout at 1pm GMT on Tuesday 17 March 2015.
Viewers can watch a recording of the on the Resource Alliance’s YouTube channel.
Viewers can still vote for or against the motion by tweetingt @TheResAlliance using the hashtags: #RAVoteYes or #RAVoteNo.
The Resource Alliance is also keen to hear about viewer’s own experiences with viral campaigns and welcomes comments underneath the conversation.
A storify of the tweets from the event can be viewed here:
[Editor’s note: the Storify report at https://storify.com/SlackComms/have-viral-campaigns-such-as is no longer available]
Editors notes
The Resource Alliance is an international network that enables non-profits around the world to be stronger and more effective. It uses global knowledge to meet local needs; helping non-profits find the money, the people and the skills they need to create the change they want to see. www.resource-alliance.org
Fundraising Online is a free virtual conference that takes place on 13 and 14 May 2015.
Organised by the Resource Alliance, there will be 16 sessions delivered by some of the world’s most expert fundraisers and communicators that will help fundraisers develop the skills they need to deliver successful digital fundraising.
With a focus on empowerment and bridging the gap between on and offline initiatives, this global conference will enable fundraisers to:
- Empower campaigners
- Engage donors
- Learn about new technology
- Drive change in your organisation
- Support teams in embracing new technologies
Last year the event attracted more than 2,000 delegates from 120 countries. Registration is free – sign up at Resource Alliance.
UK Fundraising is the first web resource dedicated exclusively to nonprofit fundraisers, which aims to help improve the effectiveness of charity and non-profit fundraisers by using new technology
Howard Lake is founder of Fundraising UK, a leading internet fundraising consultancy, and editor of UK Fundraising. Both are the product of Howard‘s pioneering 1992-95 research into the use of the Internet by charity fundraisers and of his experience from 1988 as a professional fundraiser with Oxfam GB, Afghanaid, and Amnesty International UK.
Sean Triner is co-founder, mentor and vanguard of the international Pareto Group of companies – Pareto Fundraising (in Australia, NZ, HK, UK and North America) and Pareto Phone. Sean has dedicated his career to developing, testing and refining fundraising strategies with some of the world’s most successful and influential charities including The National Heart Foundation, Mind UK, Red Cross Hong Kong and Amnesty International Australia and Canada.
Kirsty Marrins has been working in the charity sector for seven years and is a trustee of the Small Charities Coalition. She is an accredited trainer and provides training on behalf of the Media Trust. Kirsty is currently the content and community manager at the world’s largest social platform for giving, JustGiving, where she manages the blog.
For more information, contact Becky Slack at be***@********************co.uk or on
+44 (0)7854 221 568
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.