The public “hardly remember charities in Christmas ads” – nfpSynergy
Howard Lake | 21 December 2017 | News
Retailers’ Christmas TV ads with charity partnerships might make the headlines and feature articles, but they don’t linger in the public’s memories. Research by nfpSynergy has found that very few people can name the charity associated with some well known Christmas ads.
When shown the ads, the best remembered charity was the Royal British Legion (at just 4%) for the Sainsbury’s ‘1914’ ad in 2014. Only 10% of the public remembered that the advert, focusing on chocolate bars shared during the ‘Christmas Day Truce’, was advertising Sainsbury’s.
- SEE ALSO: Store wars for a cause? Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and John Lewis add a charity dimension to their Christmas campaigns (19 October 2014)
In fact only this advert and the 2015 John Lewis advertising campaign in partnership with Age UK were recognised as having a charity link by more than 1% of the survey respondents!
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Even the best remembered company advert was John Lewis, with 22% of survey respondents correctly attributing the 2015 (‘Man on the Moon’) advert to the retailer, and 24% naming it for its 2016 advert.
Nfpsynergy commented: “Our conclusion is that while Christmas ads may provide good awareness and brand recognition for the companies involved, it is far less effective for promoting awareness of the charities involved.”
It added: “Let’s just hope it raises more money for the chosen charities, than it does awareness.”
The research was conducted in November 2017 with a representative sample of 1,000 members of the public. It covered other attitudes and activities related to charities and Christmas.
For example:
- The most popular way to contribute at Christmas is by purchasing charity cards (48%), and by buying products that give to charity as well.
- While the public hear more about charities at Christmas, it is a harder time to give money because of all the other costs.
Charities at Christmas
NfpSynergy have shared their findings:
Those Christmas charity retailer adverts
If you too are struggling to remember the adverts, here they are. Not all of them stay available for long, so this is not a comprehensive list.
Update: 9 December 2021
Nfpsynergy have updated their research. Full marks go to Co-op and their partnership with Hubbub and the Community Fridge Network.
But they highlight that you still don’t see much evidence of the charity partnerships in the others. For example:
“This year, Aldi has partnered with Neighbourly to donate surplus food from its stores, though only keen eyes would know it given the minuscule charity logo shown on the side of a wagon and for a second at the end (though I must admit I didn’t see the logo until the second or third watch).”
See if you can spot it:
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.