Don Akchin

We haven’t written anything controversial so far this month, so why not. Marketing blogger Chuck English argues that independent schools are misguided when they push the advantages of a “21st Century Education” – that is, one that emphasizes skills and creative thinking over knowledge. Parents just want their kids to get into the right colleges and the right professions. This is not new. Back in the Stone Age, when I was pondering my college major, the choice was between “a liberal education”  and a trade – English or journalism. Unwisely, I chose journalism and was thereafter incapable of appreciating Deconstructionism. But it does suggest a familiar disconnect. Too often, what an organization’s program staff  is proudest of is not at all what attracts the customer – and the marketer’s task is to know the difference. Trying to educate the customer to what they “should” want is a recipe for disaster.

Network for Good’s Katya Andresen notes the importance of bringing your message to your target audience at that precise moment when their minds are open to receiving it. She cites a familiar example: the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s campaign to stencil storm drains with the words,”Do Not Dump – Chesapeake Bay Drainage.”

CARE, a nonprofit that was looking a little dowdy a decade ago, launched a highly successful makeover in 2003 with a campaign about empowering women internationally. The campaign has rebranded the organization and made it more relevant and timely than every before.  It also increased revenues by nearly $8 million. A fascinating case study of CARE’s communications campaign offers many lessons for smaller nonprofits.

It’s not easy to keep up with the new digital media, much less understand it. But this provocative article in Ad Age, by Doug Levy and Bob Garfield, offers a look at the big picture. In their eyes, we’re living at the dawn of the Relationship Era, and as a result, everything we used to know about marketing is now wrong. On a similar theme, see for yourself what all the buzz is about regarding the “10 fresh realities of the Digital Age,”  a slide presentation by Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project. In fact, have a look at the slide presentation itself.

Want to get free advice from highly paid experts? Last month I interviewed three consultants who advise nonprofits on fundraising and marketing. The interviews appeared on the Nonprofit Marketing 360 blog. Here are links, along with a taste of each interview:   Toby Bloomberg writes the Diva Marketing Blog and hosts Blog Talk Radio. She talks about how social media can help nonprofits perfect “corner grocery store” relationships with donors and constituents.   Michael Stein, a senior executive at Donordigital, co-wrote a groundbreaking book about online fundraising. He discusses the intersection of direct mail and social media.  “People can organize revolutions on Facebook and Twitter, so why not fundraising?”   Mike Kujawski, who blogs at Public Sector Marketing 2.0, talks about building engagement strategies within the risk-averse cultures of government and nonprofit organizations.  “By the end of 2012, over 50% of world Internet access is going to occur via mobile device. Yet today, less than

In a piece about how to tell the story of your brand, consultant Simon Mainwaring made an observation that really struck me:   Like most marketers today, many non-profits still tell their story in a way that positions themselves as the focus or destination. Instead, every brand must shift from being the celebrity of their community to being its chief celebrant. That means the brand and its story exist to celebrate the success of its donors, field workers or community at large, and in so doing, inspires further fundraising and volunteer efforts on the basis of shared values and a sense of community. (emphasis added)   This observation, it seems to me, captures the essence of why social marketing differs from past marketing approaches. The old approach – we talk, you listen – no longer works when people are unwilling to listen. Customers, constituents and clients have learned that they hold the Power of the

For several months it has been my privilege to conduct interviews with many talented experts who advise nonprofits on fundraising and marketing. The interviews appear weekly on the Nonprofit Marketing 360 blog. Below are links to the interviews that have appeared so far, and a salient excerpt from each interviewee. Sarah Durham - author of Brandraising and founder of BigDuck agency. “For better or for worse, an organization can’t get away with having a really lousy website or ignoring social media.” Jason Dick - owner of A Small Change blog, a major gifts officer. “Nonprofits will have to find a way to build community on their websites and use that as their way to sustain their donor base.” Zach Hochstadt - co-founder of Mission Minded, a branding agency. ”Your brand is not just your logo or your visual identity but a much more holistic concept, in some ways a synonym for reputation.” Sandy Rees - fundraising consultant, author, and owner of Get Fully

The books about nonprofit market are suddenly popping up like mushrooms. Here is the latest crop:   Nonprofit Management 101, edited by Darian Rodriquez Heyman, contains 50 essays by 50 experts and practitioners that cover both traditional and cutting-edge tools and lay down a lot of solid advice, according to onereviewer.   Cause Marketing for Dummies, by Joe Waters and Joanna McDonald, takes the position that nonprofits of any size can link up with for-profit companies to promote their cause well. Reviewer Joanne Fritz gives it high marks.   Finally, in the popular Free category, Hubspot has produced a downloaded e-book on integrating email and social media, a topic that resonates with many nonprofit marketers this season.

“Multi-channel marketing” is the latest buzzword to proliferate and pollute all the multiple channels of communication. (See item below for a good example of why.) Convio has published a survey (produced by Edge Research, of Washington and Baltimore) that looks at how well nonprofits are doing and at what seem to be the  success factors. Blogger Joanne Fritz offers a succinct summary of the findings. One essential element for multi-channel success, the survey suggests, is the technology to synchronize online and direct mail databases. To get you started, blogger John Haydon has six good suggestions for integrating your email list with social media.

Some people, and some agencies, truly understand social media. An even larger number don’t but pretend they do. Be careful not to be seduced by grandiose promises when picking a consultant.

A heap of useful books are being published online and offered for free. Here are this month’s best: Short and Sweet: The Why’s and How’s of Twitter from Fenton Communications, authors of a number of excellent tomes on communications. You can read a preview on Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog. The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing from Hubspot professes to cover all the basics from keyword strategies and optimization to blogs, mobile and the all-important conversion of traffic into leads. The 7 Habits of Effective Personal Fundraisers from CauseVox distills the success factors that many fundraising professionals exhibit in common. Each download requires a registration, which will put you on a company mailing list, but the material is probably worth that price.

More nonprofits are trying to raise funds using mobile technology, according to research from Kaptivate and the Associaton of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). (It’s still only 9% of nonprofits, but that’s doubled from a year ago.) But what seems to be most promising is not the text-to-give campaigns, which worked brilliantly for disaster relief, but the mobile web, and for several purposes besides fundraising. In an interview with Jocelyn Harmon, study author and Kaptivate CEO Ron Vassallo explains the advantages and drawbacks of text and web, and the start-up costs for each. Then there’s the contrarian view: Consultant Ted Fickes makes the case that “the quickest and most cost-effective place to focus your mobile strategy is your email.”  

I am pleased to announce the launch of Nonprofit Marketing360, a virtual marketing agency that acts as a one-stop shop for all your organization’s marketing needs.

Research is a beautiful thing. Whenever frustrated marketers begin to wonder just who is really out there to talk to (or at), they can rest easy knowing that somewhere in America, a think tank is already at work on the answer. This month we have a bumper crop of useful (and free) studies: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reveals the startling finding that internet users are more likely than others to be active a voluntary group or organization, and social media users are even more likely. The report also notes that certain key internet activities – including donating – are being accepted more uniformly across all age groups. There’s also data on what role the internet played in achieving organizational goals. A Harris Interactive poll on Americans’ charitable giving habits and plans found nearly half (48%) make a small contribution of time or money to organizations and causes

In a fascinating essay in the Huffington Post, commentator Matt Dunn ponders the differences between the marketing of toothpaste and nonprofits (hint: toothpaste marketing is more successful) and why nonprofits cannot presume to win support just because they do good work.  Even in a season of hope, there’s nothing gained by relying on wishful thinking.

What a great site for email marketers! “Which Test Won” offers a comparison of two email test offers from the same organization each week. You vote for the one you think was most effective, and then you learn the actual results. There’s also a library of past comparisons. Thanks to Jeff Brooks at Future Fundraising Now for the tip.