the challenge
In 2014, RSPCA NSW and RSPCA Queensland decided to join forces in an effort to grow their regular giving programs.
Knowing that the telephone is an excellent channel to talk to people about regular giving, our challenge was how to best acquire a large volume of new phone numbers from members of the public, who would then be called and asked to give a monthly gift. The question we needed to answer: how do we best pre-qualify leads to give us the best chance of turning them into regular supporters?
how we tackled it
Around 70 percent of Australian households own a pet. Many of those households aren’t as well prepared as they could be to adequately provide emergency first aid in the event of a health scare with their furry friends, such as if their dog was bitten by a snake or started to choke.
Using this insight, FED developed a ‘value exchange’ campaign. We offered something of value in exchange for a pet owner’s phone number. The intention was to then call the prospect and send them an RSPCA-approved ‘Pet First Aid Guide’.
The guide was a handy, pocket-sized free booklet that contained first aid information to overcome that fear of being unprepared.
At the point of sign up, only a mobile number was captured so that when the fundraiser spoke to the prospect on the phone, they immediately asked why they had requested to get a copy of the guide, which helped build rapport. Their name and address details were then captured so we could send their free guide in the post. Following that, there was an ask to become a monthly donor, which felt like a natural extension of that conversation.
The offer was presented across a variety of channels—out-of-home advertising in public bathrooms and on public transport (trains, buses, trams), direct response television, Facebook advertising—as well as sending emails and SMS offers to other RSPCA prospect sources who’d had a previous connection to the organisation.
the result
The initial trial exceeded expectations by generating over 600 new monthly supporters. This was followed by rollout activity from not only those two states but other RSPCA member states as well.
In 2017, RSPCA NSW developed a fresh offer that focused on prevention as opposed to emergency response, and the ‘Pet Safety Kit’ was born.
Together, the Pet First Aid Guide and Pet Safety Kit value exchange campaigns have recruited more than 24,000 new regular givers across Australia to help protect animals from cruelty.
Not only that, but the campaigns have also provided over 286,000 Australian households with vital pet safety tips that have saved lives. We received feedback from people saying that because of the guide, they knew exactly what to do when their pet was having a medical emergency.
