The beginning of the year is full of holidays, big events and celebrations. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we thought it would be helpful to share some tips that you can use to promote your cause on holidays and big events throughout the calendar year.
Plan Ahead. Since many associations already plan their marketing initiatives around national holidays, competition is extremely high for media coverage and attention. That said, planning ahead will be your most important step to getting ahead. You can start by adding national holidays to your marketing calendar (see a full list here).
Know Your Audience. Developing a multi-platform strategy can greatly increase your chances of being seen and heard, especially when competition is high. A multi-platform marketing strategy can include a holiday gala, a website update, a social media revamp and an email or direct campaign. To understand what’s right for your target segment, do some research on your current donor base. Ask yourself: Do they attend your events? How did you get their attention before; was it an in-person event or email campaign?
Develop a Strategy. The next step is to develop a strategy that is within your means. First, consider the resources and budget that you can allocate towards this initiative. While galas can be costly, they can also lead to media coverage. Alternatively, social media campaigns are less expensive and not as time-consuming. If you aim to build a multi-platform strategy, make a list of all the elements and details that will be involved in our campaign, along with a list of resources needed for each.
Get Creative! Once you have all the campaign parts mapped out, it’s time to get creative! To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of our favorite Valentines-focused campaigns:
Charity Water's Thank YouVideo: One of the best ways to get new donors is to show your current donors some love. Charity Water did just that with a Valentines' video thanking supporters for making their work possible. Tip: Don’t just update your homepage with a creative holiday-focused video, share it on social media as well!
Children’s Hospital LA: Valentines Cards for Kids: Children’s Hospital LA led an initiative that asked supporters for their help in filling bags with Valentine's cards for children at their hospital. The initiative, in turn, gained media coverage from local news stations. Tip: Although competition is high, heartwarming initiatives like this are a great way to build awareness and continued support for your cause.
Wesselman Nature Society’s (WNS) Cockroaches for Your Sweetie Campaign: WNS inspired donations with their Cockroaches for your Sweetie campaign, which allowed donors to name cockroaches for loved ones.With their “Sealed with a Hiss” package ($40), donors received a certificate with their cockroach’s name as well as a gift box with two chocolate cockroaches.
How ClearVantage Association Management Software Can Help
Use ClearVantage Association Management Software to manage your holiday-focused campaigns around the calendar year! Here are some quick tips to help you get started:
- Create campaigns (set to inactive) to remind yourself to prepare for upcoming campaigns
- Create appeals for each element of the campaign (from email to direct mail campaigns)
- Add appeals and promo codes for easy tracking. Watch this tutorial to learn how.
- Stay ahead: For annual holidays and events, save your Quick Letter email templates to use next year.
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