Marketing support for capital campaigns: get your story across with solid marketing strategy and tactics, but never forget the people - Marketing

University Business, May, 2003 by Robert A. Sevier

In today's marketplace, when each donated dollar is hotly pursued and desperately needed, integrated marketing can be a powerful tool that will assist not only in campaign design, but the execution of the campaign as well. Yet, in a well-conceived campaign, integrated marketing actually plays two roles; one strategic and one tactical. Tactically, integrated marketing is used to spread the word about the campaign: building awareness, generating response, and celebrating successes to gain campaign momentum. But strategically, it is used to guide campaign creation. This involves careful research, and aligning the campaign with institutional mission/vision and the giving interests of potential donors. Long before a capital campaign can even be announced, these strategic questions must be asked:

* How will the campaign dovetail with the institution's larger mission and vision?

* How much money should be sought, and better yet, who has it?

* How should different giving opportunities be crafted?

STRATEGIC ROLE OF INTEGRATED MARKETING

Advancing the mission. When I first began my career more than 25 years ago, I had the chance to write a major gift proposal for a foundation. When I met with the foundation officer, he said (in so many words), "This is a well-written, thoughtful proposal, but I just don't understand how this proposal fits your mission." Alas, he had me. That was an important lesson, and I'm glad I learned it early, If your capital campaign doesn't rest firmly on your institution's mission and vision, there is an instant credibility gap; people will rightly wonder if you are just going after the cash. A successful campaign uses research to "trial balloon" initial campaign needs and goals, to see how well they resonate with mission and vision.

Feasibility study. After the trials, research can be used to move a campaign from the nebulous to the specific. In the parlance of fundraising, this is the feasibility study. At its most basic, the study involves addressing a number of key issues:

* Is this the right time for a campaign?

* Have we identified the needs our donors will respond to?

* Have we identified potential campaign leaders?

* Have we identified major contributors?

* Do we have the internal resources--time, talent, and dollars--to mount a campaign?

All of these questions--answered through research--should gel into a basic how, how much, how fast, and from whom. This is the foundation of a successful campaign. According to Scott Powell, assistant to the president at Grove City College (PA), "The research must conclude with the creation of clear, simple, and compelling reasons to give, directed with well-developed insight into who is able to do so."

Role of research. Clearly, research can offer a great deal of campaign guidance. For example, we recently discovered through a series of donor studies for different clients, that people of different age groups often give for very different reasons. Older donors tend to donate to mission. The number one reason they don't give? Because they're not asked. Older donors tend to be loyal and supportive. Younger donors, on the other hand, give to vision. The primary reason they don't contribute is because the reason is not compelling. Younger donors tend to be fickle; they jump from cause to cause, and can be extremely impatient with long, traditional pitches. Two different audiences, two dramatically different approaches. Only research will help you clarify what will work best, and when.

Giving opportunities. Integrated marketing can also help you isolate giving opportunities. For instance, based on research conducted by our firm, we know that younger alumni are sometimes more likely to support specific initiatives than the institution as a whole. A young alum majoring in photojournalism may not be interested in contributing to her university's annual campaign, but she will likely respond to an appeal from the School of journalism to update its photography labs.

TACTICAL ROLE OF INTEGRATED MARKETING

After the broad campaign strategy has been developed, the role of integrated marketing shifts to one of messaging. Specifically, messaging plays three roles: First, to create campaign awareness. Second, to create a response to campaign solicitations. Third, to generate momentum by communicating campaign successes.

Create awareness. To create awareness, you'll use friends-of-the-institution media such as the alumni magazine, the campaign Web site, campaign videos and CDs, presidential speeches and interviews, and even the larger press. The goal at this point is simple: to let people know that a campaign is underway. Once you have created awareness, it's time to generate response. In some instances, regional and even national media will be interested if the campaign is truly unique or truly substantial. By the same token, do not be surprised if a campaign that is substantial for your institution does not seem substantial to others: A capital campaign for $15 million pales when juxtaposed against USC's recent campaign for $2 billion, for example.