The Holidays and Nonprofit Marketing
For most of us, the holiday season brings up good memories and feelings of generosity. Often, we see a Santa on the sidewalk or in front of the grocery store ringing a bell for donations, but what really drives us to donate and how do nonprofits strategize their marketing campaigns during the holidays?
The “holiday season” includes many holidays from different cultures and faiths. When targeting audiences an organization may look into the demographics of a region and target the majority’s religion in the area. Other tactics include involving most major holidays in the promotion or being vague and simply celebrating winter.
Possible tactics:
Be general for the occasion — there are many religions celebrating important days and by singling only one out your organization has made an unintentional stance. You may find targeting the area’s majority faith successful, but in order to avoid making a stance a neutral option should be provided. Celebrating the “winter wonderland” of the holiday season is a tactic some organizations make in an attempt to appear neutral. Less Christmas trees and more snowmen can encourage all faiths into participating in your good cause. However, if you are a nonprofit organization acting to support something related to a specific religion then targeting that holiday’s followers would be the most ideal.
Know the calendar — if you are hoping to gain the support and generosity of a particular group of people then strategize when it will be presented to them as well as how.
Presentation — are you decorating a product? having a seasonal promotion? or asking for donations? Promote where your audience will see it, whether it will be external or internal. Nonprofits: will a person be verbally asking for donations or will the request be silent, via donation jar at stores or mail requests?
Something to note — as stated in The Nonprofit Marketing Guide by Kivi LeRoux Miller — is the need to publish constantly to raise your visibility. Surrounding the audience with different forms of your promotion can improve the success rate and customer reach. Use your social media account to show your audience the organization’s needs while representing the holiday season and appealing to their generosity. Personal stories give a personal touch to your organization’s message, however always get permission and protect the privacy of the individuals when doing so. Personal stories have been one of the most successful methods of relating the purpose of the organization to the viewer.
Happy upcoming Holidays
