Why Do Charities Advertise So Much On TV?TV adverts for charities are very popular, especially around Christmas. Should Charities Be Advertising On TV?
When you give your donation to a UK charity, do you expect to see them advertising on television? Do you feel that is a good use of your donations? Do you feel comfortable giving money to a TV channel?
When it comes to television advertising, there are several factors that effect the cost.
One of the main factors is the time of year. Advertisers often pay more during certain seasons, such as the Christmas period, when viewership is higher and competition for advertising slots is high.
Another factor is the competition for the advertising slots itself. If multiple advertisers are vying for the same time slot, the price can increase significantly. This is the same with advertising on search engines, the more popular the keyword, the more it will cost.
The cost of advertising on TV can be broken down to two parts:
Charities have to pay for things in the same way as other businesses, although sometimes get special dispensation and discounts. TV adverts for charities are not cheap.
However, the costs of advertising on TV are always high, bearing in mind that charities get their income from donations, this means that donations go to private advertising agencies and TV businesses.
Is this really value for money, do the end users of the chairy benefit?
The argument is that marketing and advertising are needed in order to raise brand awareness, otherwise no donations would be generated for the cause. A fair point, but there may be other more cost effective ways to generate awareness?
It is important to compare advertising costs, so as to get value for money.
Who uses TV adverts for charities the most? Really it would be the larger charities such as:
These are the charities with the deepest pockets, many that give less in donations to the cause and more into marketing.
Many charities use PPC advertising as a way of generating awareness. Fees paid to search engines (like Google) and PPC agencies (private companies) for managing the PPC campaign.
How much (in a percentage) of charitable income goes on marketing (banners, paid internet advertising, websites, promotional gifts, telemarketing, TV advertising etc.)? Quite a lot surely.
Many would ask if charities get TV advertising free of charge?
television advertising for charities is not free of charge. They are very expensive.
Sometimes TV Chanels may offer a discount to UK charities the same as marketing companies, but certainly not free of charge.
The question is, are they value for money?
Are you happy donating money to starving children in Africa knowing the money is going towards a top marketing companies Christmas party?
You may have found that charities advertising on TV tend to have quite long adverts.
Generally, the length of the advert is another important factor to consider. Longer adverts generally cost more than shorter ones, as they take up more airtime.
However, some networks offer discounts for longer ads to encourage advertisers to provide more detailed information about their charity or cause.
Some charities around Christmas can last for nearly a minute, which would be very expensive baring in mind the competition of advertising over the festive period.
The UK has 168,850 registered charities, which is a huge number.
Why is it that only 10 or so use TV advertising?
This is an interesting question since TV advertising is possibly still one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Smaller charities such as Mercy Ships and other Christian charities cannot get on TV, possibly for a few reasons:
For many of the smaller UK charities, TV advertising would be a fantastic way to raise awareness to try and level the field between the mainstream charities and smaller ones.
TV advertising has to be acceptable to all ages, ethnic groups and nationalities.
The risk of causing offence and being reported to OFCOM could cause a lot of issues for TV channels.
A Christian charity for example could offend other faith groups.
A Jewish charity appeal could cause a lot of backlash from anti-semitic groups.
For this reason, the smaller UK charities may have been advised that due to the risk of causing offence they are not allowed to use TV advertising.
There may also be the decision by the charity themselves that the risk of investment does not warrant the exposure, since there are no guarantees the advert will result in a spike of donations.
There is the financial investment risk for UK charities, since there are no guarantees with marketing. Some alternatives to TV advertising would be:
In conclusion, TV advertising is a powerful tool for charities to raise awareness, inspire action, and amplify their impact.
While there are costs associated, careful budgeting and evaluation of potential benefits can help charities make informed decisions.
As with any form of marketing, there are no guarantees.
Additionally, exploring alternative advertising strategies and measuring the impact of television advertising campaigns enable charities to optimise their efforts and effectively communicate their mission to the world.
TV advertising for UK charities can be a powerful tool, but do the risks outweigh the donations?
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