Join the Dots Christmas campaign results
For many charities, the last quarter of every year is one of the most important from a fundraising perspective.
Neilsen recorded 34% of charities’ media spend on offline channels was concentrated into Q4 in 2024 – a reflection of how many Christmas appeals run during this period.
However, during this time many people were still feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis and budgetary planning by the current government had negatively impacted consumer confidence.
The CAF Report for 2024, stated “Charities are now relying on donations from only 50% of people, down from 58% in 2019 – equivalent to approximately four million fewer donors.”
This no doubt contributed, in part, to the result in the annual Open Winter Benchmarking Report which stated only 43% of charities hit or exceeded their cold Christmas targets.
At Join the Dots, we work with many charities across a range of causes and channels. Our data-led approach, along with many years of expertise means we regularly help them to exceed their targets. So, how did our portfolio of charity clients fare last Christmas?
When looking at directly attributed linear results, we delivered an 8% over-delivery versus the target for volume of donations. This translated into an 11% uplift versus income targets.
When we include results which were matched back to mailing files, or the geo-targeting of broadcast channels, we delivered a 47% over-delivery in donations versus target, and a 44% uplift versus income targets.
We can attribute this over-delivery versus targets to a number of factors including:
- Our data-led approach – often using multiple datasets to understand audiences and sectors, including charity industry benchmark data from our sister agency Wood for Trees
- Our experience – we have worked with just over 100 charities over the years
- Our close relationships with clients – we really understand their needs and objectives
The year ahead is likely to be another challenging one for charities, given the economic forecast and the continued fragmentation of traditional channels such as DRTV – which have historically driven a high volume of donations. If you’d like to talk to us about how we can help with charity campaigns, then please get in touch.
