Did you know that when people decide whether to trust a charity enough to give, the media channel carrying the message plays a real part in that decision. Not just the words. Not just the imagery. The channel itself.
We tend to think of media planning as a numbers game: reach, frequency, cost per thousand. They’re all important, of course. But there’s another dimension that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime, and that’s trust.
TV and cinema are quietly doing a lot of heavy lifting
According to the Advertising Association’s Credos Trust tracker, TV and cinema are the most trusted advertising channels around, with 47% and 45% of people respectively saying they trust what they see advertised there. Radio, and print aren’t far behind.
Compare that to some of the noisier corners of social media, where misinformation spreads fast and scepticism runs high, and you can see why channel choice matters. If a prospective donor doesn’t trust where they’re seeing your message, they’re far less likely to trust the message itself, however well it’s written.
Trust matters even more when the cause is contested
Take Medical Aid for Palestinians, who started working with Join the Dots in 2024. They needed to raise funds urgently to support people on the ground in Lebanon, for a cause that was (and still is) surrounded by a huge amount of contradictory information online. Social media was full of noise, much of it unreliable.
So instead of leaning into the channels where misinformation was loudest, the campaign leaned into the ones where people felt they could trust the editorial: traditional TV and print. The results spoke for themselves. The press element alone delivered seventeen times more donations than forecast.
It’s about context, not just trust in general
People have higher trust thresholds around certain topics, things like health, finance and family. So if your charity’s message touches on one of those themes, finding a placement where people are already in that mindset (a health section of a newspaper, for instance, or a programme with a family-focused audience) can amplify the effect even further.
It’s the combination of a trusted channel and a relevant moment that does the real work. Neither one alone is quite as powerful.
So what does this mean in practice?
For charities working with tight budgets, this might feel like a tough message. Traditional channels can come with a higher price tag than a quick social push. But the Medical Aid for Palestinians example shows that when trust is genuinely on the line, particularly for causes that are contested, urgent or unfamiliar, those channels can deliver returns that completely justify the investment.
It’s also a reminder that media planning and creative strategy can’t really be separated. The most beautifully crafted appeal in the world won’t land if it’s sitting somewhere your audience instinctively doubts.
Want to dig into this further?
This is just one of several donor motivations we’ve unpacked using data from across the charity sector. If you’re curious about the other psychological and seasonal triggers that drive giving (and the campaigns that have successfully tapped into them) our exploration goes into a lot more detail.
We think it’s well worth half an hour of your time, particularly if you’re planning next year’s fundraising strategy and want it grounded in something a bit more solid than guesswork.
