New impact study shows strongest channels for fundraising

The aim of Caritas Switzerland's 2023 cross-media Christmas campaign was to generate donations and raise awareness of the non-profit organization's (NPO) work abroad. Caritas Switzerland combined several channels to achieve this: Direct mailing, OOH, DOOH, print ads, email, display, social media ads and SEA.

The impact study conducted by Exactag on behalf of Post Advertising examined how well this cross-media mix worked and which channels generated the most donations. It was compiled with the help of "marketing mix modeling" - a "complex but particularly informative methodology", according to Exactag.

"The findings of the marketing mix modeling help us to use the media budget for the next campaign in a more targeted way and to address the relevant target groups even more precisely," says Christoph Keiser, Co-Head of Fundraising + Marketing at Caritas Switzerland.

Valuable insights for all industries

Marketing mix modeling is based on a large amount of data, most of which is confidential. This is why the results are hardly ever published. "The fact that Caritas Switzerland is providing an insight into the results of this study is remarkable," says Daniel Schönmann, Head of Advertising Research & Communication at Post Advertising. "As a large NPO, it is deliberately making the findings of the study accessible to smaller organizations and companies from other sectors. This means they can also benefit from it and optimize their cross-media campaigns."

Direct mailings are particularly effective

The impact study shows that well over 50 percent of the donation volume during the campaign period can be attributed to the cross-media advertising campaign. These additional donations are also referred to as incremental donations. It is the net increase in donations that would not have been expected without the advertising measures. Direct mailings make the greatest contribution to the impact of the media mix, which confirms their dominant role as a medium that triggers action in fundraising. OOH and DOOH also have a disproportionately high impact on the generation of donations with appropriate advertising pressure.

Increased cross-media increases efficiency

In addition to the effectiveness of the channels, the study also examined the efficiency of the campaign. In the 2023 Christmas campaign, Caritas Switzerland increased its net campaign costs by ten percent compared to the previous year, thereby increasing incremental donations by a disproportionately high 37 percent. As a result, the return on advertising spend (ROAS) rose by 24%. This higher efficiency is primarily due to the increased cross-media approach - the cleverly expanded media mix. According to the efficiency analysis, direct mailing is the top performer in terms of ROAS, followed by DOOH and display advertising. These three channels reinforce each other.

Three recommendations for the cross-media strategy

The study derives three key recommendations for NPOs and companies from other sectors to optimize their cross-media strategy. Firstly, they should utilize the synergies between the three top performers direct mailing, DOOH and display advertising. Such a realignment of the media mix increases the overall effectiveness of their campaigns. Secondly, the study recommends optimizing campaigns regionally: Data & Analytics can be used to identify regions of great importance. If advertisers specifically increase their advertising pressure in these areas, they not only increase the impact but also the efficiency of their campaigns. Thirdly, optimizations in campaign setting and media mix should be made in small steps in order to continuously monitor the effect.

The Impact study by Exactag on behalf of Post Advertising is based on marketing mix modeling. This combines three methodological steps: long-term analysis, campaign analysis and intra-channel analysis (environments). The procedure was closely coordinated with Caritas Switzerland. The data came from various sources, was anonymized and validated together with the NPO. By using statistical methods and machine learning procedures, patterns could be identified in the data. Correlations between advertising expenditure and donation income became visible, enabling targeted optimization.