To help keep our charity clients informed and regularly updated on the industry trends that impact their investment decisions, since Q4 2021 the Medialab data science team has been creating a quarterly Charity Landscape Knowledge pack. This features key trends and learnings across the sector, as well as topline implications/recommendations.
Our Q1 2024 research is live. For more information, get in touch with our Marketing Effectiveness team, via the following email: datascienceteam@mlold.lucidgraphics.co.uk
Below are our key takeouts and some all-important implications for charities.
Key Takeouts
1. Inflation continues its downward trend reaching 3.2% in March 2024, but still above the 2% target. Wage growth and slower price rises are helping to improve economic outlooks via household incomes and personal finances. OECD suggests a 7% increase in Consumer Confidence; bringing it to pre-Brexit levels. Given this is a large positive swing, continuing to monitor this metric over time is recommended as more data is released.
2. Media investment across the sector decreased to £73M (-9%) while Consideration to donate is down 0.6 percentage points to 17.6%. The decline in consideration is entirely attributed to the 18-34 age group, who also report the lowest awareness levels in five years. This indicates potential issues early in the engagement funnel to this group.
3. Interest in leaving a legacy to a charity has rebounded to near pre-covid levels, mainly due to increased investment in offline channels (TV & Radio) and targeting of older demographics (where Consideration has increased).
4. TV investment is in line with last year and while it proved cheaper in Q1, overall costs are expected to remain consistent with 2023. However, certain larger charities have cut back on TV spend and this was particularly evident around February.
Implications for Charities
1. Economic factors are important for charities to consider as they can affect both the volume and value of supporter donations. As confidence is returning to the UK economy, there is an opportunity for greater targeting to capture those willing to donate.
2. Strategic decisions to focus on older age groups are likely to pose potential challenges when the time comes to re-engage younger demographics. Charities should consider approaches to maintain engagement with younger audiences such as digital channels and/or mass participation events.
3. Charities should leverage the opportunity while demand for Free Wills continues to grow. Many are already increasing annual investment, so maintaining share of voice will be the main challenge.
4. As charities reconsider their TV investment, this can provide others with an opportunity to compete for share of voice. They should seek to make use of seasonality and flight media in months when certain channels are more likely to be cheaper.
For more information, get in touch with our Marketing Effectiveness team, via the following email: datascienceteam@mlold.lucidgraphics.co.uk
