To ensure our charity clients remain informed and up to date with industry trends, the Medialab data science and marketing effectiveness team has been producing a quarterly Charity Sector Insights Report since Q4 2021 – highlighting key trends and insights across the sector, alongside top-level implications and recommendations.
Our Q4 2024 research is now live.
Below are our key insights and critical implications for charities.
Key Takeouts
- Economic conditions started to stabilise with inflation at 2.5% (-41%) compared to 4.2% last year and an increase in Consumer Confidence to 99.2 (+1%). Across the sector, there was a 7% increase in media investment to £149M, while Consideration is at 17.6% (-2%).
- Consideration to donate has remained resilient in Q4 due to increased investment with the marginal decline attributed entirely to 18-34-year-olds (14%; -17%). Given that economic factors will have a stronger impact on this audience, it appears that charities are not targeting them to the same extent as Awareness continues to fall significantly.
- Over a third of the sector’s media investment is focused on Q4 and 2024 levels were the highest in five years at £149M (+7%). Charities opted to scale investment behind Committed Giving products (+15%; £44M) where acquisition costs are higher but provide a better lifetime value among supporters in the long-term.
- TV investment increased 8% to £107M and particularly focused in December compared to the previous year. There was a decrease in impacts pointing to higher costs and a changing competitor landscape as more utilise TV while bigger charities reduce spend.
Implications for Charities
- Charities will need to continue monitoring the economic outlook throughout 2025, as well as any impact from the Autum Statement to spot any risks and opportunities. Ensuring there are robust measurement approaches in place to evidence impact of investment will be essential.
- Focus on audiences where Consideration has increased particularly among 35-49-year-olds (18.6%: +2%) and those 50+ (19.2%: +2%). Maintaining or growing Awareness among 18-34 yo through events or supporting issues important to them can ensure charities are front-of-mind when they are in a better position to donate.
- Given the focus on older audiences, it may be surprising that Legacy support was the lowest in three years (-30%; £9M). However, 2024 did observe a seasonality shift with investment brought forward to Q3 2024, increasing share-of-voice ahead of free wills month – if seeking to grow legacy leads in 2025, similar strategies should be explored.
- Diversifying the channel mix throughout 2025 can maintain share-of-voice and provide greater reach to reduce target audiences. To support this, updates for a key channel like Press (£7M; +4%) and those less utilised like Radio (£6M; -18%) and OOH (£3M; -4%) have been added.
For more information, get in touch with our Data Science and Marketing Effectiveness team, via the following email: datascienceteam@medialabgroup.co.uk