December 2006

Sorry for not posting in a few weeks.  Between heavy client load and the Holidays, I’ve been a bit out of communication…and will be until the week of January 8.

Thanks to all who have subscribed and who follow this site on a regular basis.  We’ll be roaring back in January with a tremendous amount of new and helpful information.  Have a wonderful holiday season.  We are excited at what the New Year will bring.  Please drop a line.  Take care.

- Duke

• 2006 Web Technology Trends
  It’s December already and so it’s about that time to reflect on what has happened in Web Technology during 2006 - and ponder what 2007 may bring.
  (tags: 2006 trends internet technology web web2.0)

• Offline Marketing Is the New Online Marketing
  The concepts of brand and brand marketing are becoming more important in the online marketing mix, and online marketing is becoming more important to brand marketing activities. The challenge is to develop how you actually measure the effectiveness of onl
  (tags: online marketing trends)
• Features | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
  Turns out that Nike swoosh is more than just a feel-good brand logo. It actually lights up your brain. Does your nonprofit logo do the same?
  (tags: Nike branding nonprofit fundraising)
• Borat on Branding and Positioning
  “If you don’t position yourself, someone else will do it for you.” Thoughful (?) look at now donors and prospects may see your nonprofit organization.
  (tags: branding nonprofit Borat)
• URL as effective as toll-free number
  Parallels exist between these proliferating URLs and the advent of toll-free numbers in direct response spots about 30 years ago.
  (tags: DRTV online fundraising)

• St. Jude Lessons in Fundrasing
  By 2012, in a mere six years, ALSAC hopes to break $1 billion a year in fund-raising for St. Jude.
  Incredibly, the average gift given to St. Jude is only $25.09.
  Think about that: $1 billion in fund-raising by 2012, raised $25.09 at a time.
  (tags: St. Jude, charity nonprofit fundraising)
• A look back at a year of ideas
  This is the new face of philanthropy: brand-enhancing, profit-making, tax- paying. Its proponents argue that we have lost sight of what really matters: the good you foster, not necessarily how you go about fostering it.
  (tags: philanthropy trends business)
• Online Shoppers Choose Site Efficiency over Brand, Sales
  Online shoppers are more loyal to websites that process their orders correctly and load pages quickly - and in droves abandon sites that don’t meet those expectations
  (tags: web online trends)
• Book Review of “Raising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars with Email”
• The publication should be welcome news for nonprofits of all sizes that are trying to harness the Internet to grow their lists, engage constituents and raise money.
  (tags: nonprofit fundraising ch)

I read a press release today announcing ten trends taken from Next Now: Trends for the Future, the latest book from Trendspotters Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia.  For entire list, follow the link above or click on the “More” link below.  I’ve cherry-picked the few trends that relate most directly to our industry. 

The trend most getting my attention is:  “Single Minded Ethics.”  Why?  Well, any trend related to our industry is fairly historic, important, and implicative.  I trust that anyone (high-profile celeb or not) choosing to “pursue change vigorously” will do so in ways that accomplish our long-term fundraising objectives.  Thoughtful fundraising marketing efforts strive to more fully engage donors, create long lasting relationships, and foster deep ties to organizational mission.

Trends for 2007 (abridged version):

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change vigorously rather than skim like a stone across the ethics pond. We believe we can change the world, but we know we can’t change it all at once.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

Click here for the entire list.

Read the rest of this entry »

MADD is holding a “virtual candlelight vigil” this holiday season that is rather unique and meaningful. The idea here is fairly simple and straightforward:

MADD will be holding an online candlelight vigil during the Holiday Season when you can light a ‘virtual candle’ and submit a tribute message to a loved one or friend impacted by drunk driving. You can even have the tribute emailed to the person or family being honored.

Reading through a number of tribute messages left me speechless and numb.  Here is one example:

What does this campaign have to do with fundraising?  My guess is fairly little in the immediate sense of the word (although MADD may see it as an email capture strategy.)  However, this campaign creates a powerful experience for those left behind and living in the aftermath of such a tragic event.  Memories need to be kindled and re-kindled and this campaign helps light the spark. 

Excellent series of ads from Amnesty International.  Click Here to see the entire series.

• Rich or poor, charity begins one by one
  There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed, and the destitute,” Conrad Hilton, the late hotelier and philanthropist, wrote in his will. “The practice of charity will bind us - will bind all men i
  (tags: philanthropy Hilton charity nonprofit)