Yabba, Dabba … Don’t?

Every day we see between 1,500 and 3,000 advertisements. That’s upwards of 125 in-your-face fliers, billboards, commercials and print ads per hour — or 2.08 per minute.

Which makes perfect sense considering the average American debt per credit-card carrying household is $8,500 to $14,000, according to Federal Reserve Board of Governors statistical releases and the U.S. Census Bureau. As much as we’d like to think that our decisions to buy, buy, buy are independent choices based on personal preference, price, etc., we’re wrong. Advertisements influence our purchases — nearly all of them — whether we like it or not.

Consider then, the use of adverts in fundraising. If these often-engaging catalysts to consumerism compel us to spend our hard-earned cash on items we don’t necessarily need, why shouldn’t they work as well for nonprofits that use our disposable income for the greater good?

I know what you’re thinking: “You’re trying to reinvent the wheel” or “Nonprofits already use conventional advertising to gain donors.” You’re right; that’s all very true. But you’re also probably thinking that what’s not broken doesn’t need be fixed. That is tragically false.

What’s not broken should be stomped, kicked and spit on — so it can be improved. Like any industry, fundraising must maintain an evolutionary tract, much like the recording community, wherein bulky vinyl albums have evolved into invisible, portable and increasingly more profitable MP3s.

Several examples prove my point: The telephone has, over the years, transformed from a single-purpose rotary device to its current incarnation as a multipurpose, touch-screen transmitter; the television, which once was a blurry, black-and-white tube, now is a high-def wall hanging; and the camera, in its popular digital format, has rendered film an article of antiquity.

Where does all this leave you? With all due respect, in the Stone Age. The ubiquity of our ever-changing technology provides you with unique and uncharted territory to explore, but you dismiss it, waiting for someone else to plant the first flag. Sadly, you’d rather ride on the coattails of prescient pioneers who make headway where, for one unreasonable reason or another, you wouldn’t dare. By engaging in this sort of sit-back-and-slack behavior, you’re playing with fire. And eventually you’ll get burned.

Redeem yourself
What does this mean? It means that you, as an industry insider, should make it your priority to create the most compelling concepts you can. Not just what pays the bills or what costs the least. You should be taking advantage of all that the technological world has to offer you in gaining donors. Moreover, you should be bold in your attempts. And once you do take the plunge, you should never, ever look back.

Embarking on this adventure might require returning to the drawing board entirely. Perhaps this is a hard pill to swallow, but much of what you’re producing lacks ingenuity, innovation and inspiration — especially in direct mail. Frankly, it’s the 21st century — how many people need a new pen?

What donors do need is a reason to believe that your organization is serious about its cause. And by donors, I don’t mean the 60- and 70-year-old widows to whom you insist on catering. I’m speaking of new potential donors: the upwardly mobile, young professional with money to burn, who yearns to be a part of the next great philanthropic movement — those active men and women you’d reach through advanced technology if only you would try.

That in mind, the question then is not if traditional and — for argument’s sake — nontraditional advertising will work, but rather where and how it might work.

It’d behoove you to begin in the most unlikely of places.

Like the bathroom. Of a bar.

Because that’s where, right above a urinal, at eye-level, Mothers Against Drunk Driving placed its advertisement featuring a forlorn father and son whose lives were impacted by an alcohol-related accident. If nothing else, the 8-inch-by-10-inch poster was a powerful testament to the shoulda-coulda-wouldas of very bad judgment, and with a new captive audience every few minutes — in a brilliantly appropriate place — its message was decidedly delivered.

But what if we took this concept a step further?

Suppose the same scenario exists: You’ve enjoyed a few aperitifs and excuse yourself to the bathroom. You take your place in front of the urinal, and there’s the MADD ad with all its preventative purpose. For 30 seconds or more you see the grief-stricken faces of the fractured family in the photo, hoping that the guilt you’re feeling will be flushed away with the flick of your wrist.

But you can’t avoid it; you have to read the message. You learn that last year more than 17,000 people were killed in alcohol-related accidents, while 500,000 more were injured. If that’s not enough to change your mind about driving under the influence, the ad is equipped with a motion-sensitive voice-over that reminds you that the consequences of drunken driving can be devastating, that one alcohol-induced decision can cause a lifetime of anguish for all those involved. Then the voice asks you to help support the victims of this deadly crime by donating loose change in a box located outside the bathroom door.

It’s mission accomplished. Both for MADD and, in a perfect world, its mission, supposing that those who see the ad think twice before getting behind the wheel.

Fundraising’s bright future
While this execution is the right fit for MADD, it won’t work for other charities. That doesn’t mean that this brand of future-forward thinking is exclusive to MADD. There’s a bevy of a ways you can cash in on alternative advertising. All you need is an open mind.

What if, while grocery shopping, average moms and dads were forced to stare into the eyes of a child who, for just pennies a day, could thrive on a mere fraction of the food being piled into the cart? What if that same ad corresponded with an opportunity to donate at the self-checkout line, where you could choose an amount to add to your existing bill to help alleviate hunger in the world’s poorest nations?

What if, while riding the Metro, between shuffling songs on her iPod and reading the free daily, a young college student spots an ad encouraging the fight against global warming. This girl, an activist at heart, would like to donate, but the truth is that she can barely afford her school books. But then she reads that she can text in her $1 donation, which will be added to her next cell phone statement. Which works out perfectly, since her parents pay that bill anyway.

What if, while cheering on his favorite football team, a 30-something urban professional is exposed to bright banner ads inside the stadium for an organization committed to helping war-torn American soldiers regain their strength through athletic activities? For the length of play he could think about how important his impact would be on these soldiers who have protected his freedom, essentially allowing him to attend such wholesome, patriotic festivities. Then, while ordering onion rings and other game-day goodies, he could select from the menu a donation that would go directly to this organization, helping him feel good about himself despite his team’s devastating loss.

Where to go from here
OK, so you’re probably thinking that these fancy ideas are good in theory but they’ll mostly likely bomb. Maybe you’re right. These attempts will not declare direct mail dead, and they won’t change the face of fundraising. Yet.

These ideas simply exist as examples of how advertising — depending on its placement — can use technology and innovative techniques to cultivate donors. Because, relative to the technology that’s available and permeates every aspect of our lives, fundraising no longer is about reaching donors where they live, but rather where they’re going, places where they feel good and, more importantly, feel giving. It’s about engagement and interaction. It’s about the ease of it all. It’s about making people feel a part of an experience — one that you can’t get from licking an envelope.

As you decide whether or not to help your program make its much overdue debut in the post-tech era, know that upping the ante might be difficult, both financially and creatively. You also should be keen enough to surmise that by implementing these ideas you run the risk of limited response. Heck, you might even be laughed at when you try to pass these ideas on to your boss as your own. But, by testing these ideas, sink or swim, you’ll have an immediate edge over the competition in that you’ll have gained priceless knowledge and experience on how to tap into an untapped resource.

That’s not to mention all the technological trial and error you’ll have on your side — and that’s worth more than all the primitive pomp and circumstance in the world.

Michael A. Knipp is chief copywriter/editor at CDR Fundraising Group in Bowie, Md.