Is timeliness the key to good charity (and marketing) campaign messages?

Honestly, no.  It’s certainly one of the key considerations but there’s more to driving action than timeliness.

After the UK Chancellor’s budget speech last week, the cost of petrol and diesel fuel is to rise even further.  One of the organisations I follow is the Fair Fuel UK campaign and I wanted to share with you – in it’s entirety below – the email message they sent out to supporters following the Chancellor’s announcement.

If I forget for a moment that along with everybody else who drives, I hate paying extortionate fuel prices, I think this simple, plain text email campaign ticks a lot of the boxes that good charity campaigning messages should.

• It’s linked to previous action taken on my part (ie; supporting the campaign) and therefore acknowledges me and my contribution as opposed to simply being on a mailing list
• It’s a planned part of a larger campaign programme and uses consistent themes that recipients will recognise
• The copy is personable and written from an empathetic perspective – perhaps we really are all in it together – appealing to the target audience
• The email was very timely, arriving only hours after the Chancellor’s speech, knowing this would be a good time to reach the audience with this message
• Even though it is a campaign battle lost, the key take-out is about the group and its supporters re-doubling efforts to make a positive difference.  It includes tangible actions that will be taken and that can be reported on, not concepts and high ideals
• It provides simple and free tools for supporters to use to help eg; copy for an email or letter to their MPs
• And my favourite for all great campaigning in the modern age; IT INCLUDES A RELEVANT AND ASSOCIATED FUNDRAISING ASK.  It doesn’t have to be a hard sell but charities that take every communications opportunity to fundraise will invariably raise funds.

It’s not a perfect communication in that it isn’t personalised and perhaps the fact that it isn’t a pretty html email will be perceived negatively by some.  But overall I think this email, as part of the campaign, deserves to inspire its supporters to take the next action.

Here it is… what do you think?

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Dear FairFuelUK Supporter

We imagine that, like us, you are angry and disappointed by the failure to act on petrol & diesel prices in this afternoon’s Budget.

The Government has not listened to our evidence that it could have reduced petrol & diesel tax AND been no worse off in overall revenue. This is a ‘slap in the face’ to every family and business in Britain.

Our view is that the failure to scrap the fuel duty rise is the ‘Bombshell in the Budget’. It will do immense damage to families and businesses.

Yes, we are angry and disappointed – but we are not giving up. If today’s failure to act shows anything is shows this – we need more support than ever.

If you share how we are feeling, please spread the message by every means you can that FairFuelUK needs every family and business behind it. We HAVE to fight back. We need everyone in Britain that cares about the crippling damage being inflicted by high petrol & diesel taxes to actually sign up at www.fairfueluk.com.

Every signature makes our voice more powerful. We currently have 220,000 supporters but need thousands more.

Please cut and paste the email below to all your family, friends and contacts or use our ‘tell a friend’ facility here by clicking “Tell a friend” .

To make George Osborne life more difficult and get the vital change in thinking on fuel duty we need an even bigger show of ‘people power’.

Quentin Willson and the FairFuelUK Team

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*******sample email to friends and contacts********

In today’s Budget, the Government announced that it is sticking to its plans to slap another 16p per gallon on petrol & diesel. They are doing this despite evidence from the FairFuelUK campaign that they could have cut fuel taxes AND been no worse off due to the extra economic activity stimulated by the cut.

I support the FairFuelUK campaign. They currently have over 220,000 members of the public behind them, but need thousands more. If you share my anger at the scandal that this petrol & diesel prices PLEASE sign up to support them at www.fairfueluk.com

They are backed by the RAC, the Road Haulage Association RHA, the Freight Transport Association FTA and the country’s leading fuel card specialists the Fuelcard Company and over 150 Parliamentarians.

Every signature makes their campaign more powerful. It’s free and simple to do. By August, the Government will be taking 86 pence of tax on every litre of petrol & diesel – surely enough is enough…Please sign up

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The FairFuelUK campaign is backed by the RAC, the Road Haulage Association RHA, the Freight Transport Association FTA and the country’s leading fuel card specialists the Fuelcard Company . It is supported by over 220,000 members of the public and over 150 Parliamentarians.