Our last blog looked at what a Lovemark is and mentioned the three ingredients to becoming one according to Roberts. This blog will look in more detail at how charities can use these ingredients to set themselves up as Lovemarks.
\rMystery
\rIf you’re launching a new campaign, post some teasers on social media and your website, snippets of pictures, ask people what they think you’re up to… drive the mystery and engagement.
\rUsing social media to direct people to your website allows you then to tell your full story and further deepen people’s involvement with you. Here you can suggest they join your mailing list for example which allows you to keep in regular contact with potential supporters.
Pidgeon tells us that Roberts advises us to look at the myths surrounding our organisations. Charities should nurture their myths by telling the story of their founders passion, the commitment of colleagues and the focus of their cause. Having case studies on your key employees and how they came to work for you would work well here.
Sensuality
What colour is a coca cola can? Can you hum the music to the Lloyds bank adverts? Can you smell Hollister on your way out of Waterstone’s at the shopping centre? Companies are finding ways to engage us with their brand using multiple senses. Although creating a smell for your charity may be a bit extreme a good logo is a great place to start. Your logo is the first thing that people see about you so it should be clearly represent what you do while standing out form the rest. Make sure your branding is consistent throughout your social media, website and any printed material.
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YouTube is a great way to tell your story using audio visual stimuli and it’s free. If you a have a story to tell (which you should) that is too big for words, engage the senses and make a video. Being smart about the way you publicise your marketing campaigns will be key to getting people to notice it. Using good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques and sharing across your website and other social media platforms will help here.
You may have heard of experiential learning but experiential marketing is a thing too. It aims to facilitate a closer bond between consumer and brand by encouraging consumers to directly engage in a fun and memorable experience related to that brand. Here are some fantastic examples of experiential marketing.
Although some of these clearly had a lot of money behind them, with some imagination your charity could achieve similar results with a smaller scale experience. If a brand event stirs genuine positive emotions within people then they are more likely to associate those emotions with that brand i.e. your charity.
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Intimacy
Is about empathy, commitment and passion. Get to know your supporters, let them get to know you. Share your passion and commitment, your stories, goals and struggles and let them share theirs. Don’t get in their face however! Don’t bombard them with questions through email and phone calls. Using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can help to monitor your correspondence to make sure you’re not annoying anybody and that you’re sending out the right correspondence to the right people.
\rOur next blog will look at how charities can copy the big companies when it comes to adding experience and pumping excitement in order to cement your charity as a Lovemark.
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