WSPA

Times are hard for charities, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is no exception. This financial climate means every fundraising appeal has to work extra hard.

For WSPA this meant a strategic review to refocus the charity’s proposition. And it meant looking again at what really motivated WSPA donors: stopping deliberate cruelty to animals.

It’s easy to forget that people support charities like WSPA because they are angry –angry that people around the world treat animals so badly. Supporting WSPA gives people a productive outlet for that anger. Hence the new mantra: We Sell Powerful Anger.

The idea
With Powerful Anger in mind, we focused on the work that WSPA does with working horses and donkeys in the Middle East. These animals are badly treated and neglected, often abandoned when they are no longer fit to work as they are so cheap to replace.  Fortunately, a WSPA member society led by a dedicated man called Zvika Tamuz is there to confiscate, treat and rehome these unfortunate animals.

The creative
The strategy was about going back to basics, and so was the execution. This is powerful, passionate, homespun direct mail. We interviewed frontline staff to capture their reactions to the situation, and reproduced the actual materials used in the field to bring the reader closer. We wanted them to feel the dusty heat, to smell the horse-sweat. A four-page letter told the story in powerful and immediate language.

We also included a ‘message back’ device so that donors could be feel connected to Zvika – a lone activist who compromises his own safety every day to carry out his work. We knew WSPA supporters would be passionately supportive of anyone who is dedicating their life to helping animals – and they were, in their thousands.

What’s good about it?

In a word, the results. In a difficult financial climate, when there are many more demands on supporters, this appeal has beaten its response target by over 40%, and its average gift by over £4. For every pound invested in the appeal, WSPA has received nearly £6 back.

Thousands of personal messages have been received and passed on to Zvika in Israel. And we hope we’ve provided the moral and financial support he needs to save many more animals from cruelty.