Marketing News Canada with Darian Kovacs, Ep #20
Episode 20
With Benjamin Johnson & Darian Kovacs
The microphone gets turned onto Ben this episode when Darian Kovacs from Jelly Marketing and Marketing News Canada interviews Ben about Frontier and his history with making charities successful.
On this episode of Marketing News Canada, Darian Kovacs interviews Ben Johnson, the Founder of Frontier.
If Ben were to describe his job, he would state that he makes a living convincing charities to trust people and convincing people to be generous. He loves to help others be at their best and he feels his purpose in life is to use a strategic and analytical approach to help improve decisions, vocations and communities.
Frontier’s mission is to bring efficient and effective direct-response fundraising to charities across Canada. Today Frontier oversees more than $10 million in annual fundraising revenue with clients in various different cities. Frontier believes that long-term, collaborative and transparent partnerships lead to lasting change. As a team of fundraising experts, Frontier employees pride themselves in an integrated approach.
With charities, it is important to communicate in a personal way to potential donors. When using someone's name in direct mail, they are more likely to feel a sense of attachment. Ben believes that “what happens in 10 minutes in direct mail takes 10 emails.” Although emails are quicker, they are often less personable since it does not allow for potential donors to have a tangible object in their hand. Another issue with emails is that people often will not even open them before deleting them.
Ben noted that most donors are around the age of 65 or older. With this being said, the way this age group communicates is much different than a younger demographic. An example of a way they could be marketed to is using nostalgia. They are often living alone and missing their children, so asking for their support for children's charities is often simple. This age group is often more stable in regards to their finances, so donating money is something they are likely to do.
To have different reach around the country, Frontier will often rent postal codes. This allows for different demographics to be reached. Whether someone donates to a charity is very dependent on their income and if they have enough disposable income to do so. Postal codes are a strong determining factor of a person's income and renting one allows for that neighbourhood to be reached. When Ben was asked a series of rapid fire questions, he answered as follows;
Marketing book you’d recommend?
Anything written by Seth Godin
Podcast you’d recommend?
Newsletter or website you’d recommend for resources/inspiration?