NSPCC’s sup­port­er mag­a­zine The Children’s Friend

Exhibited by
Elke Marquart.
Added
May 22, 2011
Medium of Communication
Online.
Target Audience
Regular gift.
Type of Charity
NSPCC, RAPP, Ceros.
Country of Origin
UK.
Date of first appearance
March, 2010.

SOFII’s view

The Children’s Friend is an excellent example of a supporter retention mechanism that has evolved and developed in order to stay relevant and easily accessible for the donor. The latest online version informs and involves supporters by featuring plenty of inspiring stories in written, audio and video form and a clear explanation of where donations are being spent and why. We look forward to watching it grow in future.

Summary / objectives

• To inform and inspire supporters about how we spend their donations to help protect children.

• To promote accountability.

• To reduce donor attrition rates.

Background

Children’s Friend has a longstanding history as an offline supporter magazine.

The first online version was developed in 2009 as we felt that, using the rich online media available to us, we could communicate to our donors in a more inspiring way and better show them the difference they are making for children.

Furthermore, producing an online magazine is also more cost-effective.

Since then, the online version of Children’s Friend has continued to evolve and we are very pleased with this latest issue which has audio and video content, a poll functionality and encourages reader to share their own stories and pictures.

We include a wide range of content in each issue. In the latest magazine, we have published a child’s story, an interview with John Cleese (English actor, comedian and writer) about why he supports the NSPCC, information about our latest child-focused studies and an interview with a ChildLine volunteer. We also included several articles explaining how we are spending donations and exactly why we need continued support from all of our donors

The latest Children’s Friend magazine has been mailed to 350,000 supporters with a request to register to receive the online magazine in future. Each email address will be matched from First Direct bank with £4 (the amount needed to answer a call to ChildLine) which provides a brilliant incentive for readers to sign up. A further 250,000 supporters will have received the online version via email.

Special characteristics

The magazine is hugely interactive, fun to explore and easy to navigate. The articles are varied, colourful, and feature interesting audio and video content. We have tailored the style and structure of the magazine to complement a very short online attention span and therefore it is very easy to read and absorb.

Merits

The magazine is a great example of a twenty-first century supporter retention piece. We intend to continue improving future issues and are already devising a way for the magazine to be read on a mobile device which would improve accessibility.

Other relevant information

Here is the the March issue of the Children’s Friend click here. to see in full.

The first online version was developed in 2009.

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This is the front page of the March issue of the Children’s Friend. Scroll to the bottom to see the full feature.
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The online version of the magazine is hugely interactive and easy to navigate.
You can find out more about how this magazine was born by reading Ken Burnett's article An earlier incarnation of NSPCC’s Children’s Friend. Click on the picture to be taken to the full article.