Charities urged to take up bespoke virtual gift service

Charities are being targeted with the roll out of a bespoke virtual gifts platform, first used in Centrepoint’s Christmas campaign, which raised nearly £370,000 for the organisation, a £67,000 increase on the same campaign from the previous year.

Devised by direct mail specialist Propack, the platform is designed to help organisations capitalise on the additional revenue stream through the creation of fully personalised greeting cards and gifts specific to each charity.

Centrepoint’s Christmas virtual gifts programme has been running for several years, and allows supporters to purchase virtual gifts within differing price brackets, including a Christmas dinner, a seasonal jumper or even a festive hamper. Donors can then select to send either an ecard or physical printed card to a recipient of their choice.

Last year, the youth homelessness charity briefed Propack to boost income by improving the user experience, developing the card design and better the print quality, automating the process from online/paper copy order capture through to print and mail. The charity also wanted the paper order form redesigned and included within a direct mailpack, to improve response rates.

The resultant platform saw the integration of personalised messaging, a redesigned suite of greeting cards integrating personalised messaging and the development of a direct API to draw the data down in real-time.

With summer the traditional time for charities to start planning their Christmas campaigns, Propack reckons this new platform could prove invaluable for other organisations in the third sector, both in terms of financial benefit and brand awareness.

Propack managing director Jason Clough said: “Our team has worked hard to develop this solution following a full programme of analysis and UX testing, resulting in the integration of personalised messaging, digital variable print, the introduction of specifically designed order forms and production of a designed suite of greeting cards.”

The company produces in excess of 25 million technology-led print and direct mailpacks a year, working with a range of both B2C and B2B clients, with sector specialisms in retail, charity, travel and automotive. Its current client list also includes Plan International UK, Sue Ryder, Parkinsons’ UK, Moonpig, Mercedes-Benz and KCOM.