PFL-Blue Cross Charity

Amelia Simpson, BA Advertising, I7671997

Blue Cross: Charity

Brand Analysis

Brands and Brands

Communications:

Assignment 1Word Count: 2,986

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Introduction to the Blue Cross The Blue Cross is a charity that established itself in 1897, originally founded

as ‘Our Dumb Friends League’- caring for horses in Central London (Blue

Cross A, 2015). The charity has since helped animals through the world

wars, and now has “12 rehoming centres, four hospitals and by the end of

2014, around 50 shops” (Blue Cross B, 2015).

The Charity commemorated one hundred years since their help in the First

World War by attending memorial events, and reintroducing the ‘Blue Cross

Medal’ for pets that make a valuable impact on peoples lives (Blue Cross,

2014, p7).

StrategyThe Charity outlines its strategy in its 2014 Annual Report,

“The principal objective of the Blue Cross is to encourage and promote

kindness to, and the protection of, animals and to educate the public in

responsible animal ownership” (Blue Cross, 2014, p6).

Now caring for more than 40,000 pets a year, they have envisioned to be

helping 70,000 pet animals by the year 2020 (Blue Cross A, 2015). To meet

this target they’ve used three ‘strategic pillars’:

- Accessibility and Reach,

Effective and efficient facilities in order to reach those in most need

- Famous, Recognized and well Regarded,

Raising awareness of the charity and increase influence with decision

makers

- Adequate Funding,

Increase and diversify our income to achieve the ambitions by

managing the cost base

(Blue Cross, 2014, p6).

External Analysis

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From the primary research into the Pet Owner sector, a simple questionnaire

was conducted. The results revealed that 17.23% of those asked donate to

Cats Protection and 30.4% donate to the RSPCA, with others donating to

specific breed and animal related charities like Dogs Trust. From this research

it is confirmed that the Blue Cross’ main competitors are Cats Protection and

the RSPCA (Appendix F).

Blue Cross and its competitors share the objective to improve the welfare of

animals. Cats Protection is specifically for cats, Blue Cross is specifically for

pets, and RSPCA encompass a wide portfolio of wild, farmed and

domesticated animals.

Figure 1 demonstrates the financial comparison between Blue Cross and its

competitors, through percentages.

Area % Blue Cross RSPCA Cats

Protection

Incomes Total £33,000,000 £125,900,000 £45,700,000

Regular

payments

13.5% 0.5% 1.4%

One off

Payment

5.2% 38.3% 21.7%

Legacies 53% 5.5% 53.7%

Expenditures Total £34,000,000 £119,700,000 £38,700,000

‘In aid’ of

Animal

Welfare

68% 33.6% 63.8%

Employee

Costs

54% 43% 29.2%

Reserves 18 million

approx.

3 at: 18.5m,

94.7m and

52.5m

9 million

Marketing and

PR

12.5% 2.5% Not

Published

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Figure 1: 2014 Income and Expenditure Comparison Between Blue Cross and

its Main Competitors

Adapted from: (RSPCA, 2014, p16, 24, 26) (Blue Cross, 2014, p12, 21, 28)

(Cats Protection, 2014, p15, 22, 28).

The RSPCA had the largest income in 2014. This suggests that offering

support to various different areas in animal welfare will increase the amount of

people willing to donate to the charity (RSPCA, 2014, p16).

Figure 2: Mintel Report on reasons for donating to charity

Figure 2 identifies personal connection as the second most important reason

people donate to charities. In the UK 13,000,000 households have pets,

providing the data that the chosen sector is wide enough for many people to

be directly affected by the services Blue Cross provides (PFMA, 2014).

For the Blue Cross to be a legitimate charity it must always put the pets and

animals it supports as a priority (Charity Commission, 2008, p2). The charity

made 64 political interactions in 2014; this suggests the charity is more

recognized in the sector. The charity is also obliged to conform by the new

law on pension contribution, and now provides up to 10% of salaries into a

pension fund (Blue Cross, 2014, p15).

If the economic environment is affected in the UK by a recession, donors will

become less generous to the charity. To eliminate the income risk Blue Cross

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faces, it is diversifying its income sources, part of its long-term strategy into

income resources (Blue Cross, 2014, p13).

The charity must factor in the possibility that a shift in the economic

equilibrium will have a detrimental effect on the work force it employs. Putting

the welfare of the animals as a priority means that with less income the

possibility may arise that the charity cannot afford as many salaried

employees.

As the charity relies on vetinerary services it is important that the charity

consider having the best possible equipment and machinery to give pets the

best available care and support. In 2014 the charity began a £2,000,000

refurbishment on its Bromsgrove rehoming centre, and have planning consent

to begin a refurbishment on the Burford rehoming centre late in 2015 (Blue

Cross, 2014, p11).

Internal AnalysisIn 2014 Blue Cross launch a scheme following a new initiative to gain monthly

donors. In return for donations, supporters enter a ‘Pet Sponsorship’,

receiving monthly updates and certificates from a specific animal from the

shelters. The charity developed it at a minimal cost as this allows donations to

go where they’re needed most (Blue Cross, 2014, p9).

Blue Cross is in a corporate relationship with Petplan, receiving a 10%

commission on insurance policies for pets rehomed from the work that the

charity does. £180,000 was generated for the charity in 2014 from Petplan.

The charity ‘Support Adoption For Pets’ generously gave the charity £27,000

toward new cat chalets toward the development of the pet fostering scheme.

The charity is also saving £56,000 per annum through the Pedigree feeding

dogs at the rehoming centres free of charge (Blue Cross, 2014, p9).

In 2014, it also saw donations from various charitable trusts with the main

donors being, L E Andrews Charitable Trust, The Sir Peter O’Sullevan

Charitable Trust, Petplan Charitable Trust and The Elise Pilkington Charitable

Trust (Blue Cross, 2014, p9).

The Blue Cross’ offers vetinerary students local to the hospitals and rehoming

centres experience through voluntary work. This means hours are worked fee

of cost saving the charity valuable donations, and more hands means more

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animals can be supported. This scheme is beneficial to Blue Cross, as Mintel

outlined that attracting a younger audience to charities is objective set by

many of today’s charities (Mintel, 2014).

Just Giving stated that December the 21st is the most charitable day of the

calendar. We see this representative in The Blue Cross as they received their

highest ever Christmas income of £406,000, solely from their Christmas

Catalogue (Blue Cross, 2014, p8).

In order to increase awareness of the Charity, Blue Cross prioritised using

social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter to reach a wide

audience.

Figure 3: Blue Cross Facebook

Page (Blue Cross D, 2015)

Figure 3 demonstrates that the Facebook channel also provides additional

donating paths for the audience with direct links to the donating page, making

giving easy and time effective for the donor (Blue Cross D, 2015).

Figure 4: Blue Cross Twitter Page

(Blue Cross E, 2015)

Figure 4 shows a high interaction with the audience with 5 followers to every

tweet posted. The Twitter page’s lack of donating links suggests that the

page’s motive is to raise awareness. The hash tag ‘suppawt!’ gives a friendly

mode of address and infers that the page it’s not necessarily a money driven

communications tool (Blue Cross E, 2015).

Brand Image and IdentityIn order to analysis Blue Cross’ brand image and identity it will follow the

structure of Kevin Keller’s Model on the Brand Resonance (Appendix H).

Salience

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Primary research into Blue Cross brand awareness revealed that 25% of

those asked had never heard of the charity, and 75% had never donated.

Blue Cross has dedicated a need to become more recognised in the UK;

‘We must strive to raise awareness of Blue Cross and how we help

pets, and increase our influence with decision makers’ (Blue Cross, 2014, p6).

The most susceptible demographic to donate and interact with charities is

women aged between 45-64, and the least likely being aged between 16-24

(Charities Aid Foundation, 2014, p5). This means that charities have to find

new tactics into securing a younger regular giver. The Blue Cross needs to

diversify where the income they are receiving comes from. In Figure 5, it is

apparent that Blue Cross isn’t capitalizing on the possibilities. Young donors

are much more likely to give cash, 66% in comparison to the 55% giving cash

overall (Charity Aid Foundation, 2014, p5). This suggests that the Blue Cross

need to adapt the different ‘giving channels’ available, so that they can

communicate with the younger donor.

The primary research also asked pet owners “What words come to mind when

you look at the logo?” The results revealed that the logo had a high similarity

to a medical plaster (Appendix B). A plaster helps to repair a wound or injury

and protects the effected area from further damage. This is encouraging

evidence that the way Blue Cross are identifying themselves is being

conveyed appropriately by the audience. Another word that was mentioned

was ‘heart’, the iconic value of a heart suggests the charity is caring and a

genuine supporter to those in need (Appendix B).

Performance

In 2014 Blue Cross helped 8,335 pets in their rehoming services, mainly being

Cats and Dogs (Blue Cross, 2014, p3-5). In 2013 the charity set the goal to

double the amount of pets helped by the charity by 2020 (Blue Cross 2013,

p9). Teaming up with the ‘Pets at Home’ store in Swindon meant that the

charity were able to reach more people, a positive contribution to their end

vision (Blue, 2014, p7). Veterinary units helped to treat animals under the

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care of people who cannot afford veterinary fees, and this help toward nearly

27,000 pets being treated in 2014 (Blue Cross, 2014, p4).

The Charity also interacted with the younger generation through their

education services, supporting 65,556 adolescents in animal welfare (Blue

Cross, 2014, p3). This is beneficial to the charity by establishing a relationship

with new prospective donors.

Blue Cross stated a fundamental need to update their record keeping system

to a shared network in Veterinary Clinics, so that the handlers can keep track

of each animal’s treatment. The Report also shows how money was dedicated

to ensuring pets were micro-chipped and neutered, as a crucial preventative

treatment for cats and dogs (Blue Cross, 2014, p5).

Imagery

The Blue Cross runs a ‘Pet Bereavement Support Service’ that offers free and

anonymous support to pet owners who have recently lost a loved pet (Blue

Cross, 2014, p4). This service offered its customer with emotional support and

helped to build a friendship, encouraging possible donators to the charity who

have received positive benefits from the charity.

In Autumn 2015 Blue Cross revealed a new marketing campaign focusing on

the lives of different animals in Blue Cross, telling their story of mistreat and

neglect (Paw Print A, 2015, p5). One of the dogs, a Lurcher called Baxter

features in a television advert called ‘I Will Survive’ (Blue Cross F, 2015). The

marketing campaigns aim is to touch the emotional side of the viewer with a

hope to introduce more donors to the charity and raise awareness of the work

that Blue Cross. However, in the charities magazine it highlights that the

situations the animals are in are fake, and the dog are actors playing

‘charming characters’ (Paw Print A, 2015, p7). For the audience this is

misleading, as the not-so-real Baxter is actually a female called Honey, who

was adopted from the charity four years ago (Paw Print A, 2015, p7).

Judgments

In 2014 the brands image was tarnished when the press reported the ex-CEO

of Blue Cross had been involved a pay off of up to £60,000 to a senior

member of staff within the Charity (Telegraph, 2014). The CEO elegidly

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sacked the employee under false pretenses, and later resigned for the

‘benefit’ of the charity (Telegraph, 2014). In the Charities Annual Report it

states about the charity paying out unforeseen money due to legal reasons to

a former employee to the cost of £42,994 (Blue Cross, 2014, p29). The

scandal showed the charity to not have animals at the best interest at the time

of the incident, however the charities highest annual income to date proves

that this did not leave any residual damage on the judgments of the Blue

Cross (Blue Cross, 2014, p12).

Feelings

In the autumn 2015 magazine, it features an article on ‘Juicy Lucy’ a horse

that has only survived due to the help and support that Blue Cross offer (Paw

Print B, 2015, p13). The horse’s neglect meant it has spent three intensive

years in the care of Blue Cross; rearing her back to double the weight she

was when they originally began (Paw Print B, 2015, p13). The charity have

personified the animals, allowing the reader to have a one-on-one

relationship, this makes the audience feel more affected by the neglected

animals and obliged to contribute towards the care that Blue Cross offer.

Resonance

Behavioural Loyalty

Figure 1 shows that comparing Blue Cross to its main competitors, the

charity is excelling in regular donations as 13.5% of the income comes

from this payment method. The brand resonance is apparent because

the charities outcomes mean that they’re trusted enough to receive

regular payments from supporters.

Attitudinal Attachment

Blue Cross has relevant attachments for supporters, as it is show in

Figure 2 that personal connection is the second most important reason

to donate to a charity (Mintel, 2014). Blue Cross offers companionship

to people in the UK through the act of adoption, and the support

services it provides for pet bereavement gives those affected a service

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of friendship. The service proved well needed as volunteers handled

6,000 calls and messages in 2014 (Blue Cross, 2014, p4).

Sense of Community

Stacy Solomon, a television presenter features in the Autumn 2015

edition of Paw Print, with the fictional character ‘Baxter’ lending her

support to the Blue Cross fundraising campaign (Paw Print A, p8,

2015). Donors and those prospective that have an affiliation with the

presenter will feel encouraged to continue or initiate a relationship with

Blue Cross.

Active Engagement

Figure 5 (Facebook Blue Cross, 2015)

Figure 5 shows the active engagement from supporters. Since 2013,

Facebook likes were up more than 44%, with regular posts from the

charity. Evidence that they’re becoming recognized is approved in

figure 5, with over 10,000 people interacting with the page (Facebook

Blue Cross D, 2015).

Recommendations Primary Research conducted established that RSPCA is more known of than

Blue Cross (Appendix F). The services that RSPCA provide are far broader

than that of Blue Cross; Figure 2 provides evidence that people donate to

charities because of a personal connection. If the Charity were to open their

services to a wider range of animals like its competitor, they would be offering

more support to animal welfare than that currently. This will entail that more

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people would be directly affected by the services it provides, and as a

consequence more income may be generated.

The donation form that Blue Cross provide supporters with does not give an

option to ‘opt out’ of the charity passing personal details on (Appendix G).

This does not give prospective donors confirmation that their details aren’t

going to be sold onto other charities or organisations. It is a legal requirement

that an organisation has to be clear with people with how the data is going to

be used, as well as it being considered best practice (Information

Commissioner’s Office, 2015). At this time it is ever more important to be

honest about how the data is going to be handled, as in August it arose that a

widower’s details had been passed on over 200 times. Charities were

perceived to be taking advantage as the widower lost up to £35,000 through

unscrupulous companies. To increase the trust between the brand and

prospective supporter it must be laid out clearer as to prevent donors loosing

interest because of the distribution of their details (Daily Mail, 2015).

Analysing the Blue Cross Annual Report (2014) has highlighted that the

charity spent £4,400,000 on their new marketing campaign in order to

increase the amount donors are giving. Comparing that with the difference in

the total income of 2013 and 2014, which was £4,500,000, it can be perceived

that the campaign only generated an extra £100,000 toward animal welfare.

The outcome of this means the charity needs to evaluate the platforms that

they’re communicating on, to both optimise the initial connection with its

audience and also to use platforms that are more cost-effective.

Figure 1 shows that the Blue Cross use 54% of their annual income

employing staff. In their 2014 Annual Report, they state that 80% of the hours

worked are by the salaried workforce. This means that only 351,000 hours are

worked voluntarily at the Blue Cross, as their voluntary workforce stands at

3,175, in comparison to RSPCA who have 11,000 and Cats Protection who

have 9,700 (Blue Cross Annual Report, page 8), (RSPCA, 2014, p15), (Cats

Protection, 2014, p7). To put this into perspective Cats Protection voluntary

workforce are working to the value of £62,900,000, a massive saving for their

charity (Cats Protection, 2014, p7).

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Figure 6: Employees earning over £60,000 in the Blue Cross

The CEO of The Blue Cross received a pay cheque between £110k and £120

(Blue Cross, 2014, p29). The highest paid employees totaled an expenditure

of up to £1,000,000 in 2014 an increase from £840k in 2013 (Blue Cross,

2014, p29).

If Blue Cross were to put focus onto gaining more volunteers within the charity

they too would be able to spend more income on those directly affected, and

gain a greater awareness within the United Kingdom. Blue Cross main

competitors have an advantage in the market, as lower costs being spent on

salaried workers means that more money can be dispersed to animal welfare.

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Appendix Appendix A

Appendix B

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Appendix C

Appendix D

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Appendix E

Appendix F

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Appendix G

Appendix H

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PFL-Blue Cross Charity

Documents

Transcript of PFL-Blue Cross Charity