The MEERKATs know that for charities and non-profits, visibility has never been more vital – or more challenging. Donation levels have been squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis, audiences are weary from repeated asks and the charity space itself is crowded with thousands of good causes vying for attention. Against this backdrop, standing out is no small feat.
Gone are the days when a strong PR push and word-of-mouth alone could sustain supporter growth. Organic social reach has declined. Competition for attention is fierce. And while corporate brands often have large budgets to dominate the advertising space, charities must fight smarter, not louder.
This is where smart, carefully considered media planning and buying comes into play. At MEERKATworks, we know more than a thing or two about ‘standing up and standing out’ in the busy marketing landscape. We’re also naturally ‘earthical’ and believe in helping and supporting the charities that are so vital in our communities both through our everyday work and team fundraising. We believe paid media isn’t a luxury reserved for big corporate brands – it’s a necessity for any charitable organisation that needs to connect with the right audience with measurable results. Our role is to plan wisely so that even modest budgets deliver genuine impact, or as we call it “MEERKAT punch”.
Whether the objective is fundraising, raising awareness or driving behaviour change, a clear, bespoke media strategy, combined with our renowned media planning and buying expertise, ensures each and every campaign reaches the people most likely to care, support and act.
Identifying the right channels for fundraising, awareness or behaviour change
Every charity campaign begins with a goal. Are you asking for donations? Raising awareness of an issue? Encouraging people to volunteer, sign a pledge or change their behaviour? Each of these objectives requires a slightly different media approach and a tailored strategy.
Fundraising campaigns
For fundraising, urgency and trust are key. The audience needs to feel the importance of acting now and have confidence that their contribution will make a difference. Paid digital advertising is a powerful tool here, allowing charities to target specific demographics, retarget website visitors and use emotive creative formats like video.
Awareness campaigns
If the aim is simply to raise awareness of a cause or event, then reach and frequency matter most. Out-Of-Home (OOH) poster sites in local communities, bus shelters or regional press can achieve broad visibility quickly. Programmatic display can also extend reach, especially when combined with geographic or interest-based targeting.
Behaviour change campaigns
Behaviour change – for example, encouraging healthier lifestyles, environmental action or community participation – often requires repeated exposure over time. Storytelling is essential, and video or audio formats such as podcasts and radio can build emotional connections. Consistency across channels helps the message embed, nudging audiences towards gradual change.
Matching channel to outcome
It’s tempting to think that budget dictates channel choice, but actually, the outcome should drive the plan. By understanding audience habits and campaign objectives, MEERKATworks builds channel mixes that balance impact and efficiency. Sometimes that means prioritising hyper-local OOH to support a single fundraising event; at other times it means running a short digital burst nationwide to spark conversation.
The role of paid media in supporter journeys
It’s easy to view paid media as a one-off “push” – the moment you launch an ad and hope people respond. In reality, it’s part of a longer supporter journey.
Awareness → Interest → Action → Repeat
Effective campaigns recognise that donors, volunteers or participants rarely leap straight from awareness to action. Paid media creates the initial spark, but it also plays a role in keeping your cause top of mind as people consider, engage, and eventually commit.
Awareness: Broad reach channels like OOH, radio or digital introduce your cause.
Interest: Retargeting campaigns on digital platforms keep your message alive and deepen understanding.
Action: Clear, direct calls-to-action via display ads drive donations, sign-ups or event registrations.
Repeat engagement: Follow-up comms, whether nurturing donors with impact stories or prompting lapsed supporters, build long-term loyalty.
Paid media also supports other charity functions. A well-placed campaign can aid volunteer recruitment, attract participants to events or raise the profile of a new service. The MEERKATs are on hand to ensure that every campaign strengthens the wider supporter journey.
Media buying on a charity budget
Charities often operate with fixed budgets, whether from fundraising, grant funding or government schemes. That means there’s little room for error – every pound has to work hard and reporting must be robust enough to satisfy trustees, funders or partners.
At MEERKATworks, we specialise in turning set budgets into maximum reach and impact.
Key principles we follow:
Allocate spend strategically: Instead of spreading thinly across too many channels, we identify the few that will best achieve the objective.
Reserve budget for optimisation: Campaigns rarely perform perfectly from day one. Holding back a portion of budget allows us to optimise mid-flight, shifting spend to the formats or audiences that perform best.
Start small, test and learn: For charities new to paid media, we recommend pilot campaigns with modest spend. Testing creative and channel combinations in a controlled way reduces risk and builds confidence for larger investments.
Reporting: When budgets are constrained, precision matters. Our expertise ensures that no money is wasted and that each campaign leaves a measurable legacy.
Real examples: MEERKATworks charity campaigns that delivered results
Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance Charity
The MEERKATs planned and implemented a highly successful 6-month multi-platform advertising campaign to raise awareness of this vital air ambulance charity in its operational area. The campaign was planned to make the very most of the available budget, while ensuring good frequency and precise impact across TV, Digital Audio, Programmatic and targeted OOH activity.
The campaign video featured bespoke music, written and produced by MEERKATworks, to uniquely reflect the KSS brand. The video ran across ITV linear and ITV Hub within the geo-targeted area to achieve targeted coverage across all 3 counties covered by KSS.
Programmatic activity was introduced as a tailored blend of YouTube and Programmatic video, running alongside standard banners. The activity generated insights and learnings, allowing the MEERKATs to provide ongoing optimisation and ever greater targeting precision and cost-efficiency.
The campaign results were impressive with 68% overdelivery across programmatic, 4% on ITVX, 23% on digital audio and 9% OOH. The MEERKAT team drew on extensive multi-platform media expertise to effectively build brand awareness and greater understanding of the critical care the charity provides.
St Raphael’s Hospice
The MEERKATs partnered with St Raphael’s Hospice with the aim of raising awareness, driving engagement and encouraging support for this vital local charity. Working closely with the hospice team, we devised a smart, cost-efficient media campaign that combined precisely targeted programmatic advertising and on-demand TV.
The programmatic display activity sent high-quality traffic directly to the St Raphael’s Hospice website, where visitors could explore ways to get involved and support the hospice. Using carefully defined audience segments and data partnerships, we ensured the campaign reached the right people at the right time, maximising both awareness and action. Alongside programmatic, we made strategic use of ITV Pause ads. This activity was delivered down to postcode level, ensuring that St Raphael’s message reached households across the hospice’s catchment area. By bringing hospice advertising into living rooms, the campaign helped strengthen community connection and visibility.
Royal Trinity Hospice
The MEERKAT team planned and bought a geo-targeted OOH campaign, which aimed to encourage people to get involved and support the crucial work of Royal Trinity. The hospice provides free care for patients and their families in southwest and central London – allowing people to fully embrace the life have left and easing the pain for those around them.
The campaign was carefully planned, combining precisely positioned Lift and Escalator Panels (LEPs) and 4 sheets at key stations. Alongside this activity, the MEERKATs planned both static and digital formats within proximity to the Royal Trinity Hospice shops. The campaign raised awareness, and drove meaningful engagement, demonstrating how carefully planned hospice advertising can cut through and deliver tangible impact.
In each case, success came not from budget size, but from smart planning, creative media choices and close collaboration with the charity team. Charities don’t need vast budgets to run impactful campaigns. What they do need is a clear strategy, the right channel mix and a partner who knows how to stretch every penny without cutting corners.
Create lasting impact
Paid media can be transformative for charities, turning limited budgets into far-reaching awareness, sparking donations and inspiring behaviour change. By aligning objectives with the right media approach, charities can cut through the noise and create lasting impact in communities and beyond.
If your organisation is ready to explore how media buying can support your next campaign, we’d love to help. Let’s build a strategy that amplifies your message, makes the most of your budget and delivers results you can share with pride.