Salvation Army’s Marketing Overhaul Produces Results

One of the biggest charities in the United States is aggressively revamping its marketing campaigns to make itself more modern, relevant, and competitive, reports Forbes.com.

The Salvation Army wants to shed its old-fashioned image in the hopes of boosting lagging sales at its thrift shops, increasing donations, and garnering younger donors.

At the helm of these changes is the charity’s marketing chief, Major George Hood, who spent many years with the charity before leaving for the business world. He rejoined the group in 2000, becoming head of marketing three years later.

“What worked in the 1950s and 1960s was fine,” he says. “Now, we have to change our culture.”

The Salvation Army has benefited from edgier events such as the magician David Blaine enclosing himself in a gyroscope hovering over Times Square for more than two days (the stunt was sponsored by Target), hosting an “Xbox ministry” to get youths off the streets, and putting on a fashion show featuring celebrities in clothes from the charity’s thrift shops.

Furthermore, the group has purchased significantly more online and television advertising.

These efforts appear to be working: Donations to the red kettles that appear on sidewalks and storefronts throughout the country during the Christmas holidays increased 5 percent in 2006. Online advertising banners netted $500,000 late last year.

Mr. Hood says, “We should never grow content or complacent with where we are — be grateful, yes, thankful, yes. But we have to realize the nonprofit industry is more competitive than ever.”

The Salvation Army ranked No 2 last year on the Philanthropy 400, The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the charities that raise the most money from private sources.

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