Beatson creates a reward scheme that gives back to their supporters, partners, and sponsors
Beatson Cancer Charity is using the Good Thyngs fundraising platform to expand their reach and intensify donor engagement for all kinds of fundraising events. From giant interactive Christmas baubles and MRI appeals to virtual events and digital raffles, the charity has enthusiastically embraced a hybrid fundraising method.
Beatson Rewards is an incentive that harnesses relationships between the charity’s supporters, partners and sponsors all year round.
For an annual membership fee, holders of a Beatson Rewards card get access to discounts across Hotels & Travel, Health, Beauty & Wellbeing, Events & Experiences, Bars & Restaurants and Shop Local businesses.
Businesses around Scotland, such as Argyll Holidays, Essence of Harris, Slanj Kilts, Locker Hyndland and Beat 6 amongst many others have partnered with Beatson Cancer Charity to be part of an incentive that benefits everyone.
We have always been huge supporters of the Beatson Cancer Charity and the work they do, and when Charlene Low [Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser] approached us to become a Beatson Rewards Partner it was an easy decision! The reward card is a great project. Not only is it raising vital funds for the charity, but it’s also giving back to the community by supporting local businesses. A huge thank you to the Beatson team for including us; we are honoured to be supporting in any way we can.
Essence of Harris
How it works – seamless with Good Thyngs
For supporters
Supporters sign up to the annual rewards scheme by filling out a short online form and making a payment using Apple Pay, PayPal or Card. The regular annual membership fee is £20 or a gift set for £25.
After payment, an optional ‘How did you hear about Beatson Rewards?’ form provides a great research tool for Beatson.
For all members, a Beatson Rewards Card is sent through the post and a Discount Brochure is emailed with full instructions on how to redeem all offers and discounts.
For Beatson Cancer Charity
On the platform, Beatson Cancer Charity can manage the scheme and access data, at any time and in real-time. For example, they can:
- Understand which partners and sponsors are working well
- What offers and discounts are redeemed
- Which promotional campaigns work the best
- View payments and Gift Aid attachment in detail (payments go straight to Beatson)
- Add landing pages for new partners coming onboard
- Collect additional marketing information using simple forms
The impact
- Thousands of engagements and ongoing donations, making the incentive a valuable new revenue stream and basis for strengthening relationships
- Easy and sustainable management of ongoing rewards using the platform, with pages that can be updated instantly
- Has the ability to evolve as the project grows each year
- Supporters, Beatson Cancer Charity, and business partners all benefit from one another creating a tight-knit community of feel-good rewards
- Drove 2,065 visitors to the Beatson Rewards website page from October 2021- March 2022
As a local family business operating across 3 Lanarkshire based stores, we saw Beatson Rewards as a great opportunity to partner with a charity which means so much to a lot of our customers, to raise awareness of both our business and the amazing support that the charity provides as well as giving a little back to our customers in return for their loyalty.
As Covid spread through our communities, local butchers were a lifeline. We support Beatson Cancer Charity because difficult times give no warning. When cancer touches your life or that of a loved one, they will be there for you and your family,
Nicola Strachan, Strachan Butchers.
Setting up a new incentive was easy with Good Thyngs
We knew that the platform was easily adaptable to our needs. Communication was crucial when producing an incentive that responded to the needs of our supporters, partners, and sponsors. Building this incentive was made as efficient as possible with the support of the Good Thyngs team,
said Ginette Hamilton, Trading Development Fundraiser at Beatson Cancer Charity.
We have had over 60 businesses onboarding this project but the foundations we built on the platform makes it easy for the collaboration to keep on growing.
Promoting Beatson Rewards
A new incentive can bring in a new realm of supporters, especially when collaborating with other businesses. Promoting it across mediums and ensuring individual tracking parameters are in place have played a key part in understanding where these supporters are and what works best.
Email marketing
“The most sign ups happened at the launch when we sent out a launch email. But every week we’ve seen new members sign up which we’re thrilled about,” said Ginette.
Social media
“Social media seems to be a powerful promotional tool, too.”
Beatson’s social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) saw 20,987 impressions when they announced the launch in a post. Impressions are the total number of times social media browsers have been showed your content.
The launch post on Instagram reached 81% of their followers and was one of their most liked posts on the platform.
Facebook also did well, with its post reaching 83% of their followers and gaining 1,017 engagements. The most common examples of ‘engagements’ are reactions including likes, comments, and shares, but it can also include saves, viewing a video or clicking on a link.
Katy Jo from Capital Radio was involved in the launch of the campaign and shared to her 5,004 followers on Instagram. Notable brands involved in the launch campaign were Yotel, Essence of Harris and Mharsanta.
Seasonal gifts
One social media campaign which was particularly successful was the ‘Beatson Rewards 12 Days of Christmas’.
Several Beatson Rewards Partners took a day during the period leading up to Christmas and ran a Like/Follow/Tag competition on their social channel of choice. The winners each received a wonderful prize kindly donated by the business partners as well as a FREE Beatson Rewards card.
The idea was to raise awareness and encourage people to sign up to Beatson Rewards by promoting the discounts on offer to Beatson Rewards Members throughout 2022.
A great way of using gift-giving holidays to boost promotion!
Jumbo cards
Pacific Building Group sponsored Beatson Rewards, and Novograf donated jumbo Beatson Rewards membership cards to grab people’s attention and take photographs with participating businesses for social media.
“The jumbo card was a really good prop in so many ways”, said Ginette, “especially when visiting our business partners and asking for a photo with them. Something fun like this helps increase social sharing and by partnering with other businesses we can combine our audiences.”
Added benefits for corporate partners and sponsors
On the platform landing pages have been set up for each business so that supporters can explore the offerings and filter shops according to category and location.
The charity can track the engagement rates of these pages to discover which categories, offers or locations are capturing the attention of their supporters. These reports can be downloaded and shared with the charity and businesses for additional value.
“It’s been a fantastic way of increasing our engagement with business partners, which is important to us. They’ve been so supportive of this project and have helped us boost the campaign in a variety of ways,”said Joyce Ross, the Corporate Partnerships Manager at Beatson Cancer Charity.
Nicola commented on the positive impact the Christmas campaign had on Strachan Craft Butchers’ social following and in-store hamper sales:
During the Beatson Rewards 12 days of Christmas campaign we saw a particularly high spike in engagement with our social media platforms and increase in followers. We also sent out promotional leaflets with our Christmas hampers and now really enjoy seeing customers coming in with their cards to take advantage of the 10% discount we offer as part of the membership.
Advice from Rachael at Beatson Cancer Charity
Cashless fundraising has been an essential addition to us, especially during the pandemic. Adapting with the times allows us to reach a wider audience and ensures that we can continue to provide easier ways for supporters to donate to us.
It is definitely the way forward and we can’t see any downside to making the move to cashless! If you are thinking of making the move, I would encourage you to do so!
Rachael Griffin- Digital Marketing Officer.
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