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Brief
Environmentally friendly living and climate change is a particularly prevalent worldwide topic. Friends of the Earth is the UK's most influential environmental campaigning organisation.
The charity appointed creative digital marketing agency Strange to design and launch a dynamic communications platform to increase fundraising transactions, talk to their wide target audience on this political hot topic and increase engagement with a new generation.
The target market for this campaign was – challengingly – the entire British adult and youth population. Strange needed to design a website that is usable, encourages donations and is aesthetically pleasing to engage with such a wide audience. The charity is dependent on individuals, and their donations, for over 90% of its income and so presenting an effective online platform would significantly impact this key business function.
Friends of the Earth has the most extensive environmental network in the UK (and world), working with a unique network of campaigning local groups in more than 220 communities throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The website design process, build and launch was to be a critical marketing investment for the charity in and needed to be the most important communication and fundraising platform for the future.
Strategy
It had been identified that digital investment was the most effective way to reach the widest audience on a UK and international scale. It would allow the charity to present their proposition, latest information, events and activities and act as a central place to inform, communicate, encourage and interact directly with supporters and fundraisers.
Strange took a user centric approach to the design process. We conducted comprehensive user research and identified a set of key personas to define the site information architecture. The redesign went through extensive user testing before, during and after the build process to optimise conversion rates.
Execution
We presented the Friends of the Earth’s activism and campaigning propositions more clearly, using a spacious layout and simpler information architecture to improve the user journey and encourage donation transactions.
Strange applied conversion rate techniques throughout the project to optimise the fundraising function of the website. The modular design of the home page allows a wealth of scaled information to be displayed up-front. We used prominent calls to action across the website, including ‘donate now’ links, newsletter registration and all the latest information about Friends of the Earth's campaigning work.
Large and emotive imagery, visual communication techniques and video were used to help each page tell its story more effectively. The new site provides better integration with social media channels like Twitter and YouTube to encourage social sharing, maximise interaction and widen the audience reach.
Strange employed a rigorous approach to developing this website and evaluated it at key project stages against our defined user personas to ensure objectives were met. We were delighted to work with such a great organisation and worthwhile cause.
Results
The new site has transformed the Friends of the Earth’s online presence. It is fast, exciting and easier to navigate for the user. The pod-style design of the home page allows a wealth of information to be displayed up front, including all the latest information about Friends of the Earth's campaigning work, video content and prominent calls to action e.g. newsletter registration and a ‘donate now’ link.
The new site is also integrated with social media channels like Twitter and YouTube to boost audience reach across platforms.
Since launching, site visits have increased by 178%, donation transactions have increased by 314%, revenue is up 285% and the site conversion rate has increased by 115%.
Users can now easily find out how to put pressure on politicians for change locally, nationally or internationally, get involved in supporting the charity or make green lifestyle changes.
The website recently won ‘Outstanding Achievement’ at the international Interactive Media Awards in the charity category. The site scored over 92% in areas of design, content, functionality, usability, standards compliance and cross browser compatibility.
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