- Amnesty International has put its £1.25 million advertising account into Joshua, the newly-merged through-the-line operation of Grey, giving the new agency its first major win since its rebranding.
The human rights charity chose the agency after a pitch which included Brann, Burnett Associates and Tullo Marshall Warren.
The move means that one agency will now handle all aspects of Amnesty's marketing and fund-raising. Target previously looked after all communication with existing supporters, but did not repitch, while Burnett oversaw the recruitment of new donors.
Abbott Mead Vickers is currently working on an above-the-line press campaign surrounding Amnesty's 50th anniversary.
Joshua won the rest of the business after recommending that the charity should put more resources behind nurturing its existing donors and members. It currently puts over half its spend into new recruits.
It's first job will be to analyse the charity's existing database to find out what its strongest supporters want from the charity and the best media to use to attract similar ones.
The rethink is likely to lead to a cut in cold mailings by 10 per cent. It could also encourage Amnesty to use television for the first time, challenging a current ITC ban on political grounds.
The charity will build stronger bonds with existing supporters by keeping people informed about the positive things the charity has achieved and by making fewer direct requests for money. It already has a bi-monthly members magazine.
Peter Flett, client services director at Joshua, said: "Our main job is to take Amnesty's current database and build it into a much more sophisticated relational tool, to find out what people want from Amnesty and to build the strategy from there.
"Our research shows that people are currently scared of opening Amnesty letters because they are showered with horror stories. As a result, the charity wants to put more emphasis on supporters so that they feel like they are getting something back."
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