Has it really been a whole year since we launched our re-vamped charity benchmarking report, the Metrica Charity Radar? We have seen so many events shape the charity sector over the last twelve months, whether they are global crises, such as the Haiti Earthquake, or UK fundraising events which have captured the imagination, such as Eddie Izzard running an obscene amount in aid of Sport Relief.
Here at Metrica, we’ve put together an annual version of our Radar report, to be able to see what has driven the news agenda across all the different charity sectors this financial year, and it makes for very interesting reading!
To begin with, the Haiti earthquake was by far the biggest single event driving coverage, affecting over 20 charities, including Oxfam, the Red Cross and the DEC. This generated sustained coverage throughout January and February, as various organisations offered to help.
Some stories were slightly smaller, but came back into the public eye throughout the year, such as the case of a policeman who left two police dogs to die in a hot car. The RSPCA were involved in this case when it was first reported, when the trial began and when sentencing occurred, proving that some stories can keep running over a long period of time.
Political issues often made an appearance in our Radar report, illustrated by the fact that Gordon Brown is far and away the most prolific public figure to feature in charity coverage, being mentioned in over 15,000 articles this year, followed by the ever charitable Gary Barlow with almost 5,000!
So who emerged top in the annual report? Get in touch to find out! Email the team on charity@metrica.net or give us a call on 020 7922 1670. The Radar report could be a great planning tool for next year’s PR activities, or just a great way to get an overview of all that has happened in your sector over the past 12 months.