Where’s a common place you always seem to buy a candy bar, even when
you don’t plan on it? Where do you willingly pay $2 or $3 for a can
of soda? If you answered retail check-out lane and amusement park
then you have not only been a captive audience - but a captive
consumer. Whenever you have a consumer standing still for a moment -
and, more important, standing still with your product in front of
them - you have a higher chance to make a sale.
For more effective fundraising, you must learn to take advantage of
your captive audiences. If your group is doing a carwash fundraiser
and you already plan to have people walking up to driver’s windows,
consider having them carry a handful of beef sticks or lollipops to
sell too. Someone who says no to a carwash might still give you a
buck for something to snack on while driving. What about the drivers
having their cars washed? Create a “waiting area” with a table of
tasty fundraising treats for sale! Carwash - cha-ching! Carwash AND
a sale - CHA-CHING!
Sit back and think of all the places where you know there will be a
potential group of captive consumers at the same place as your group
for even a small amount of time. It’s a simple equation:
FP (Fundraising Product) + CA (Captive Audience) = $ (Sales)
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Some potential areas for captive audiences to start you thinking:
carwashes, ticket lines, sports games, plays, and meetings.
If you have an area where you can put up a poster - do it. Call
attention to what you are selling, who you are, and what it’s for!
Don’t have a captive audience of your own? Ask a local retailer if
you can set up a table outside their establishment. Try and pick a
place with a good flow of people or catch people going into a place
where they might be waiting for a while - like the license bureau!
