IPA and Pimp My Cause harness top talent to market a better world

 

The UK’s top agency talent is being given the opportunity to solve the strategic marketing and communications challenges of up and coming charities through a new partnership between Pimp My Cause and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

The IPA’s residential courses, including Strategic Planning, Client Services and Mastering Integrated Planning, focus on using live briefs to give delegates real world challenges to solve as part of their training.

Through the new partnership with Pimp My Cause, the IPA will now be using briefs from charities and social enterprises that are greatly in need of precisely the marketing skills that the groups participating in the IPA training courses can offer.

The first charity to gain from this partnership is FoodCycle, an innovative project that brings together volunteers, excess food and spare kitchen space to combat food waste, food poverty and social isolation. They provide free meals to disadvantaged and socially isolated groups at their 19 food hubs around the UK.

Pimp My Cause selected FoodCycle from their membership of over 1,200 good causes because of their inspiring mission and the perfect fit between their communications needs and the focus of the IPA’s Strategic Planning course.

The delegates led by course chairs Dan Hill from Karmarama and Chris Gallery from Mother, developed strategic plans to help FoodCycle to achieve their fundraising goals.

Steven Hawkes, the Communications and Fundraising Manager at FoodCycle said, “The challenge we posed was how to find to creative ways to engage an older and more affluent donor base without a media budget to drawn on. The groups developed some truly inspiring yet thoroughly practical insights and ideas that we can realistically implement in the near future. It was a hugely positive experience working with the IPA and their members on the course and a great opportunity for a charity of our size”.

Louise Hinchliffe, Head of Professional Development at the IPA said “We’re really pleased to be working with causes who really need the level of expertise in the room to fulfill their ambitions. My belief is that the delegates will work even harder knowing their output will be so vital and valued by so many”.

Paul Skinner, founder of Pimp My Cause said, “Marketers can be uniquely placed to re-shape the world around us for the better with their ability to understand needs, formulate solutions and mobilise support for those solutions. The IPA trains many of the best people in our industry and the chance to harness that talent to support the good causes we support is a tremendous opportunity”.