Direct Mail Campaign & Stewardship Toolkit

How do you sell the long-term impact of a legacy gift when your work is urgent, immediate and life or death?

East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) had a strong, loyal supporter base. But when it came to gifts in Wills, they were stuck. They didn't know how to talk about legacies, who to target, or how many supporters had already pledged without telling them–making future planning impossible.

Working with a smaller budget, they chose a direct mail campaign to introduce gifts in Wills to their warm audience. Our DM pack connected legacy giving to the daily, life-or-death decisions EAAA's doctors and paramedics make. It helped supporters see themselves in the action: saving lives close to home, not just once, but for years to come.

We also created a stewardship toolkit showing how EAAA could adapt messaging across the supporter journey, building long-term confidence and consistency around legacy giving

The campaign revealed intenders, enquirers and 49 pledgers EAAA didn't know existed–uncovering an estimated £1.4m in future income.

Lucy Day, Legacy Marketing and Stewardship Manager at EAAA said: “Catsnake were just a delight to work with. It very soon felt like they were one of the team here at East Anglian AirAmbulance. The work they produced showed how much they understood the organisation. The team didn’t view the project in isolation; they delved into our wider marketing and brand awareness plans to ensure that the legacy campaign aligned with this work. And it did. Beautifully.

What makes them different is how truly invested they were in our work. They asked questions and they listened, quickly getting to grips with the organisation’s personality, its challenges and its audience. They weren’t afraid to challenge our thinking and as a result we tried something quite different, and it worked! They showed a huge amount of curiosity while remaining respectful at all times.”