Eurovision is a flagship BBC show, providing one of the highest viewing figures and audience participation response year after year. We have been working with Digame / BBC on Eurovision for over 10 years and have successfully processed millions of votes during this time.
We are a key partner, managing both the final and semi-final votes, in one of the biggest voting territories of the 40+ countries involved in Eurovision. We use a platform that can process thousands of concurrent calls during the short vote window at the end of performances by each country, and utilise a number of compliant features to ensure callers are not charged when the vote is closed or if dialling the UK number. We work with Digame, the BBC and an independent verifier to deliver the service.
Our integration of the mass voting platform and its data aggregation technology means the UK voting integrates seamlessly with the pan-European response, to deliver a verified result into the platform within minutes of lines closing to the public.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is a long-standing umbrella organisation that allows 14 key UK relief charities to operate quickly when a global crisis occurs. Its aim is to raise money and distribute aid in the quickest time possible when most needed.
Automated telephone donation processing is a key part of the DEC donation channel mix; We are required to provide scalable and reliable capacity to provide a high-quality user experience. Because of the nature of the events the DEC appeals support, one of the key features is to have the service live when a global disaster scenario unfolds, often within 24 hours of the event.
Over the last 10 years, we have processed £millions for numerous DEC appeals. During this time, we have evolved the service to comply with changing technology and regulatory requirements including ever more secure card processing standards (PCI DSS), GDPR and Strong Customer Authentication.
Due to the demographic profile of DEC respondents, Gift-aid is a key element in maximising donations. Our automated call IVR is tailored to provide a clear message about the importance of Gift Aid and gathers the required details for successful gift-aid claims achieving much higher than industry standard opt-in rates.
The average donations from the DEC campaigns exceeds other similar appeals by some margin.
Soccer Aid for UNICEF is the worlds biggest charity football match and is broadcast in a three-hour annual ITV programme. It has raised over £70m for UNICEF UK through donations and ticket sales. It helps children in 190 countries around the world, providing disaster relief, clean water, nutrition, vaccines, health care and education.
Over the last few years, we have provided an automated donation telephony service for ITV and UNICEF’s flagship event. Our service allows viewers to donate any amount to the charity event via their telephone and has become a key part of the programme’s donation channel mix. It appeals to viewers who want to donate a different or higher amount than is possible by text, or simply those who just want to pick up the telephone to donate. The service is simple and is voiced by the presenter Dermot O’Leary. It quickly takes the caller through the steps to enter their payment card details and then provides a clear message to encourage users to opt-in to gift-aid, which allows UNICEF to maximise donations through the gift-aid scheme. It complies with the highest levels of security for payment processing and personal data through its PCI DSS status.
Our extensive platform capability also allowed us to help in providing further developments such as the ‘Appreciation Station’ feature of the programme, where callers have the opportunity to donate and speak to a number of celebrities located in the stadium.
Donations via telephone have increased year on year since our automated service was introduced. The scalable platform means it is able to provide additional capacity to deal with the growing response. Gift-aid opt-in rates are very high compared with similar events which means the charity is receiving additional funds at no extra cost to those donating.
The Appreciation Station functionality has been a welcome addition to the programme content and has helped drive further donations whilst providing an enjoyable user experience.
