Nick Daniel is the Marketing Director at Dogs Trust. With a career that began in financial services, Nick transitioned to the charity sector, spending nine years in various roles at the RSPCA. He later spent eight years working in advertising, in agencies The Gate and CST, before returning to his roots in charity with Dogs Trust.

Don’t be transactional. When I initially left the charity sector two decades ago to work in advertising, it was because I felt we were too focused on technique over building genuine connections. While achieving immediate response is valuable, we were all doing the same thing: those classic 90-second DRTV ads with repetitive calls to action, where the phone number was drilled into viewers multiple times. It was effective in raising funds in the short term, but it missed out on creating long-term relationships with supporters. People were giving to the campaign itself, not necessarily to the cause. Thankfully, things have evolved.

Balance short-term gains with long-term goals. I’m not against using transactional tactics to grab attention—those tools are essential for bringing people into the fold. However, the goal is to quickly transition these supporters to understand and connect with your ‘why’. The earlier you can align someone with your mission, the greater the lifetime value and loyalty they’ll bring. When this deeper connection is built from the beginning, it can significantly extend their engagement, boosting both profitability and their commitment to the cause.

Think like a predator; focus on the win. In the advertising world, legendary marketer Dave Trott taught us that winning often means redefining the rules of the game. To stand out, you need to focus on the problem that gets you that win. For example, when the British Heart Foundation shifted its focus to teach CPR in an ad format rather than traditional first-aid classes, it revolutionised public engagement with a simple yet powerful message. Thanks to their Vinnie Jones/Bee Gees mash-up, we all now know how to do CPR. Sometimes, finding that unexpected approach is the key to driving real change.

Differentiate yourself; don’t follow the herd. To succeed, you must stand out from the crowd. Dogs Trust’s transformation began when we started doing things differently about 30 years ago. For over a century, we were just another charity with a blue logo, alongside the RSPCA and every other brand in the sector. So, we chose yellow—a bold move that made us instantly recognizable. The human brain naturally wants to categorise, so by making that visual shift, we positioned ourselves as a unique contender in the market. Suddenly, instead of being part of a crowded field, it became a two-horse race—blue versus yellow.

Keep it simple. Overloading your audience with too many messages is a mistake. If you throw 20 tennis balls at someone, they probably won’t catch any—or if they do, it won’t be the one that matters. By staying focused on the core message, you ensure that what they remember is the most important point you want them to grasp.

Ask the right question. When I first joined Dogs Trust, we were trying to solve the wrong problem with our advertising—we were pushing people to rehome our dogs by highlighting how “broken” they were, promising that we’d train them to be better. We were inadvertently drawing attention to the dogs’ issues rather than their potential. I realised we needed to flip the script. Instead of saying, “Our dogs need fixing,” we needed to communicate, “Our dogs are amazing—come and meet them!” That’s when we came up with the line, ‘There’s a dog waiting for you at Dogs Trust.’ The impact was immediate; as soon as the ad ran, foot traffic to our centres shot up.

You regret the things you didn’t do. We all make mistakes, and failure is an inevitable part of the journey. But the biggest regrets often come from the things we didn’t do—the opportunities we let pass by. While I try to embrace action over hesitation, it doesn’t always work out that way, but I would still rather regret a misstep than wonder about the “what-ifs.”

—

Cause & Effect is a series from Hope, a charity branding agency, in which leading figures who have been involved in building and promoting good causes tell us what they’ve learned from their experiences. Interview by Michael Isaacs.