How Patient Entertainment Systems Encourage Charity Donations

Charities rely on a multi-channel approach when it comes to encouraging donations. They may advertise on TV, radio, social media – anywhere to get eyeballs on their messaging. Advertisements are unsurprisingly often found in areas of high dwell time, or when people have time on their hands, ultimately meaning the likelihood of them using that time to donate is higher than someone with no time to spare.

When considering methods to get the most conversions, people have to donate either online or over the phone, so digital is the way to go. Online advertising, whether that’s in online publications, social media, or general web pages, the chance of someone physically donating after seeing Charity messaging will be much higher because that user is ‘in the moment’.

Given this, people's technical devices are an enabler for Charity communication. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the industry, hospital environments naturally have high dwell times, with visitors waiting for appointments or patients staying in hospital for periods of time. So what other ways can Charities get their message across to their audiences on people's devices? That’s where a Patient Entertainment System can provide real value.

What is a Patient Entertainment System? (PES)

A PES is a platform that houses a wealth of information, entertainment, resources and more, which is accessible via the internet. It’s a central place where users can find and access everything they may need to support their healthcare journey, for free. Common features include:

• TV & Radio, newspapers and magazines
• Movies, eBooks, TV Box sets
• Games
• Meal ordering
• Health education videos
• Dementia support services
• Surveys
• NHS links
• Clinical integration
• Charity messaging, adverts and donation area

How do you access it?

Venues often have their PES as the landing page after logging in to the free WiFi. Users simply connect to the NHS WiFi on their own device, follow the sign in process and then they will be automatically redirected to the entertainment service. You can also access it via a URL when you are logged in to the NHS WiFi – with SPARK® Media for example, this URL is wifitv.co.uk.

Details of how to access the PES will be available in the hospital and on the hospital website.

How can this help charities?

According to Statistica, smartphone ownership has increased by 8% since 2019 to 2020 in those over 16 years old. The biggest increase was actually in over 55 year olds, with a huge 18% increase. With more people having their own device, the uptake of a PES will, naturally, be higher than in the past, meaning more people will interact with it.

The PES will be visible and available to everyone using the WiFi and by including charity communication, as soon as patients land on the page, they will be engaging with your messaging. With a visible banner which includes a charity logo, donate button and text, that’s the first thing a patient will see when using the service. You’ve increased your reach and audience size for zero additional cost.

Through our own analytics, we’ve seen a 190% increase of clicks to the charity donate button through the service in May. As the content can be customised, you can display different information to support upcoming events to keep the content fresh and engaging.

Bolster your charity's donations by implementing SPARK® Media – the world’s 3rd largest Patient Entertainment System in the world.

Click the banner below to download the SPARK® Media brochure.