Real-life Tales of Earning - Lifeline

Creating a market for an innovative product

• Background and origins
• The Big Idea
• A gap in the market
• Establishing a product
• Initial funding
• Developing the idea
• Developing a business strategy
• Expanding the market
• Maintaining credibility with target group
• Maintaining independence
• Expanding product
• Challenges
• Words of advice

Background and origins

Lifeline is a drug and alcohol treatment charity based in Manchester. It was started in 1971 by a psychotherapist who refused to evict 25 drug users from her treatment centre and moved to Manchester to open a day centre for drug users in the city.

The charity has since grown into one of the UK's leading drug and alcohol charities with over 250 staff running treatment and rehabilitation services, needle banks and information and guidance programmes. Lifeline works with people and their families and dependants whose lives have been affected by drug or alcohol addiction and provides training and advisory services to organisations working on projects dealing with drug misuse or sexually the diseases.

Over the years the charity has drawn fire from the media over it's controversial approach to its work. It refuses to adopt a blanket anti-drugs approach to it's programmes and will work with helping people live with their drug use as well as treating recovering addicts. Its philosophy is to treat people as individuals and provide a range of services and materials to help people make an informed choice about drug or alcohol use.

There mission statement is "We do not take a moral stance by condemning drug use; that position would simply alienate the people we aim to help. Our philosophy is to get on and do the things that do make a difference. Telling the truth about drugs reflects our commitment to those people who access our services and our desire to make a positive contribution to the challenges and debates that arise within the drugs and alcohol field."

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The Big Idea

When the charity was looking to expand in the mid 1980's it wanted some creative input into how to develop and sustain its day centre and launch supplementary services. After placing an advertisement in the Guardian for a "creative mind", it appointed Michael Linnell, an ex-performance artist who was running a drugs helpline in a nearby hospital as business development and communications manager.

Linnell's job was to help Lifeline communicate with its service users and with a new target audience of young people susceptible to drug and alcohol use and at possible risk from sexually transmitted diseases. He says "We had lots of ideas but, as usual, no funding. We wanted to both expand our services and start communicating better with the people we were servicing. But we weren't prepared to compromise our message. So the challenge was to find a way to finance our work without having to rely on others to financially support us."

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A gap in the market

Linnell recognised that there was no literature or publications produced by any government department or drug or alcohol agency that had any credibility or impact on the people these organisations were trying to reach. In the mid 1980's drug, alcohol and STD treatment services were becoming increasingly professionalised with more money being poured into developing public awareness campaigns.

However most messages centered on the "Just Say No" approach which took a preventative approach to drug and alcohol use. Many used disturbing images, such as the infamous national HIV/Aids campaign that used pictures of tombstones to try and warn the public about the dangers of the disease.

Lifeline believed that this approach may work with non-drug users and could help promote safe sex, but had no credibility with its service users or many young people who were recreational drug or alcohol users. Michael says "There was nothing out there that talked about things that really mattered to people who took drugs. None of the information seemed to reflect what it was like for people who were addicts or tapped into any of the reasons why people start taking drugs or alcohol in the first place."

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Establishing a product

Lifeline saw that it could produce publications to fill this gap. By producing material in-house the charity could build another income stream that complimented its project and service work and help the charity expand its work into new areas.

Producing publications would also be a way of maximising on existing resources. Lifeline had more than a decade of experience working with frontline drug and alcohol users and would be able to use its existing expertise and contacts to produce something that would accurately reflect the lives, issues and concerns of those it was trying to reach.

Michael says "The key issue in this process was giving precedence to the views of the target audience over and above the moral sensibilities of middle England."  They also realised that publications were a cost-effective way of spreading its message. Leaflets and magazines can be used by more than one person and if the charity could develop something that appealed to its target market then it would get passed from person to person.

Linnell also recognised that word-heavy information would not appeal to the people it was trying to reach. With experience in graphic design and cartoon drawing, he believed that publications designed more as comic books could translate the charity's message in a more direct, credible and effective way.

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Initial funding

Because the idea utilised the existing skills and experience of Lifeline staff, it wasn't necessary to generate a large amount of seed funding. Whatsmore Lifeline was unsure about how successful the project would be and so adopted a more organic approach to developing the publications.

It managed to pitch for and win a small grant to develop a HIV/Aids information booklet for HIV patients from a local authority. After this was successfully received, Lifeline channelled the proceeds into the in-house production of a controversial booklet for drug users called "Smack in the Eye", a safe use information booklet in the form of an adult comic which aimed was to promote safer drug use and safer sex.

The charity distributed copies for free on the streets of Manchester and contacted other drug agencies and charities with information about the leaflet and sold it to interested parties for £2 a copy. It also started selling the publication in its own projects and on its website.

Markers of success for this initial publication weren't financial. Lifeline had to ascertain whether this was a viable potential income stream and the main indicator of this was the feedback from "Smack in the Eye" readers.

The response was overwhelming. Copies of "Smack in the Eye" became cult reading and a high demand for additional copies started pouring in. Lifeline saw that it had found a template for a product that could generate a healthy income stream for the charity whilst providing vital information to drug users in a form that they responded to and respected.

This initial publication became completely self-financing. Profits from selling thousands copies in the first year not only covered the production, printing and distribution costs but also allowed Lifeline to think about producing more publications.

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Developing the idea

Lifeline followed on from the success of "Smack in the Eye" by developing new publications and branching out into different subject areas. It initially produced another series of publications for serious drug users using the profits from the "Smack in the Eye" booklet plus advance funding from Lifeline.

In 1990 the charity started thinking about how a drug agency could go about speaking effectively to recreational drug users. The charity wanted to catch those young people who were taking a lot of stimulant and hallucinogenic drugs and beginning to get into problems. It saw a market and a need for publications that entertained and simultaneously educated a group of young recreational drug users about the dangers of their particular forms of drug use.

Linnell created a series of comic book publications using a character called "Peanut Pet" that proved as popular among recreational drug users as the initial booklets did among serious drug users. It sold the "Peanut Pete" booklets to other drug agencies, youth offending teams and schools for 10 pence each.

The recreational drug use booklets were completely financed by Lifeline, who was able to invest in more publications due to its success in developing its other more formal products and services. The recreational drug use booklets also proved to be entirely self-financing.

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Developing a business strategy

After almost ten years of publishing information booklets and leaflets Lifeline was making a profit on its publications. It decided to take a more business-like approach to developing this income stream as a viable self-sustaining branch of the organisation.

New governance and management structure

After establishing strong and consistent sales, the publications team branched off as a separate and independently sustainable division of the charity. Operating as Lifeline's trading arm the publications team retain control over the publications and plan and organise new additions to its existing portfolio.

The charity appointed a new business and sales manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the organisation who is responsible for the sales and business planning of the department. Linnell retains a key role in the organisation, planning, drawing, writing and designing new publications as well as operating as communications director for Lifeline as a whole. All profits from the publications department are poured back into Lifeline, and the charity pays the publication department's wages out of general charity funds.

Developing a customer base

To maximise the potential of the publications department the team invested in the compilation of extensive mailing lists and have built up a strong customer base that regularly order and bulk buy Lifeline publications. These include

• Drug agencies and charities (DrugScope, Addaction etc)
• Schools
• Prisons
• Youth Offending Teams
• Local Health Authorities
• Government groups and departments
• Youth and community groups

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Expanding the market

Over the years Lifeline has developed the range of publications it produces on an array of different related topics. The charity now produces publications for

Young People/Schools

These publications try and present facts about drugs and alcohol in a presentable and realistic way. Products include an alcohol pops poster and the "Big Blue Book of Sex", which includes coverage of puberty, sexual health, contraception, pregnancy, sexuality, sexual abuse.

Adults and Young People

Designed to provide accurate information about categories of drugs and the legal implications of getting caught with them. Publications include The Drugs Law Poster and the "How to go out Drinking Guide", which gives tips on how to avoid confrontation and trouble when out drinking

Specific Groups

Lifeline now also provides information for groups such as young carers, gay men and sex workers. Topics covered in a range of leaflets and booklets include "Uncle Bob", which outlines the common themes and scenarios relating to sexual grooming behaviour and "Do Your RIP", designed to help people adjust to life in a Young Offenders Institute.

Parents

A range of publications for parents and carers from all different ethnic and economic backgrounds. Publications include leaflets for the South Asian Community about drug use and a booklet explaining common misconceptions about drug use

Injecting Drug Users

A range of specialist information for intravenous drug users. Products include a "Better Injecting Booklet" providing health and safety information about injecting heroin and "Overdose", a booklet designed to help people cope when witnessing someone overdosing.

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Maintaining credibility with target group

In order to remain successful Lifeline Publications needs to make sure that it's targeting new audiences and keeping it's messages relevant and respected by it's different readers. Lifeline Publications staff spend extensive time researching and speaking with the audience it is designing a new publication for, conducting extensive market research and involving users in every step of the process. For example a new comic book designed for black gang members was entirely conceived, designed, written and illustrated by gang members.

The success of the publications division is entirely down to its popularity with its readers. Lifeline comic books and books are in high demand with young people and drug users and the charity continues to distribute its publications free of charge in Manchester's bars, clubs, drop-in centres and needle exchanges.

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Maintaining independence

Lifeline Publication's income is entirely self-generated. It is essential that it retains complete financial independence in order to deliver the kind of messages that it does. In the past the charity has come in for intense media and political pressure for its stance on drug use, especially for it's publications on recreational drug use. Michael says "Because we don't design our publications for anyone else but the people who read them we're not accountable to anybody but them. We've always put the needs of our service users above the need to please any funder so the quality of the product is what ensures that our income stays healthy and enables us to keep on delivering the messages that need to be out there."

The main charity supports the publications division and in the event of falling sales would supplement its income. So far sales have been so healthy that the division has actually made a profit for Lifeline.

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Expanding the product

Lifeline's publications division now has an annual turnover of £300,000-400,000 a year. Over 90 per cent of this income comes to selling its products to up to 2,000 different agencies and outlets a year.

The department now has a catalogue of more than 100 publications. The original "Smack in the Eye" publication is now on its 8^th edition and "Peanut Pete" has featured in dozens of leaflets, comic books and posters. But Lifeline's publication division recognises that it's can't rely solely on it's income from sales and is now exploring several opportunities to diversify it's income streams.

External Commissions

Around 10 per cent of Lifeline Publication's income now comes from specific commissions from external sources such as local health authorities and government departments looking to develop information resources for hard-to-reach audiences. Lifeline retains all copyright on any products it produces for its commissions.

Selling to retail outlets

The division is currently in talks with some of Manchester's 'paraphernalia' shops that sell smoking implements such as pipes and cigarette papers. The charity wants to sell more mainstream publications such as hardback guides to hallucinogenic and recreational drugs to shop customers for around £9 per issue.

Consultancy services

Lifeline is looking to develop and sell consultancy services to other charities and drug and alcohol units offering professional advice on how to target information resources for service users.

Television programmes

The BBC has approached Lifeline with an idea for a cartoon series based on the exploits of Peanut Pete. The programmes would form part of the BBC's drugs education programme and would target schools, colleges and youth offending programmes.

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Challenges

Lifeline recognises that it's publications division is operating without a strong and structured business plan. In order to properly develop as a long-term sustainable business it intends to seek external advice on how to draw up a business plan and set some realistic income targets.

The division also aims to develop more mainstream publications targeting more non-drug users or people who would never classify themselves as being at risk from drink or drug dependency.  In the past the charity was threatened with closure after repeated attacks by the national media, threat of prosecution from the Greater Manchester Police Authority and criticism from a Home Office.  So it is bracing itself for future publications to receive similar levels of criticism.

Michael says "We're never going to be popular with people and authorities who have different philosophies towards drug use. But as long as we believe that we're creating publications that get through to those who need the information the most then we're still doing our job properly".

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Words of advice

Always prioritise the needs of those you're trying to help over the demands and requirements of funders.

• Recognise what your organisation does best and work on developing something that could help other groups have the same impact that you do.
• Use internal resources. Staff will have skills and capabilities that aren't necessarily highlighted by their day-to-day jobs.
• Think about what products or services would enable you to do your job better and then think about whether you could do this yourself.

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