The charity has determined that the best marginal use of money for them at the moment is to improve marketing to get even more money. If this will ultimately lead to more being done for the CAUSE than otherwise, I don't see how one has reason to object.
You can, of course, criticize the charity for doing marketing studies if you believe they're wrong about their necessity.
How large foundations look for donors
I don't know how much of this SIAI is already doing, but I thought it would be of interest to anyone who's building up an organization which needs donors. It's also interesting (at least to me-- I've spent my life in a very small business) for how much serious thought can be brought to a project.
One surprising fact: "A large not for profit did a study a few years ago which told them that most of the people who left a million dollars or more to them in their will, unasked-for, gave an average of $17 a year to them during their life."