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Tag Archives: 413Assign4
Marketing in Nonprofits
The marketing strategy in a nonprofit organization plays a fundamental role that, like in most cases, determines the organization’s success. There is a countless amount of nonprofits that it is essential to discover an innovative way to capture the public’s attention because, the truth is, we are kind of tired of hearing the same propaganda again and again, which will most likely not make us want to give our money.
David Williamson published a 14-page article called “Marketing and Communications in Nonprofit Organizations”, in which he outlines the importance of marketing in nonprofit organizations, summarizing it into nine different morals. Out of his nine morals, I chose three that were the most relevant in my opinion.
Three Morals…
Williamson says, “Your mission should drive your marketing. If you are trying to change individual behavior or social norms it’s time to invest in social marketing.”
We live in such a fast-paced life in which social media is the place where people express their wants and needs, global discussion is created among the public by both simple and complex topics. Nonprofit organizations have to adapt themselves to these times and seek the public’s attention through the media they use on a daily basis. Williamson believes social marketing, even though it is expensive and requires a level of expertise, is necessary and must be included in the organization’s marketing and communications strategy. Marketing online expert Laura Lake believes it is important to have a balance between marketing online and off since they both bring many benefits to the company.
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| Image from: jlpmoose.webs.com |
A good example of a nonprofit that makes good use of social marketing is Invisible Children. Although it has not been long since we learned about this organization, it is not new but they have spent a lot of time and effort over the last ten years capturing the youth’s attention. They are focused on attention philanthropy doing whatever it takes to get people to pay attention to issues happening around the world. They use celebrities and Hollywood film tactics to not only capture a wide range of attention, but also create political and funding pressure.
Kony 2012 went viral in a matter of days and the reason for its success was the way the story was told, a father explaining to his son the violence happening in Africa. The YouTube video has about 90 million views. The 30-minute long video is not only moving and powerful but it demonstrates how to spread the information and promote action. Invisible Children makes it easy to share their videos and messages on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.
They used a varied mix of celebrities including liberals, such as George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres; philanthropic names, like Warren Buffet and Oprah; pop stars, Lady Gaga and Rihanna; and geeks, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. The celebrities catch the people’s attention and create discussion relevant to the issue. The following word cloud shows the words used in the accounts who posted about #stopkony or #kony2012.
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| Image from: socialmediacollective.org |
Kony 2012 campaign had the objective of making Joseph Kony famous, the Ugandan warlord responsible for terrorizing and kidnapping children. Although there is controversy with this campaign, they had the social marketing part covered in a complete manner and they invested a lot of time and money in it, which helped them achieve their main objective.
The second moral I am going to talk about is, “Your brand defines your organization to the outside world. Take the initiative and define yourself, before one of your enemies tries to define you.”
Building a brand is not an easy task and nonprofits are not very well known for managing their brand because they usually don’t invest the right amount of time in it. The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University developed a study based of the role of the brand in the nonprofit sector. The brand is more than a visual icon: logo, name, or graphic design. It is more the idea of the product or service constructed in the consumers’ mind; a brand can also be described as an intangible asset and a promise that entails what you do, who you are, and why it matters.
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| Image from: allwallsinfo.com |
An example of a well branded nonprofit is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as the COO would agree, “our brand is the single greatest asset that our network has and it’s what keeps everyone together.” The brand creates trust, one of the most influential factors in the nonprofit sector, aligning both identity and image.
WWF it an international nonprofit organization that works toward the conservation, research and restoration of the environment. It has more than 5 million supporters around the world in over 100 countries. WWF strengthened its brand by adding more consistency to the global presence. ASHA, a Brand and Marketing agency in the UK, helped them reinforce the brand a few years ago. WWF was facing a problem that, as ASHA said, “they were in danger of becoming like the Church of England. Everyone likes to have them around, but no one really know what they are for.”
As part of the brand improvement, they brought the Panda to life by adding context and relevance to its use. The Panda was changed into a kind of stencil that reflected the different environments WWF was involved in.
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| Image from: ashawebsite.co.uk |
To bring value to the brand, ASHA created a “value tab” that directs the reader to the information.
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| Image from: ashawebsite.co.uk |
They also created a sector with scientific information with graphs, diagrams, and charts, with the purpose of demonstrating WWF’s science to the world.
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| Image from: ashawebsite.co.uk |
Lastly, ASHA wanted to incorporate emotion to WWF so they added photography to create a link with an audience.
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| Image from: ashawebsite.co.uk |
The third moral is “There is no such thing as the general public. Find the audience that matters most to your mission, and focus on them like a laser beam.”
Choosing your target market is not an easy task. As we always say in class: an age range is not a segment. An 18 year-old boy may have the same interests as a 30 year-old woman, but it all depends on specifics such as age, gender, race, lifestyle, values, beliefs, etc.
Narrowing your target market is key when it comes to delivering the right message. As Williamson says,
“The narrower the audience you choose, and the more audience appropriate our approach, the higher the probability that you can move that audience to action.”
Defining your market requires a close study of whom you want to talk to. Philanthropy expert Susan Burnash believes this is the most complicated part for nonprofits. It sounds wonderful to say “We serve the hungry” rather than say “We serve hungry senior citizens living in the Boston area” that is why narrowing the segment is important because it avoids future marketing disasters.
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| Image from: mymissourian.com |
An example of a well-set target market from a nonprofit is the organization Susan G. Komen. This organization is dedicated to the education and research about causes, treatment, and the search for a cure for breast cancer. The organization started in 1982, you can easily recognize it by the color pink or pink ribbon placed and different products. They have done a good job of strategically placing their logo in products that their target market, middle-aged women concerned with women’s health, often use. For example, they have partnered with Chap Stick, O.P.I., Estee Lauder, among others.
An interesting product they are partnering with is Purina Cat Chow because pet food has no relevance at all with breast cancer but it is actually more common for women than men to own cats. Susan G. Komen is aiming at the segment in a variety of areas, from beauty care to pets to food products.
For a nonprofit to become successful, it is vital to have a well-defined target market because it influences the decisions on how to market your mission, services, or products, as well as understanding the people you are focusing on.
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Non-Profits: Marketing vs. Communications Strategies
This week we have continued learning about non-profit marketing, and how these organizations face different challenges when it comes to getting their message out or even selling their products like ABAN. One of the main ways for an organization to get its message across is through what we have learned in sales classes as an Elevator Pitch, or as David Williams says: Elevator Test.
In the care of non-profits, the Elevator Test is simply a brief and concise statement that tells someone the organizations name, what kind of organization you are, who your program serves or aids, what social problem you are addressing or trying to eliminate, how you differentiate yourself from others, and why anyone should even care about your cause. The last one may seem a little blunt, but you have to remember that certain people will find your cause relevant to them, while others will simply not care. Non-profits must be able to sum up this information in a concise, coherent statement in order to gain support and funding.
Another portion of Mr. Williams’ article told readers about the differences between non-profit marketing and non-profit communications. Mr. Williams did a wonderful job explaining the difference. Marketing, for a non-profit, starts with the customer. Using a “pull” strategy, a non-profit marketer will attempt to steer consumers in the direction they want. Communications, on the other hand, uses a push strategy. Communications activities will push a message or data out in an attempt to win over customers or donations to help out the cause.
When the time comes to design and implement a marketing and communications strategy, one must look back on the basics. Audience, message, and vehicle are the most basic and the most important. Like I said earlier, you must find the way to best identify the people who will care most about your cause. Without people to support you, your cause isn’t going anywhere. Next is your message. Your message serves as a call to action. You can motivate people to support your cause through an effective message. Finally, the vehicle that delivers your message must be effective as well. If you don’t chose the right channels to funnel your message down, then you might as well give up. What’s the point of even running an organization if the people you want to reach out to aren’t getting your message.
MADD uses this advertisement to tell people about the dangers of drinking and driving. The use of the word “your” speaks directly to the reader. Continue Reading
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What An NPO Needs in Order to Survive
Where the next big NPO Brand faltersWe see it happen to the best of the best brands around the world. When the dollar signs will flow a little more if we neglect a few short term marketing tools. Nonprofit organizations do not see the world… Continue Reading
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The Morals of Marketing
For the past week we have focused on the importance of effective marketing communications through a variety of different ways. We discussed the importance of creative briefs and even demonstrated some of our own examples in class. We read a very insightful article written by David Williamson from Georgetown University that offered some great pieces of advice when it comes to developing marketing and communications for nonprofits. Of the nine morals David discusses in this article, I have chosen three that I think truly speak to the nonprofit sector on how to create an effective marketing strategy.
Don’t Just Communicate. Market.
So many nonprofits fall into the trap of clumping marketing and communications together. While there are similarities between the two, they are not interchangeable. Williamson explains that marketing is all about “you”, there is no “we” or “I” but the one and only “you.” Communications is less of the “you” and more of the “we.” While marketing “appeals to the heart” through more a pull strategy, communications “appeals to the head” through more of a push strategy. In order to have the most effective marketing strategy, a nonprofit uses both of these techniques.
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| PUSH vs. PULL |
An organization that is doing a great job of this is Invisible Children. Through their Kony 2012 campaign, Invisible Children used emotional appeal through a very moving video that inspired viewers to get more involved and help get the attention of government officials. Their website also provides anyone who wishes to know more about the details of financials as well as an annual report. This way those who are emotionally connected can also have a better idea of what they are getting involved with.
Your Mission Should Drive Your Marketing.
Nonprofits all have something in common, the desire to promote their mission and help make a difference in the world. That being said, your mission should stand behind everything that you do. In order to have an effective marketing communication strategy, you should be marketing something that makes sense in relation to your organization’s mission. As Williamson points out, this often times means that your organization is trying to change “the behavior of people: health habits, purchasing choices, social norms, voting patterns.”
Sustainability and environmental awareness is something that has become a huge social trend among people and both nonprofit and for profit organizations today. Jill Rasmussen, Co-Owner of Promoting Public Causes, Inc. stresses the importance of creating key messages in order to reach success. According to Rasmussen, the words and phrases that an organization chooses to promote its mission are extremely critical to their success and reputation. You also must be sure that these words and phrases stay true to your organization’s vision.
Through their very informative and sometimes graphic videos, the Wildlife Conservation Society attempts to promote their cause and encourages people to get involved and help the vulnerable animals. However, I think that their videos seem outdated and too much like boring documentaries. While they contain a great deal of good information, they do not keep the viewers engaged or utilize Rasmussen’s idea of specific words and phrases to promote their mission. It seems like they could use some tips from Rasmussen and Williamson on how to best create an effective marketing communication strategy.
Blah blah blah…..
There is no such thing as the general public. Find the audience that matters most to your mission, and focus on them like a laser beam.
So often in class Professor McAlhany stresses the importance of defining a true, for lack of a better word, “target market.” Clearly, she is on to something. J Too often, nonprofits make the mistake of listing the general public as their target audience and then struggle to appeal to the market at all. In today’s society, the general public is far too general an audience. Instead, nonprofits will benefit immensely by establishing a much more definable target and developing their marketing strategy towards them. If they can successfully target the people that will actually care about their mission and vision, the more powerful and effective their message will be.
Do Somethingis a great example of this moral. It is focused solely on getting young people involved in social change –specifically those between the ages of 13 and 15. Their whole campaign focuses on encouraging young people to get involved in “doing something” about the causes that they care about. And just because they aren’t an adult, don’t have money, or maybe don’t have a car doesn’t mean that they cant take action and make a difference. Just look at their “Rules to live by” and see how well they target their audience:
1. Believe in young people. Young people can lead today. We don’t require old people.
2. Trust young people. We provide reliable, easy to access information and activation strategies, but young people decide for themselves what to do.
3.Celebrate young people. We think all measurable contributions from young people are valuable.
4. Listen to young people. We must always respect their varied abilities and time constraints.
5.Value young people. Our programs and products are free. We’re not after young people’s money; we want their passion, time, and creativity.
Sources: http://skollworldforum.org/2006/09/25/ten-steps-to-stronger-nonprofit-communications/
http://cpnl.georgetown.edu/doc_pool/Marketing.pdf
push vs. pull image: http://vanelsas.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/about-leveraging-the-facebook-platform-succesfully-for-your-business/
Do something image: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=do+something&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=z6w-UfG8HZT68QTapIG4Dw&biw=1059&bih=598&sei=0aw-Uc6SCoq09QTG_IGgCw#imgrc=5jY8pbqDkgzzHM%3A%3Bt-LMMsM7Um_rhM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fsi0.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F1706372607%252Flogo_square.png%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252Fdosomething%3B500%3B500
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Name of the Game: Marketing. Rules? Depends on the players.
The “rules” of marketing have been heavily debated. Go ahead and Google “Rules of Marketing” and see what you get. The results are all over the place. There is not one single textbook definition or solid set of principles that every single marketing department and marketing firm adheres by. Personally, I believe it depends on […]
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What do your Morals look like? And What Matters to you?
*Take a look at this video and get a sense of marketing and it’s effect on nonprofit organizations, specifically using this marketing professional in Lincoln.* Getting to know Williamson: David Williamson makes a lot of great points in his essay, Marketing and Communications in Nonprofit Organizations” however three of the main takeaways that I thought […]
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It’s all About the Execution
A Perfect 10Over the past four years at Elon I’ve learned quite a bit about figure skating. Watching the Winter Olympics as a kid on the couch with my mom, I saw Michael Kwan and Tara Lapinski glide effortlessly across the ice in their sparkl… Continue Reading
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The Ingredients to Marketing a Nonprofit Organization
RECIPE FOR SUCCESSFUL NONPROFIT MARKETINGMarketing. We utilize it in every aspect of the business world when it comes to branding a corporation or spreading awareness about a certain business organization. However, when it comes to marketing a nonprofi… Continue Reading
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