Of late, the focus of marketing has moved from brands talking to consumers, to brands talking with consumers. Who wants ants a brand that screams them to do something? Most people like to feel like a brand is working for and with them. This trend is particularly prevalent in the new target consumer group, young professionals.
Young professionals have become well connected. They use social media, smartphones, email, and share multimedia at an increasing rate. Young professionals watch television and videos almost exclusively online. Young professionals seek brands that connect with them, address concerns, and strive for loyalty. If a brand is able to communicate and connect with young professionals, they will be loyal to the brand. However, …show more content…
The intent is to make the American Red Cross the number one organization for young professionals, if not their only organization they support. A combination of social media and online communications, permission marketing, and promotional material will be used to effectively target and engage young professionals with the American Red Cross’s message.
The American Red Cross’s network of social media sites and its online communications will be used to keep people interested in finding out more about the American Red Cross’s projects. This will also serve as a platform to give more transparency in what the American Red Cross is able to do with people’s donations. Permission marketing will be utilized to get people to sign up to receive updates about the American Red Cross. These updates will be weekly emails with stories of triumph, recaps for national and/or local events, and totals of the amount of people helped. There will not be any calls to donate. The goal is to make the reader compelled to support the American Red Cross. Finally, the American Red Cross will take an active presence and help sponsor events that see high amounts of young professionals - this includes concert events, races, and college campus activities. These sponsorships will range from being the first aid for the event or concert, to encouraging college kids to get involved and teach them …show more content…
There are over 500,000 volunteers in the US. This is a significant amount of people who give their time to the American Red Cross. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure we are tapping them to recruit their friends and family to help the American Red Cross’s mission. This demographic is motivated by many factors that have brought them to the American Red Cross. Whether it was altruism, personal connection, community service, or another reason, they feel a much larger connection to the American Red Cross than someone who donates money. However, overtime volunteers stop coming, some of them may lose interest in the American Red Cross, or do not believe the American Red Cross is truly committed to its mission of helping. This causes issues within the organization. When employees and volunteers feel disengaged, it leads to problems with lack of morale, complacency, and, as the headlines have written, stealing and mishandling of funds and