Marketing for Charity

Introduction

Marketing refers to the process through which the value of goods and services is informed to consumers. At this point on, the consumer can make an informed decision on whether to buy the good or service from the owner. Marketing is normally a good management tool to use especially when launching a new product in the market. Consumers have to be notified of the existence of this new product in the market. ” Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (American Marketing Association Board of Directors, 2007). “Marketing covers those activities that relate the organization to those parts of the outside world that use, buy, sell or influence the outputs it produces and the benefits and services it offers” (OaShaughnessy, 1995).

Methods of marketing

We shall employ various ways in our marketing process. Examples are emails, social networks, posters, leaflets, and printed t-shirts among other ways. An email refers to an electronic mail that is sent via an internet and a mail service client. Links and/or product details can be sent to consumers via emails by asking the target audience register and be notified on any further details available. A poster refers to large printed picture advertisement that is normally displayed for public viewing. Details about our undertaking will be placed in the picture and then printed for later distribution to the public. A social network is a website that allows people from different geographical regions to interact with each other over the website. Our marketing will be done by our marketing team through these sites by providing a link to a web page that contains details of the product that a company is selling or by placing photo images that best describe the product or service being advertised.

A leaflet is a free distribution of a printed sheet of paper containing information or advertisement. It consists of a printed sheet of paper not larger than A4 paper in size. They are generally used by companies, organizations and individuals to advertise products, services, events and activities. Printed t-shirts have become the latest form of marketing. Useful text or images are printed on t-shirts and then sold to consumers or are worn by marketers to display what the product is all about. All these methods shall be incorporated together to form various flexible ways in which we can reach our target audience easily to achieve the objectives.

Target audience

The aim of this project is to organize a fun and enjoyable event that will raise funds for Rainbow Trust Charity in order to help finance the support. The location being suggested for this event is situated in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, which is on the boarder of North London. Communication with the necessary organization is currently being undertaken and updates will be provided within regular progress reports. The project will be undertaken by five business management students from the University of Bedfordshire, some of whom have previous experience in organizing and running charity events. Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity requires the ongoing support from the general public in order to be able to continuously provide support to the children and families who are affected by a terminal illness.

Without donations from such projects, the charity would be unable to provide the level of support necessary, resulting in fewer families gaining the crucial care they so badly need. The benefits of supporting this charity is the ongoing support they can provide to many families across the United Kingdom, making those lives of those suffering that little bit easier and the continuing connections between charity and family.

The program targets students, staff members, friends and the general public. Students shall benefit from this program in that they shall be able to define what marketing is all about. They shall learn how to present themselves in terms of writing reports and project planning. They shall also get a chance to demonstrate their skills in the art exhibition that is to be held. Friends can also get a chance to increase the friendship bond by providing a helping hand. The general public shall also be invited to join in the fundraising event to help raise the required funds.

Risks

Risk can be defined as the likelihood that something obnoxious or undesirable will happen in the near future. It is also a circumstance that engages exposure to danger. Risk is “a situation involving exposure to danger”, (Oxford Dictionaries, 2012).

The risks involved in our marketing stage are bad weather, insufficient budget, time management, low participation, and illness. Bad weather may hinder the process slow and of low quality since the pinning and distribution of the posters and leaflets can become a hard task to undertake. For example, if it rains, the marketers shall be forced to wait until the rain is over to distribute the leaflets. Alternatively, they can arm themselves with raincoats and umbrellas which might increase the budget slightly higher.

Insufficient budget may render the program incomplete and force the marketers to withdraw earlier than expected before reaching the target. Therefore, enough resources need to be put in place prior to the start of the marketing process. Illness and low participation are other great risks that can be encountered when marketing. The marketer may fall sick on the date scheduled for marketing or there might be a low turn-out of participants and target audience for the marketing task to reach its main objective.

Scope of the project

We expect the project to attract as many people as possible within a short time as we have employed prompt and effective marketing strategies. Marketers will also collaborate with their friends in trying to reach more audience by providing information about the event and assigning them a duty to inform others. The event will be very well coordinated so that time wastage is not experienced in any way and ensure that every area is efficiently scrutinized. The marketers are expected to ensure that they raise enough money to meet the financial requirements needed for the project. A way of monitoring the raised money has been established to ensure all the well-wishers’ funds are accurately accounted for.