4RFUTURE Organization - Assignment Example

Executive Summary:  4RFUTURE is the only organization that is using a social marketing campaign with a focus on overpopulation and resource depletion. We are also the only organization traveling across the nation with that focus, targeting students between the ages of 18-25. Many students are negligent about their impacts on the environment and how they ultimately affect the issue of resource depletion. It is our objective for students to become more aware about the issue, spread the word, and incorporate our campaign into their daily lives.  In order to make students between the ages of 18-25 more aware about their impacts on resource depletion and overpopulation, we are planning to incorporate Guerilla Marketing by traveling across the U.S. to a variety of universities to speak about their effects. Our goal is to increase the number of students’ knowledge of resource depletion and overpopulation 40% across the 10 largest colleges in the U.S. over three weeks. While our budget may be low, we are thankful to the World Health Organization, and the Forest Stewardship Council, supporters in both educating people about the issue of overpopulation, and using recyclable resources. Both organizations plan to fund our trip across the nation (which includes driving in hybrid vehicle), and the cost of our thousands of flyers.  Along with using Guerilla Marketing as part of our campaign, 4RFUTURE plans to hand out plantable informational flyers in order to spread the word about our campaign. These flyers contain wild flower, herb, or vegetable seeds that can be replanted into the earth. Furthermore, we plan to promote a paid internship program for the following year, where interns will not only be able to put that experience on their resume, but they will travel across the nation to 10 different universities with hopes of further spreading the issue of overpopulation. This will provide students with an incentive to get more involved and share what they now about overpopulation and resource depletion with their peers.  In order to implement our solutions, 4Rfuture plans to hand out surveys and flyers before we actually speak to students about the overpopulation and resource depletion issue. At the end of the presentations, we plan to hand out another survey to see what our target market has learned about the issue. The surveys will provide us with a basis of what our target market knew before and after our presentations; ultimately adding to our research about how we can further educate our target market, or the areas in our campaign that require change. Strengths: • We act on our own campaign. We recycle, we replant our flyers, and teach others how to do it. • Since we are passionate about teaching our target market about their impacts on resource depletion and overpopulation, we’re traveling across the nation with funds from reliable sources, and on a cost-efficient budget. • Our trip across the nation will be driven in a hybrid car to show our dedication in decreasing carbon emissions and helping the environment. • We are original. Rather than using media to convey our goals and objectives, we’re using a social marketing campaign in order to interact with our target market. • Part of our social marketing campaign includes a paid internship program for students interested in partaking in the same trip the following year. Weaknesses • Students that throw away our flyers, and disregard our message. • Students who don’t support our message. • Students who think other issues are more important, and counteract our objectives. • Traveling on a low budget. • Limit of universities that we’re presenting to. Opportunities: • No other organization is doing a campaign like ours; targeting students with a main focus on overpopulation and resource depletion. • No other organizations have incorporated an internship program that will enable students to participate in the same campaign. • A large market to reach, because we’re traveling across the nation! • We can do a better job advocating our cause than our competitors-based on what we know from them. • The issue is becoming more serious, so it provides more room for opportunity. Threats: • Competitors with higher budgets • Too many campaigns for environmental issues, so our target audience may lack interest in our particular issue. Target audience: Target college students at the 10 largest colleges across the nation ages 18-25 College wide tour for two-three weeks. 1.      Arizona State University (58,371 students) 2.      University of Central Florida (56,235 students) 3.      Ohio State University (56,064 students) 4.      University of Minnesota (51,721 students) 5.      University of Texas (51,195 students) 6.          University of Florida (50,691 students) 7.      Texas A&M University (48,885 students) 8.      Michigan State University (47,100 students) 9.      University of South Florida (46,612 students) 10.      Pennsylvania State University (43,998 students) Purpose: Educate students across that nation of resource depletion and overpopulation issues Behavior objective: To have students be more aware of resources being used and use less Knowledge objective: To educate students on resource depletion with a focus overpopulation Belief Objective: To believe that using less resources will make a positive challenges for the future Goals: Increase the number of students knowledge of resource depletion and overpopulation by 40% across the 10 largest colleges in the US over three weeks. Motivate students to move from belief objective to knowledge objective to behavior objective. Target audience barriers: Lack of knowledge- students are not aware of risks Lack of interest- wondering “there is no direct benefit for me” WIIFM Too busy- Don’t have enough time to become educated on resource depletion and overpopulation Benefits : Helping the community Competition: Counter-marketing (people who market against the idea) Social discouragement            Strategy: Use of Guerilla Marketing Using plant-able recyclable information flyers traveling across the nation to spread the word with a college-wide tour Funding from World Health Organization and Forest Stewardship Positioning Benefit focused positioning want students to think “Save the resources to benefit our community” Branding Strategies: Focus on consequences of resource depletion Educate the students on urgency of the problem Monitoring and evaluation: We plan on surveying a minimum of 25% of each university via email to the entire student body. A few months after our tour we will send an evaluation to the original participants aiming for a minimum of 10% participation We plan on monitoring the amount of flyers distributed throughout our tour At the end of the presentations, another survey will be handed out to check on what the target market has leant concerning the issue at hand. This will provide instant and direct feedback from participants. Information from the surveys will therefore, assist us in determining the amount of knowledge our target market had prior to and after the learning process, thus providing avenues for making corrections whenever possible. We will also monitor on the application of the learnt knowledge by the target population after the learning process. Therefore, corrections and additional information might be provided to the participants in case they are prone to diversion from correct line or standard. Moreover, students who do not take our message seriously or fail to support will be constantly guided and counseled in order to remove the negative perception about the program and adopt the new measures on the resource use and depletion as well as population control. Budget: The budget, which has been set for this earmarked project, is rather low. This is majorly considering the magnitude of the project.   We do plan to promote a paid internship program for the following year. This budget will not only improve the resume of the participants but will also enable them travel across the nation and visit 10 different universities. Moreover, budgeting for such a noble cause is not considered as wastage since the students will also share with peers information and ideas learnt during the internship and travelling. Moreover, we budget for the surveys and incorporate it into our operational costs. Such early planning ensures certainty in the cost of carrying out the project of informing the youths about the dangers of resource depletion as well as overpopulation. Moreover, we will also budget for other areas we deem possible for campaign target during the course of implementing the campaign project. In addition, costs incurred when using social media will be incorporated in the budget so that the entire cost of the program is known. Despite assistance from other bodies, we also budget for travelling costs during touring of the various institutions so that we determine the exact costs of conducting the journeys. Further, educational costs to be incurred will be included in the budget of the 4 Future We will also travel on a low budget in order to minimize on the costs Consequently, we will minimize the number of universities presented to Therefore, our budget will be cost – efficient to minimize the extent of resource use since our aim is to conserve the resources and support sustainable exploitation. Funding Sources: · World health organization · Forest stewardship council ·Local NGOs and interest groups Implementation plan : 1. We will spend three weeks for the whole Nationwide college tour 2. The implementation of the project will be done through the conducting of tours to key institutions especially those that are made up of the young individuals in the society. This is because young individuals are the target audiences who need the information to enable them make informed choices about resource use and overpopulation. First, young people in institutions form future parents and thus the need for sensitization on controlling population growth through family planning. This is to ensure that future parents know and understand the consequences of overpopulation. For instance, they will know that overpopulation leads to scrambling for the few available resources and thus, leading to their depletion. These universities include; Arizona State University, University of Central Florida, Ohio State University, University of Texas, University of Florida, Texas A & M University, Michigan State University, University of South Florida and Pennsylvania University. Moreover, while at the learning institutions, focus will be on pulling a large crowd through conduction of youth related events and activities, which will result in making a large gathering. A large gathering will then be effective in delivering information about the issues of overpopulation and unsustainable use of environmental resources. Consequently, 4 future will try as much as possible to incorporate youths from the institutions so that fellow students can listen to them when delivering information on the importance of sustainable population growth and wise use of resources. Since more youths will be eager to listen to the entertainment, the 4r future will hold as any several tours and trips to institutions to ensure that the message is got by the right personalities. For stressing on the importance of the project, the tours will be done in a hybrid car. Hybrid cars have little environmental impact by using minimal resources and putting into use waste materials. Therefore, by using hybrid vehicles, we will be leading by example and through demonstration that certain things can be done to reduce environmental impact and reduction on the resource depletion. Thus, by use of hybrid vehicles, we hope that our message of wise use of natural resources and control of human population shall sink well with the youths since we will have avoided any contradictions. At the same time, there will be recycling of certain elements just to bring to light how important it is that the environment be conserved. The implementation of the project will also be done personally as opposed to using tools such as the media. This is because youths like practicable solutions as opposed to idealistic things that seem unclear. In addition, we will; try to cut the cost of producing our thousands of flyers possible. This will also be a demonstration that certain things are achievable and that what is only required is will to do them. Therefore, the production of cheap flyers, which serve their purpose effectively, will minimize resource use and thus, reduce pressure on the few available resources. In addition, we plan to hand out plantable informational flyers to many people to spread out the information to as many people as possible. 3. SOCIAL MEDIA: To ensure that our message reaches the target group directly, we have employed the use of social marketing tools. For instance, we have facebook and Twitter to provide tips and stay on context with our participant. This will ensure constant updates of the youths with appropriate information and data concerning the environment and resource use and depletion. Thus, youths will be able to make quick and informed choices on ways of utilizing the few available resources to minimize overexploitation and thereby resource depletion. Moreover, the use of social media tools reduces the cost of marketing our ideas since direct media is avoided and which normally uses huge chunk of our resources in passing information to the target groups. Moreover, the use of social media will enhance information coverage since social media are unlimited to time and distance, therefore, many people will receive the information at the correct time and at the same time, thus not restricted by distance or affected by weather or climatic factors that influence communication. Work Cited Zarrella, Dan. The Social Media Marketing Book. Beijing: O'Reilly, 2010. Print. Read More