Charity Event at High Wycombe - Case Study Example

 Charity Event at High Wycombe Table of Contents Charity Event 2 Event Location 2 Donations obtained 2 Business objectives 3 Key target groups 4 Marketing communications objectives 5 Marketing communications methods used 6 Conclusion 6 Personal Reflective 7 References 8 10 Charity Event Charity events are a crucial branch of our community as they give us the chance to give back to our own community. A charity event raises funds for self maintenance, reach out for more people, and carry out future plans but not to make profits for the shareholders and stakeholders. The costs of services offered by a charity event are not in any way passed down to the benefactor. The services are made possible through the support of individual sponsors and corporate support (Andreasen & Kotler, 2003). A charity event may hire trained personnel or may just use unpaid volunteers who may work even for no compensation. Charity events have been encouraged to hire trained executives so that they can achieve and better their outlined objectives. They have been encouraged do so in order to ensure that they have an enhanced internal management control system, ensuring accountability and responsibility, improving and monitoring the performance of all divisions so as to maximize the benefits from the human resources and the funds (Bloom & Gundlach, 2001). The charity event discussed below dealt with breast cancer among women. Event Location The event was carried out at High Wycombe area in Buckinghamshire. This is a convenient area because the population is high, while it has a long history. Donations obtained Before the event proceeded, donations and volunteers were come together to ensure the event could be successful. Many stakeholders within health, non-profit organisations and other sectors came together to ensure the entire process was successful. More than 200 volunteers were present of which 50 were specialised in fields that are associated with cancer that may include nutrition, therapy and pharmacists. The amount of money raised was £50,000 while the non monetary components that were received included medicine, screening equipments, and capacity of the volunteers. Business objectives Some of the objectives of the event included: Educate women Visiting hospitals for the sick Screening. Women needed to be educated about breast cancer to ensure that they can help fight against the deaths caused by this disease. The sick were visited in the hospitals and homes, and they were helped and encouraged through their treatment. Free screening services to the women who had not been diagnosed were offered at different stations that had been set up. This was to help in the early detection with hope that they will recover if detected with the disease. These objectives strike a balance between the limited knowledge of volunteers in breast cancer management and the satisfaction of the benefactors. They maximize the efforts of the volunteers and the workers while creating awareness and making an impact on the patients by adding value to their lives. The major limit to the services provided by the charity event is the limit of the knowledge volunteer because hiring of qualified and trained personnel is rather very expensive and strenuous to the budget of the event (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). The women who are vulnerable to this disease also benefit by getting education which is valuable enables them to help those who are in endangered. Through education, visiting the sick and screening, the event is able to lay a very strong foundation to attract financiers and well wishers who will support this initiative. They will help in the continuation and expansion of the program because they see the value and impact on the society of the money that they voluntarily donate (Helmut, 2005). Key target groups Three target groups amongst women were outlined to help achieve objectives and reach the women easily because each age group has the same characteristics. Age is a primary factor in the risk factors associated with the vulnerability of the disease (Robert, 2005). This is explained by the fact that 0.43% of the women between the ages 30 to 39 are likely to suffer from breast cancer while 4% of the women above the age of 50 are likely to suffer from the disease (Robert, 2005, p. 46). Therefore the three target groups are women above the age of 50, women between the age of 25 and 49 and women between the age of 12 and 24. The women who have had children or those who are still breastfeeding face a lower risk of having cancer than those who have never had a full pregnancy. Women who use contraceptives orally has a high risk of getting cancer for a period than those who have never used or those who stopped using the contraceptives ten years ago or more (Molly, 2006). The women above the ages of 50 were found in the homes and hospitals, those between the age of 25 and 49 were found in conferences and their places of work while those between the age of 12 and 24 were found in schools and colleges. These shared characteristics gave a base for the formation of target groups. Marketing communications objectives Education helped them realise about the early detection of the disease, the treatment and self analysis. It helps by reducing the chances of death upon the sick and educates them on the ways that they can seek help from the hospitals. The women were also enlightened about the risk factors that increased the chances of the disease which included controllable and uncontrollable factors (Breast Cancer, 2008). Controllable factors included weight, diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, estrogens exposure, stress and anxiety. The uncontrollable factors included race, age, pregnancy, gender, breastfeeding and genetic history (Hunt, 2001). Women were urged to safeguard themselves from the controllable factors and they should notice the slightest symptoms for those who faced uncontrollable factors. One hundred and fifty women were reached through a conference in the first day and the education proved a success. Women were encouraged to share the knowledge with friends and relatives (Brown & Donald, 2003). To ensure this, brochures were provided to all of them. During the visits to the sick, fifty women were being treated through surgery and were provided with drugs they were to take after the surgery. It was noted that the treatment after surgery depended on the recurrence risk that the disease posed. A patient is treated with radiation, drugs or both according to prognosis of the disease. The screening services were done through magnetic resonance, mammography, hereditary test and self examination (Courtney, 2002). Out of the one hundred and fifty women we tested, twenty seven tested positive to breast cancer and they were not aware. Marketing communications methods used To reach the target groups, the most favourable and effective method that the team utilized was promotions, lobby groups, visiting the respective groups and using the media (Pynes, 2004). The promotions carried out were to give out pamphlets that carried information about breast cancer. The pamphlets were used so as to educate by spreading the information wide and to providing information that will last. Lobby groups were used to try and push the government to give breast cancer patients free medical care or assistance in receiving medical aid (Bovaird, Bovaird & Löffler, 2003). The lobby groups were to marshal support to push the government to provide free screening and treatment services for the cancer patients, and to provide any assistive drugs. To achieve the outlined objectives, the women were visited in the hospitals, offices, schools and their homes. The sick who were visited either in the hospitals or their homes to encourage and give them hope. Various media services were used to support the objectives of the charity mission (Breast Cancer Care, 2001). Through the television and radio services, the screening areas were announced while the magazines carried educational articles (Sargeant, 2004). This was successful and was evidenced by the overwhelming turn out to the conferences and the screening centres. Conclusion To succeed in marketing the services being offered, a marketing plan is needed to emphasize and cover the promotion and product. The target group is of outermost importance because they help make necessary decisions in promotion, place and price. In promotion, the media services were very instrumental to ensure that the women were reached. The conferences were well attended by all groups in the various target groups and this was evidence enough that the promotion tool was effective. The charity event offered free service for screening purposes, education talks and support for the sick. This was one of the contributing factors to the success of the mission because the women were willing to be tested. The event was able to provide the best services considering the limit of knowledge about breast cancer by the volunteers and the tight budget. Personal Reflective Planning and marketing communication is an important topic in marketing, and has continuously ensured that marketing strategies and objectives are achieved. Exploring on planning and marketing communication has expounded my idea of marketing promotion, and planning process. Planning process has enabled me to understand strategies and means of ensuring resources are allocated optimally. This has ensured that I can easily allocate time and media to ensure the success of any marketing strategy. Marketing communication is ensuring that the consumers understand what is offered, and means that they can access eh product or service. Communication can take different perspectives that may include promotion. Promotion may include advertisement and other strategies that are used t inform the consumers. It has ensured that I understand numerous strategies and means to prove my marketing communication means. References Andreasen A. & Kotler P. 2003. Strategic marketing for nonprofit organizations, 6th Ed. New Jersey, Prentice Hall Breast Cancer. 2008. Breast Cancer Risk Cancer. Retrieved from http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/risk/factors.jsp [March 11, 2010] Bovaird T & Bovaird G & Löffler E. 2003. Public management and governance. Oxford: Routledge. Breast Cancer Care. 2001. Breast awareness. Breast Cancer Care Bloom N. & Gundlach G. 2001. Handbook of marketing and society. Newcastle: Sage Brown H. & Donald L, 2003. Breakthrough management for not-for-profit organizations: beyond survival in the 21st century. London: Greenwood Publishing Group. Courtney R. 2002. Strategic management for voluntary nonprofit organizations. London: Routledge. Helmut K. 2005. Nonprofit organizations: theory, management, policy. Oxford: Routledge. Hunt K. 2001. Breast cancer. Available at http://www.springer.com/?SGWID=0-102-0-0-0 Mayo Clinic Staff. Treatment and drugs. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer/DS00328/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs [March 11, 2010] Molly, S. 2006. Comprehensive Nonprofit Marketing Strategy to Meet Multiple Goals. Retrieved from http://non-profit-marketing.suite101.com/article.cfm/forprofit_marketing_for_nonprofit_communication [March 11, 2010] Pynes J. 2004. Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Robert D. 2005. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Sargeant, A. 2004. Fundraising management: analysis planning and practice. Oxford: Routledge. Bibliography Sargeant, A. 2005. Marketing management for nonprofit organizations, 2nd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press The Cochrane Library. 2007. Regular Self-examination or clinical examination for early detection of cancer. Retrieved from http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD003373/frame.html [March 11, 2010] Theodore, H. 2003. Measuring performance in public and nonprofit organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 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