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Visit: Meningitis Research Foundation

Can you give me some information about a recent marketing campaign?

Image: Securing the support and help of high profile celebrities helps the marketing of non-profit making organisations such as charities. David and Victoria Beckham have been two such celebrities who have helped boost the fundraising of Meningitis Research Foundation. Victoria Beckham and Dr Hilary Jones at the launch of the Meningitis Baby Watch campaign in September 1999. Copyright: Meningitis Research Foundation

Marketing campaigns focus on providing information to the public about the disease and also raising the profile of the disease amongst the public, health professionals and those responsible for health policy. Marketing can be viewed from different perspectives therefore:

• Assessing the needs of the public and looking at how those needs can be satisfied - the demand for information, education, guidance and support, for example.
• Assessing the necessity to keep the profile of the disease high up in the minds of those who are responsible for health policy and resource allocation.
• Marketing the organisation to help maintain the donations to the charity.

A recent awareness campaign - Race Against Time - promoted awareness of the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia and explained that despite recent successes in the battle against these diseases, every year in the UK there were still some 3,000 cases resulting in around 300 deaths.

The campaign was launched simultaneously in Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin with events from a balloon launch in a school to a mini Olympics in a sports stadium, and included the distribution of Race Against Time symptoms leaflets to all GP surgeries in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Nationally, a news release was issued focusing on the continued need for awareness of meningitis and septicaemia and case studies were provided to a variety of media. Local and regional papers across the country published articles and Foundation staff took part in interviews for TV and radio.

A recent campaign to promote fundraising was the 'Slimathon'. In this promotion, members of the public are encouraged to register to take part in a sponsored slim. The promotion was launched just after the Christmas holidays to coincide with the New Year when many people are contemplating shedding the pounds they put on over Christmas and who are making New Year resolutions.

One important aspect of the marketing programme of a charity is the support they get from celebrities. Meningitis Research Foundation has a number of high profile celebrities who act as patrons including the comedy duo Hale and Pace, actor Ewan McGregor, musician Phil Collins, James Dyson, TV doctor Hilary Jones, soccer legend Pat Jennings, and David and Victoria Beckham. Patrons agree to support the charity and get involved in fundraising activities and promotions.

The marketing mix for the non-profit making organisation therefore is slightly different than that for profit making businesses. The emphasis may be on promoting the Foundation to attempt to maximise fundraising to carry out its objectives. The success of a marketing campaign in achieving this objective can, therefore, be measured in terms of the amount of funds raised in comparison to other similar campaigns.

Meningitis Research Foundation can estimate the success of its marketing campaigns through the responses it gets back. These can be through press clippings, calls to the helpline and through health professionals requesting resources for themselves and their patients and information for the general public.

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