1. Executive Summary

1. Purpose of the Plan:

   This marketing plan aims to serve as a tool for administering the initial launch of a not-for-profit cause to bring awareness and relief response to the environmental disaster that attacked the Philippines beginning September 27, 2009. The cause ultimately intends to seek the support of the general public across economies, regions, and social status. However, for scholastic purposes and constraints, the cause will initially be introduced to target market segments of volunteers actively participating in not-for-profit support.

2. Brief Description of the Cause. Rain Love on Manila is a not-for-profit cause that seeks to use the graphic design of its identity to raise awareness and funds as a response to the call for relief in the Philippines after the series of natural disasters since September 2009. One of the steps in accomplishing this goal is by the production and sale of graphic tees globally, the proceeds of which will be distributed among a list of beneficiaries in the Philippines. Another is by the promotion and collection of old clothes, medicines, canned food, and other daily consumables to create care packages for shipping back to the victims in the Philippines. The ultimate goal of the cause is to develop and execute creative means to use the identity design to promote compassion and generosity for the Philippine community; therefore, the steps toward that goal can be numerous. However, for the sake of this academic exercise, the focus of this report will be on the marketing of Rain Love on Manila as a cause that seeks the production and sale of graphic tees. Therefore, the role of the marketing plan is to appeal to an audience that will support Rain Love on Manila in terms of that particular function.
3. Parent company's broad positioning. The organization behind the cause of Rain Love on Manila seeks to become a product leader, a market maker or an innovator.
   

2. Brand Name and Product Positioning

1. RLOM
2. Broad: Product leader/Market maker/Innovator OR Operationally excellent
3. Specific: Best designed
4. Value: More for more. (emotional gratification : donating time, money, resources)
5. TVP: RLOM is a unique initiative to raise awareness and relief for the victims of the super typhoons in the Philippines from September 27 to October 15, using design. The design is an identity of relief - which can be used to brand any relief effort by both volunteer members or target partner organizations. The first effort is a branded shirt campaign, wherein shirts bear the logo of the cause, and are sold, and/or sold and sent to a victim. The second effort is a branded care package drive, which will be shipped to RLOM volunteers that will distribute them accordingly. RLOM is the only cause that gives the option of clothing the victim. RLOM is also the only cause that is supported internationally. RLOM is the only cause that grows with their supporters' ideas. RLOM is the only cause that has both online and physical distribution methods. RLOM is a call to act and not just to empower. (e.g. No Ondoy, Where I'm from, etc.)
   

3. Situational Analysis

1. Current market analysis:

• What organizations (private, corporate, NFP [including charities]) are currently donating cash or kind, in Manila? the US?
• Which organizations donated the most to disaster relief? Like, Hurricane Katrina?
  
• Which organizations actively donate to disaster relief?
• OR
  
• What kind of individuals are currently donating cash or kind, in Manila? the US?
• What kind of individuals donated the most to disaster relief? Like, Hurricane Katrina?
• What kind of individuals actively donate to disaster relief?

There are numerous organizations that have launched efforts to create awareness about the state of the Philippines after the floods that began with Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy.

1. Competitor market analysis:

• What are the current fundraising campaigns in Manila, and the US?
• What are the current volunteer recruitment campaigns in Manila, and the US?
  

4A Segmentation

• How to identify the right customers (those most likely to become volunteers), attract them (entice them to start volunteering), and then keep them loyal (encourage them to continue for as long as possible).

General findings

• Volunteers are scarce and valuable resource.*
• The best agents for recruitment are volunteers who share their positive experiences with others.*
• Most individuals who volunteer learn about the opportunity from personal contact. About 40% become involved because someone asks them and over 25% learn about the work from a relative or friend involved in the activity. Less than 20% seek out the activity on their own.*
  
• Every satisfied volunteer can thus be seen as a potential recruiter.*
• Volunteers do make good recruiters.*
• Vounteers are the children of volunteers.*
• Recruiting new volunteers is ultimately an investment in our future communities.*

What Motivates Volunteerism?

• Approach ONE: Two motivations for becoming involved: (1) altruistic (i.e. benefits for others), and (2) egotistic (benefits for themselves).'
• Approach TWO: Three ways to understand volunteer motivation: (1) psychological needs, (2) conscious reasons, (3) perceived benefits.'
• Individuals volunteer in order to satisfy personal and social needs.'

Possible Segmentation

• "Enthusiastic volunteers" who are likely to volunteer in the next 3 months
• "Social volunteers" who volunteer because they want to meet different people, socialize, keep active and to take their mind off other things. Primarily male, primarily young (average age of 34.5), primarily single, without children. Most low income earners, or not currently working. Most exposed to reading national newspapers, watch pay TV.'
  
• "Community volunteers" who volunteer to improve the community, give something back to society, support an important cause and maintain services. Most attached to the local area in which they live. Most likely to have children, mostly parents. Most part-time workers. Most exposed to reading local newspaper, watch alternative TV channels.'
  
• "Altruistic volunteers" who volunteer as a chance to help others, give something back to society, support an important cause, and set a good example. Primarily old, female, most likely to be married, university graduate, working full-time, highest income earners. Read in their leisure time. They don't play computer games, watch TV or read newspapers.'

4B Target Market

Big Picture

• The pie: All Who Volunteer
• The slices: Motivations to Volunteer (social, community, altruistic)
• The main targets: Community volunteers, and Altruistic volunteers
• A possible secondary target: Social volunteers

Why The Target?

• The CV: RLOM will appeal to them because RLOM's main goal is to improve the current state of the Filipino community, and to give back to the Filipino needy in the society.
  
• The AV: The AV is most likely to commit to supporting the cause of RLOM without any reservations or hesitations, because they simply want to help for the sake of helping. AVs will want to support RLOM because they believe in its selfless goal.
• The SV: RLOM will appeal to them because the idea behind wearing a shirt that other people wear is a fun way to belong in a young network. The current exposure of RLOM now is in Facebook, blogs, and media that the SV always use, so the message will get to them first.
  

Volunteer Profile Based on Primary Data

• Age: 20-36
• Gender: 1:3 ration, 9 males, 27 females
• Most Common Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree
• Most Common Housing Situation: Renting, No Kids, Income-Earning
• Most Common Economic Situation: Working Full-time, Studying Full-time
• Most Common Industry: Advertising, Marketing, PR
• Most Common Media Usage: Internet search engine, Internet emailing, Facebook, TV, Print Magazines and Newspapers
• Top 5 Reasons for Volunteering:
  

1. Chance to help others
2. Give something back to society
3. Support an important cause
4. Feel like I'm doing a good job
5. Will improve my community

• Bottom 3 Reasons for Volunteering:

1. Socialize with people like me
2. I know someone who has benefited from the organization
3. I can build a network of contacts

• Top Things to Volunteer: 1) Money, 2) Skills (managerial, organizational), 3) Talents, 4) Resources (material, contact)
• Top Reasons It's Difficult to Volunteer: 1) Schedule, 2) Financial Liquidity, 3) Lack of information how to begin to volunteer

5. Objectives and Goals

• provide opportunities for personal achievement, allow volunteers to make new discoveries about themselves and others (and the cause), and enable them to feel they are forming social bonds and strengthening their community, provide appropriate training, appropriate feedback and appropriate recognition.
• common reasons for volunteering: (1) achievement, (2) recognition and feedback, (3) personal growth, (4) giving something back, (5) bringing about social change, (6) family ties, (7) friendship, support, bonding and feeling of belonging

Objectives of the Cause Based on the Primary Data

1. to provide opportunities for people to give back to the society
2. to provide the assurance that people are contributing to something great and important
3. to provide a sense of pride for doing a good and selfless job
4. to provide the feeling of accomplishment for improving the community
5. to provide opportunities to help that make it easy and convenient for volunteers to commit their time flexibly, and to donate monetary assistance from a range of price points
6. to disseminate useful and timely information as to the various methods for volunteering

6. Marketing Tactics

C1 Customer Value. The cause provides customers the opportunity to give back to the community, feel good about their selfless efforts, and look good doing it.

C2 Cost to the Customer. The cost of supporting the cause can be viewed in terms of money, time and resources.

• The cost of purchasing the RLOM shirt is $25, the proceeds of which will go to maintaining the operations of the shirt production and shipping, as well as to the victims.
• The cost of supporting the RLOM in general is by: 1) spreading the word about RLOM to their networks, 2) buying the shirt, 3) selling the shirt, 4) donating items for the care packages, 5) collecting items for donation from other people for the care packages, 6) funding the shipping of the care packages, 7) getting someone/some group to fund the shipping of the care packages, 8) offering to run part of the operations of the cause in terms of management of volunteers, reaching out to volunteers, website development, legal cousel, administrative tasks, financial accounting, distribution, advertising/promotions

C3 Convenience. RLOM intends to take place 1) personally (one-on-one), 2) virtually, and 3) physically.

• Personally: Every volunteer is a recruiter of more volunteers, a promoter of the cause, a seller of the shirts, a collector of the care packages
• Virtually: Online presence for promoting the cause, for gathering volunteers and partner organizations, selling the shirts, for collecting monetary donations. (email, search engine tags, Facebook network, Facebook group, mailing list, Google adsense, YouTube, blog, website, sponsor/partner blogs)
• Physically: Designated venues 1) people selling the shirt, 2) partner organizations that have volunteered to sell the shirt, 3) partner organizations that agreed to be dropoff locations for care packages and monetary assistance
• Physically: Official events, and events related to the cause (Filipino community activity, fashion event, school event, design event, fundraising event)
  

C4 Communication. The means to promote the cause is similar to the place (C3). In addition to those above are the following:

• print advertising (magazines, newspapers, postering, flyering)
  
• new media advertising (web, blog, SMS/mobile, search engine tags, forums, e-flyering, emailblasting, e-commerce)
  
• publicity
• events
• celebrity endorsers/spokespeople
• merchandise as promotional tool (tagging system information drives back to main site)
  

7. Implementation Plan/Action Plan
8. Budget
9. Controls
10. References and Notes


*Why People Volunteer. http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/heritage/ComPartnE/WhyPplE1.htm.