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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Campaign Proposal. Copyright ©2014 Ignite IMC. CONFIDENTIAL.
Prepared for
11441 Summer House Ct
Reston, VA 20194
on
August 1, 2014
St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital
An IMC Plan for
Prepared by
Objective:
To position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young professional market, building an affinity
for St. Jude among Millennials by using innovative tactics to authentically engage and activate this crucial
demographic and cultivate strong base of life-long St. Jude supporters.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Opening Letter 5
Agency Materials 6
Logos and Business Card 6
Letterhead Example 7
Agency Credentials  Identity 8
About Ignite 8
Where We Stand 8
Our Philosophy 8
Mission Statement 9
Approach 9
Core Competencies 9
Press Release 12
Partner Background 13
Situation Analysis 13
Overview 13
History 13
Foundations  Progress 14
Branding  Position 15
Challenges  Future Direction 16
Target Market Analysis 17
Demographics 18
Psychographics 18
Unique Characteristics 18
Young Professionals and Nonprofits 19
SWOT Analysis 20
Brand Perception 22
Brand Positioning 23
Brand Personality 25
Honest 26
Effective 26
Personal 26
Modern 27
Integrated Communication Strategy Statement 28
Creative Brief 29
Communication Plan 30
Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics 30
Budget Summary 39
Creative Executions 40
Measurement  Evaluation 50
Focus Group Results 50
Knowledge of St. Jude 51
St. Jude Marketing 52
Millennials 52
Millennials and non-profits 53
Integrated Communication Strategy Statement 53
Communication Plan  Tactics 54
Predicted Impact of Campaign 54
Campaign Evaluation 55
Conclusion 57
References 58
Appendices 61
Appendix A - Online Survey 61
Appendix B - Communications Timeline 72
Appendix C - Budget Summary 73
Appendix D - Focus Group Moderator’s Guide 74
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 4
Executive Summary
The non-profit landscape and the Millennial generation are, without a doubt, challenging to navigate. But
where others see road blocks, Ignite IMC sees opportunity.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a well established and incredibly effective non-profit organization
supporting children with catastrophic diseases and their families through groundbreaking research and the
treatment it supports. Young professionals are a segment of the Millennial generation that, in the face of
misconceptions, are more than willing to support the right non-profit or charity for them by means of their
donations, volunteering, and rapidly expanding online social influence.
Ignite IMC is the force that will unite these two groups to create a profound and lasting
impact.
As a B-corporation, Ignite IMC has been founded with a dedication to submitting ourselves to third-party
certification and a higher standard of purpose, accountability, and transparency. In addition to opening
ourselves up in this way common to B-corporations, Ignite has pledged to give 100% of its profits back to
our local community and deserving charities. We believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be
the change they wish to see in the world; we are here to ignite that fuel in ourselves and for those with whom
we partner.
For our valued partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ignite IMC will leverage our digital, social,
mobile, creative, and advertising expertise in ways supported by extensive and targeted research to deliver
a highly engaged and supportive audience of young professionals that will fuel enthusiastic and genuine
support in the short and long term.
IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194
Kevin Kestler
Ignite IMC
11441 Summer House Ct.
Reston, VA 20194
August 1, 2014
Ms. Melanne Hannock
Sr. Vice President, Marketing
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis TN 38015-3678
Cc: Ms. Shelby Anderson and Ms. Katie Foster
Dear Ms. Hannock:
I would like to express my great appreciation for having been given the opportunity to present Ignite IMC’s
campaign proposal for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We are very excited to share with you what
we have put together, and are hopeful for an opportunity to partner with such an incredible and impactful
organization.
Ignite IMC was founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations like St. Jude that choose to do good
and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers nonprofits
carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to authentically engage with a well-
understood target audience. But more than that, we hold at our core a drive, inspired by our nonprofit
partners, to give back to the community—among other ways, through our B-corporation status.
At Ignite, we believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be the change they wish to see in
the world; we are here to ignite it. That process begins with thorough research of your target market and
competition to learn the landscape before crafting integrated campaigns and compelling stories to achieve
your goals. To achieve your goals, Ignite will call on any and all necessary tools from our extensive
marketing communications toolbox. Digital, social, mobile, creative, advertising, branding, positioning,
public relations—we’ve got it all covered.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any questions you may have. I look forward to this being
just the beginning of a long, productive, and impactful relationship between Ignite IMC and St. Jude.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kestler
Founder  CEO
Ignite IMC
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 6
IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194
SA
M
PLE
LETTERH
EA
D
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 8
ig•nite ig-’nīt : to give life or energy to (someone or something); to heat up; to set in motion
About Ignite
You are more than your logo. You are more than your website. You are more than the weight of the stock on
which your business card is printed.
You are more. And so are we.
Ignite IMC was founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations that choose to do good and hold
themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers nonprofits carefully
considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to authentically engage with a well-understood
target audience. But more than that, we hold at our core a drive, inspired by our nonprofit partners, to give
back to the community.
Where We Stand
Ignite IMC brings a fresh perspective and fiery resolve to the nonprofit sector. We are a full-service
integrated marketing agency that can help you with everything from creative design to the most involved
ongoing social engagements and community events. We are constantly learning and growing, leveraging
the latest proven tactics and technologies to help our partners fuel meaningful and lasting change.
Where others talk the talk with nonprofit clients, Ignite walks the walk. As a B-corporation, we at Ignite IMC
have chosen to hold ourselves to a higher standard and a greater purpose, giving 100% of our profits back
to our community. We are using business as a force for good and want to help you do the same.
Our Philosophy
We believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be the change they wish to see in the world; we
are here to ignite it.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 9
Ignite IMC creates meaningful marketing. We understand your mission as a nonprofit, as well as your
challenges. We understand that you must function in much the same way as a typical business but with half
the budget and twice the purpose—and we understand why you do it.
We use stories—not pitches—to help our partners—not just clients—create authentic, personal connections
with their audience. We exercise unwavering integrity in the course of exceeding expectations. And thanks
to our B-corp status, you can rest assured that, like every penny given to you is being used to do the greatest
good possible, so is every penny you give us.
Mission Statement
Our mission, in no small part inspired by our incredible nonprofit partners, boils down to one defining drive:
to ignite the fuel of meaningful change.
Approach
Marketing campaigns are only as good as the research behind them. At Ignite IMC we conduct in-depth
market and competitive research to fully understand the landscape before crafting integrated campaigns and
compelling stories to achieve your goals.
Ignite values close collaboration with our partners. We want you to see us as part of your team, and you will
certainly be treated as part of ours. We’re not a one-and-done, in-and-out agency. We are in the business
of forging long-term relationships with our partners and helping them ignite lasting personal connections with
their audience.
Core Competencies
Ignite IMC is a full-service agency that lives up to the name. Here’s a little fuel to get your imagination
going:
Digital
We fully embrace the promise of the digital landscape in the context of nonprofit and cause marketing and
have perfected the art of using emerging digital technologies to fuel real-world impacts.
•	 Front-end web design and development for new websites and redesigns alike
•	 Fully responsive online experiences from purpose-driven landing and donation pages to entire
websites
•	 Rich digital storytelling that earns your audience’s emotional interest and support
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 10
Social
Social media has opened up exciting new possibilities for nonprofits. Ignite IMC knows that social is not
objective in itself but is a tactic and a tool to help you achieve your greater goals. We will help your
nonprofit expertly navigate the social landscape and take advantage of the authentic connections and
grassroots support it has to offer.
•	 Authentic personal engagement with key market segments in their native online communities
•	 Design and execution of two-way social media community management
•	 Socially driven cause marketing and fundraising
•	 Digital word-of-mouth via social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and
more.
Mobile
We have, in many ways, become a mobile first society. Most of us have a powerful computer and
communications device on our hip 24/7. This platform comes with its own unique advantages for nonprofits
and Ignite IMC can help you leverage them to their greatest potential.
•	 Reach your audience on a platform that almost never leaves their side
•	 Mobile-first design for web, email, and social campaigns that will fully immerse your target audience
at any touch point
•	 Capitalize on authentic face to face connections at events by providing your supporters with an
immediately actionable call to action on their mobile device
Creative
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We think that’s an understatement. High-quality creative work
can efficiently and emotionally speak for your brand in a way that words simply cannot.
•	 Logos that uniquely and accurately reflect your brand, its mission, and its personality
•	 Forget stock photos. Let us shoot high-quality photos of your actual office, people, products, and
events
•	 Videos from six-second Vine loops to high-quality productions highlighting your inspiring work
Advertising
Bolster connections with your current consumers and establish a presence with a larger audience.
•	 Print and online, still and interactive, social and mobile. Your message will reach the right people at
the right time in the right place.
•	 Data-driven advertising strategies to give you the best visibility for your advertising dollar
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 11
Branding/Positioning
Give your brand a life and personality of its own.
•	 Develop a clearly defined brand position and voice that authentically represents your organization
and its goals
•	 Solidify your position among charities and nonprofits and make it clear to potential donors why your
organization is deserving of their support
Public Relations
It takes much more than just marketing to consumers to help your nonprofit succeed.
•	 We will support your organization with professional public relations communications
•	 Ignite can function as your liaison to the media, providing you with print-ready content to ensure
earned media is on-message and engaging
IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194
For Immediate Release
August 1, 2014
Contact:
Kevin Kestler
Founder  CEO, Ignite IMC
kevin.kestler@gmail.com
(202) 615-6116
Integrated Marketing Agency Ignite IMC Opens for Business
New agency focuses on creating meaningful and innovative marketing for charities and nonprofits
Reston, VA (Aug 1, 2014) — Ignite IMC, a full-service integrated marketing communications agency
in Reston, VA, has announced its official opening for business. The agile marketing agency focuses on
creating carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to help charities and nonprofits
authentically engage with their audience.
Ignite IMC brings a fresh perspective and fiery resolve to the nonprofit sector. The agency assists clients in
everything from creative design to the most involved ongoing social engagements and community events.
Ignite leverages the latest proven tactics and technologies to help its partners fuel meaningful and lasting
change. The company was founded as a B-corporation, submitting itself to third-party certification and a
higher standard of purpose, accountability, and transparency.
“We believe that nonprofit organizations that choose to do good and hold themselves to a higher standard
deserve an agency that does the same,” said Kevin Kestler, Founder and CEO of Ignite IMC. “As a
B-corporation, we have chosen to walk the walk, giving 100% of our profits back to our community. Our
highest motivations of creating a material positive impact on our society align with the motivations of our
nonprofit partners. We are offering our marketing expertise to help these partners achieve the awareness
and support they unquestionably deserve.“
Ignite is currently accepting new clients. For more information, visit IgniteIMC.com or tweet @IgniteIMC.
###
About Ignite IMC
Ignite IMC (www.IgniteIMC.com) is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency
headquartered in Reston, VA and founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations that choose to do
good and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers
charitable organizations and nonprofits carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics
to authentically engage with a well-understood target audience. Ignite holds at its core a drive, inspired by
its nonprofit partners, to give back to the community. As a B-corporation, Ignite IMC holds itself to a higher
standard and a greater purpose, giving 100% of profits back to the community.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 13
Partner Background
Situation Analysis
Overview
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (St. Jude) is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation based in Memphis,
Tennessee (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014i). The St. Jude mission is “to advance cures, and
means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the
vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability
to pay.” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014j).
From humble beginnings, St. Jude has become one of the world’s foremost pediatric cancer research and
treatment centers.
History
“It all began with a simple promise.”
Danny Thomas was a young man with a struggling
entertainment career and a baby on the way. After
attending a particularly moving mass in a Detroit
church, Danny placed his last $7 in the collection box
and prayed for a way to pay the hospital bills looming
just over the horizon—and the following day was
offered a part that would pay him ten times the $7 he
had given to the church (St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital, 2014d).
Having experienced the power of prayer, Danny was
reinvigorated and went on to achieve some success,
but couldn’t quite make it through to the next level.
He prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of
hopeless causes, saying “help me find my way in
life, and I will build you a shrine” (St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 2014d). Years later, after a
flourishing career of international celebrity, St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital is Danny’s fulfillment of
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 14
that promise. The fuel that has ignited and motivated St. Jude as an organization since can best be described
by Danny himself: “No child should die in the dawn of life” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014e).
Foundations  Progress
To help fund the considerable annual operation
costs of the early St. Jude, Danny Thomas turned
to his fellow Lebanese-Americans and Arabic-
speaking Americans for fundraising help. In
1957, 100 representatives of this community
came together to form the American Lebanese
Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) with the sole
purpose of generating fundraising support for
St. Jude (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
2014d). With this support—which still continues
today—the doors of St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital opened on February 4, 1962 (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014e).
In the intervening years, St. Jude’s progress
has been nothing if not miraculous. Treatments
pioneered at St. Jude have helped to drive the
overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20%
in 1962 to more than 80% today with the goal
of reaching 90% in the next decade (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). In fact, with
a major focus on acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL), St. Jude has been able increase children’s
survival rates for this terrible disease from just 4%
before 1962 to 94% today (St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 2014h).
Today, St. Jude has treated children from all
50 states all around the world and accommodated 67,000 patient visits per year on average (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). Groundbreaking research and daily operating costs of $2 million per
day are supported in great part over 35,000 fundraising events per year and annual donations exceeding
$880 million (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014a; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g).
Five-year cancer survival rates - 1962 vs. present* (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014f)
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 15
Branding  Position
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a veritable powerhouse among charitable organizations,
accomplishing feats far beyond those of a typical singular hospital. The St. Jude name is mentioned by
industry experts alongside the likes of the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, ranks
18th on Cone’s Power 100 Nonprofit list, and is the nation’s top children’s cancer hospital according to U.S.
News and World Report (Zmuba, 2011).
St. Jude separates itself from other similar charitable organizations in several ways. First among them is St.
Jude’s dedication specifically to children. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive
Cancer Center devoted solely to children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). St. Jude has
earned a reputation as a premier treatment facility for the toughest cases and most aggressive forms of
childhood cancer that other facilities have struggled to treat successfully. Specifically, St. Jude serves as a
national referral center for children with cancer and a local referral center for children with cancer, blood
disorders, and HIV/AIDS (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014c).
Despite its treatment and research focus on children,
St. Jude sets itself apart by cultivating donors from
all walks of life. St. Jude takes more of a lifecycle
marketing approach to fundraising, vying to make
an impression long before most other charities and
nurturing these supporters throughout their entire
lifetimes. Helping to encourage these supporters
stick around for the long run are a bevy of celebrity
supporters, the ongoing and highly public success of
the St. Jude institution, and one other crucial factor: trust. Harris Interactive rates St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital the most-trusted charity in the nation—an invaluable differentiator that can help St. Jude earn donor
support in an economy today that is drastically different from that during Danny Thomas’ or his children’s
generations (Zmuba, 2011).
Not only is St. Jude a world-class treatment facility, but it also is home to some of the most groundbreaking
research into the root causes of catastrophic diseases in children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
2014i). This research and its breakthroughs, in turn, contribute directly back to leading-edge treatment and
allow St. Jude to offer more clinical trials for cancer than any other children’s hospital (St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 2014h).
At St. Jude, a focus on children, world-class treatment, and groundbreaking research have come together,
becoming more than the sum of their parts, to create “a place for hope” (broomcr, 2008). The best available
treatments give parents of sick children time, hope, and support. Thanks to ongoing leading-edge research,
parents of children who were unable to overcome their diseases can take comfort in knowing that their
“No other organization
can claim to have such
a profound, lasting, and
meaningful impact on
the lives of children and
pediatric illnesses.”
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 16
child’s brave fight will serve to prevent similar suffering in the lives of other children and their families.
No other organization can claim to have such a profound, lasting, and meaningful impact on the lives of
children and pediatric illnesses as a whole.
Challenges  Future Direction
St. Jude’s daily operating budget of $2 million might sound like a lot, but it is crucial that this money is spent
wisely. Much of the media St. Jude uses for marketing and promotion is donated, discounted, or earned
(Zmuba, 2011). In large part, St. Jude relies on cost-effective marketing channels such as public relations,
social media, and its own website. A quick search for St. Jude’s current social media accounts reveals that
they have amassed a very respectable social audience of over 2.2 million people, including
•	 1.69+ million Likes on Facebook,
•	 359,000+ Twitter followers,
•	 265,000+ followers on Google+
•	 24,000+ Instagram followers,
•	 4,800+ YouTube subscribers, and
•	 230+ Pinterest followers.
St. Jude’s social media and web content tends to focus on current and previous patients as well as
fundraising and awareness events and is generally well-received and generates positive engagement.
While St. Jude also competes for awareness and donations with other charities and nonprofits. In the
treatment space, St. Jude competes with the likes of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a nationwide
network of high-profile and respected hospitals with a broad variety of treatment specialties. In terms
of fundraising for children’s healthcare, St. Jude competes with the Children’s Miracle Network, an
international nonprofit fundraising organization supporting children’s hospitals. St. Jude must also compete
for support with organizations like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which, while not competitors in the medical
space, are able to tell compelling stories of non-medical support for sick children and their families—thereby
competing for the attention and support of the same audience St. Jude seeks to reach.
Beyond other organizations, St. Jude must also contend with industry-wide challenges. In the course of
telling the story of its organization and the children it helps, St. Jude is necessarily exposing the general
public to a certain level of the traumatic suffering of others, which can result in compassion fatigue: a
gradual decrease in compassion over time mostly due to a growing feeling that support efforts are becoming
increasingly pointless and ineffective (Joslyn, 2002). Potential donors eventually become desensitized to
the stories many charities and nonprofits like St. Jude share to evoke compassion and encourage support
and skeptical about how well any donations are being used (Donaldson, 2012). With nationwide charitable
giving more or less level over the past four years, St. Jude must overcome hurdles like compassion fatigue
to bolster donor retention (typically more economical than new donor acquisition) as much as possible
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 17
(Haydon, 2011).
Clearly, the stakes of St. Jude’s overall marketing programs are high. As of St. Jude’s 2013 Annual Report,
donations alone accounted for 68% of total annual revenue and cover 94% of total annual expenses (St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014a). With an average individual donation of just $30, St. Jude must
mobilize all of the 5 million donors and 1 million volunteers on its books to maintain steady progress (St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g; Zmuba, 2011).
A crucial part of St. Jude’s fundraising effort is its young professional platform, which accounts for $30
million in donations annually (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). Within this platform, St. Jude
has launched several successful efforts. Friends of St. Jude, with a focus on consumers ages 22-40, helped
to raise funds, awareness, and volunteer participation among young professionals (St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 2014g). St. Jude has also historically leveraged strong relationships within the collegiate
space, specifically with the Tri Delta sorority and St. Jude Up ’til Dawn fundraisers which together boast over
38,000 participants (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g).
Not only does this demographic support
St. Jude financially, but for two years
in a row St. Jude has been recognized
by Forbes as the top company where
Millennials want to work. It is clear that
St. Jude is well-known and respected
among Millennials, but it has faced
several challenges here as well. St. Jude has often lost touch with graduating college seniors—9,000 St.
Jude supporters are expected to graduate this year alone (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g).
Millennials—particularly young professional audience—and their driven, connected lifestyles represent a
huge opportunity for St. Jude to generate support now and build a foundation for the future. St. Jude must
find a way to maintain its strong relationship with graduating seniors and reconnect with those who have
lost contact, leverage social networks and native influence to win the competition for this generation’s
fundraising dollars, and cultivate a strong base of life-long Millennial supporters who will generate
consistent return on investment.
Target Market Analysis
Young professionals are a large demographic with quickly growing spending power and economic
influence. They are unique from any generation that has come before them and are proud of it. As a brand,
reaching this generation presents challenges that involve tactics drastically different from what many large
corporations have come to embrace in recent decades, and some brands are facing these challenges more
gracefully than others.
“Millennials—particularly
young professional audience—
and their driven, connected
lifestyles represent a huge
opportunity for St. Jude.”
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 18
Demographics
Young professionals between the ages of 21 and 30 fall squarely in the middle of a generation known as
Millennials. While there is some variation between sources, Millennials are frequently considered to be
the generation born between 1977 and 1995. This encompasses 77 million Americans or 24% of the total
U.S. population—which is equivalent in size to their parents’ Baby Boomer generation (The Nielsen Group,
2014).
Beyond that, there are few similarities between Millennials and Boomers. Millennials are marrying at a
rate half that of Boomers and account for 20% of all U.S. same-sex couples (The Nielsen Group, 2014).
They prefer living in urban areas rich with culture, social interaction, and diversity. Whereas the Boomer
generation’s make-up was mostly driven by high birth rates, the Millennial generation’s growth has been
fueled immigration (The Nielsen Group, 2014). At 43% non-white, Millennials are the most ethnically diverse
generation in the U.S. (Drake, 2014).
In a historical and global context, the Millennial generation has been defined by the growing AIDS
epidemic, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the fall of Berlin Wall and Soviet
Union, September 11th, and immersion in technologies like email, texting, and social media (Fromm, Lindell,
 Decker, 2011).
Psychographics
The Millennial generation is not only demographically more diverse than previous generations, but it is
also more tolerant and appreciative of that diversity, likely due to being exposed to it so frequently both in
person and online (Nahai, 2013). Millennials are confident and socially aware, valuing equality and social
responsibility (Nahai, 2013). Their lifestyles are fairly quiet, consisting largely of hanging out with friends,
listening to music, and watching TV—but they are very distrustful of mainstream media (Nahai, 2013). This
means that earned media like word-of-mouth, peer reviews and recommendations are the most influential
in their purchasing process. Vehemently defensive of their individuality, Millennials will strive to avoid being
painted with a broad brush or placed into a single category tightly-defined, though many have tried to do
just that (Griner, 2014).
Unique Characteristics
Millennials have higher student loan debt, higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of
wealth and personal income than when the two generations before them were at the same stage in their lives
(Drake, 2014; Petro, 2013). Some have blamed Millennials themselves and a perceived sense of entitlement;
others believe it was in fact the Baby Boomer generation that has left Millennials to inherit a struggling
and volatile economy and ailing planet (Balkin, 2014). Despite these hardships, Millennials are extremely
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 19
confident about their future—they have big shoes to fill in terms of the economic output and spending power
of their predecessors, and they fully intend to do so (Drake, 2014; Petro, 2013). Beyond these economic
aspirations, Millennials thrive and gain fulfillment within the online and social ecosystem they have in large
part constructed for themselves. Any brand that wishes to earn for itself the benefits of this generation’s
current and future spending must fully understand its demographic diversity, individuality, and connectedness
(Petro, 2013).
Young Professionals and Nonprofits
Millennials, in general, are
highly engaged with cause
marketing and nonprofits.
Affiliation with a cause is more
important to the Millennial
generation than to any previous
generation (Fromm, Lindell,
 Decker, 2011). In fact, in a
survey conducted by Ignite IMC
on behalf of St. Jude, 61.8% of
Millennial survey respondents
expressed a desire to find a
charity or nonprofit to support
over the course of their lifetime
(this survey can be found in full
in Appendix A. Its results and
implications will be revealed and discussed throughout this plan). As Millennials’ digital prowess would
suggest, social media is one of the main ways Millennials learn about nonprofits and cause marketing
initiatives, but they’re also comfortable engaging with nonprofits via mobile and online (Fromm, Lindell, 
Decker, 2011).
While previous generations have been willing to donate money and used goods, Millennials go the extra
mile. They will buy products and services where that purchase supports a cause, they will volunteer their time
to organize and attend charity events, and they will actively advocate for causes they believe in (Fromm,
Lindell,  Decker, 2011). Millennials view their time, their social networks, and their voice as potentially
very valuable assets they can “donate” to a cause beyond financial and physical goods (Feldmann,
2014). However, Millennials don’t part with their valuable time, money, and online voice without careful
consideration. Young professionals want to make sure their hard-earned dollars are being put to good
use when donated, and are sticklers for corporate social and fiscal responsibility—63.6% of Millennial
respondents to Ignite’s survey said they research a charity or nonprofit before making a donation or
(Ray, Willis,  Pattat, 2012)
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 20
choosing to volunteer. While this may sound like a high standard to meet, St. Jude is currently in a good
position to cater to this market with its continued commitment to effective resource utilization (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014b).
Unfortunately, St. Jude has seen a
disconnect from Millennials over recent
years. St. Jude received donations from
303,000 Millennials in Fiscal Year 2013,
a 16% decrease from Fiscal Year 2012
(Ray, Willis,  Pattat, 2012). A closer
examination reveals that St. Jude seems
to be connecting with older Millennials
(30-35 years of age) but is not as effective
in connecting with younger Millennials. In
addition, the median household income of
Millennials is $58,000—$13,000 higher
than that of the St. Jude active donor
population (Ray, Willis,  Pattat, 2012).
Research suggests that St. Jude scores high
in the brand attributes that are important
to Millennial donors, and Millennials
clearly have the means to become active
St. Jude supporters, so the shortcoming appears to be in reaching the younger reaches of the Millennial
generation with the right message and the right opportunities to engage with St. Jude (Ray, Willis,  Pattat,
2012). Ignite’s survey showed that 47.3% of Millennials were unclear about what exactly St. Jude’s mission
is and 20% were completely in the dark—the breakdown is seemingly in communication and not any kind of
fundamental disconnect between St. Jude and the Millennial audience.
SWOT Analysis
St. Jude has several internal strengths and weaknesses that position it for both external opportunities and
threats. This SWOT analysis serves to identify these factors both individually and in relation to each other.
Among St. Jude’s greatest strengths are its generally high awareness, celebrity support, and world-class
research and treatment. Despite past difficulty reaching young professionals, St. Jude is in a position to
capitalize on the intersection of its favorable brand attributes and Millennials’ desire to make a difference.
“St. Jude scores high in
the brand attributes that
are important to Millennial
donors, and Millennials
clearly have the means
to become active St.
Jude supporters, so the
shortcoming appears to be
in reaching the younger
reaches of the Millennial
generation with the right
message and the right
opportunities to engage with
St. Jude.”
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 21
Helpful Harmful
InternalExternal
S ThreatsOpportunities
Strengths Weaknesses
W
O T
•	 High awareness among general
public
•	 Large existing social media audience
•	 Strong existing connections with segments
of target market
•	 Large internal workforce dedicated to
fundraising
•	 Recognizable celebrity
spokespeople
•	 Groundbreaking research  medical
breakthroughs
•	 Low awareness among specific target
audience (young professionals age 21-
30)
•	 Social audience could be more engaged
in two-way conversation
•	 High daily operating costs
•	 Available stories are often sad or deeply
emotional, can evoke compassion
fatigue
•	 Decreasing donations from target
market
•	 Difficulty reaching younger Millennials,
especially recent college graduates
•	 Target market has higher median
household income than current active
donor population
•	 Increasing acceptance of and support for
charity, cause, and nonprofit content on
social media
•	 Target market willing more willing to
volunteer time than past generations
•	 Target market views its network  social
voice as an assets it’s willing to share with
a nonprofit
•	 Increasing popularity of workplace
fundraising and employer donation
matching
•	 Many young professionals are seeking
a nonprofit to support over their
lifetime
•	 Target market has a very high standard
of fiscal and corporate responsibility for
organizations to which it will donate/
volunteer
•	 Economy still recovering from Great
Recession
•	 Compassion fatigue among donors and
supporters
•	 Many charities and nonprofits fighting for
limited donations
•	 Hard to keep up with young
professionals’ use of a rapidly changing
digital  social landscape
•	 Many young professionals support of a
nonprofit is contingent upon a personal
connection with its mission
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 22
Brand Perception
As mentioned above, there is a communication breakdown between St. Jude and the young professional
audience. To gather further information Ignite IMC conducted a quick survey. Promoted via social media,
the short online survey (detailed in Appendix A) gathered responses from 88 individuals, including 55
in the Millennial demographic (62.5% of total respondents). Responses were collected at https://www.
surveymonkey.com/s/WSFWMCN between October 23, 2014 and November 6, 2014. This survey
revealed that 47.3% of Millennials expressed uncertainty about what exactly St. Jude’s mission is and 20%
were completely in the dark. While St. Jude scores high in brand attributes that are important to Millennials,
there appears to be a gap between fulfilling this ideal and specific familiarity and connection directly with
St. Jude (Ray, Willis,  Pattat, 2012).
However, a lack of familiarity with the particulars of St. Jude’s mission doesn’t seem to have affected the
light in which young professionals view St. Jude. Of Millennial survey respondents, 73% agreed that they
viewed St. Jude positively; over 36% strongly agreed with this sentiment. Rather than just a generic positivity
toward the St. Jude brand, 62% of Millennial survey respondents said they viewed St. Jude as an honest
and respectable organization. This kind of trustworthiness is essential in earning the support (especially the
financial support) of young professionals who do not part easily with their valuable time, money, and voice.
In addition, the perceptions described above aren’t empty; rather, they are enough to move young
professionals to action. In Ignite’s survey, 45% of Millennials expressed a willingness to donate money to St.
Jude and 31% expressed willingness to volunteer at a fundraising event.
In other words, young professionals have expressed a general positivity towards St. Jude and a
subsequent willingness to offer support, but do not have the deeper understanding of St. Jude
that could spark greater affinity and long term commitments and advocacy. St. Jude’s greatest
challenge, then, and a central purpose of Ignite IMC’s plan, will be to bridge the awareness gap that exists
between St. Jude and this particular audience and forge a strong and lasting connection and commitment.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 23
Brand Positioning
St. Jude is currently well-positioned within the
marketplace at large, driven by its mission
of “finding cures, saving children” (St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). St. Jude
is distinctive, in part, as a nonprofit medical
treatment and research organization in its
focus solely on children (St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 2014h). This organizational
focus, it seems, has led St. Jude to position its
brand with a focus on parents and older adults.
By focusing on parents whose children could
potentially be affected by the same ailments
facing the children portrayed in St. Jude’s brand
messaging, St. Jude is drawing on empathy,
parental protection instincts, and even, to a
lesser extent, fear to reach its current audience.
Many of St. Jude’s creative executions include emotional photographs of current or past St. Jude patients.
The children are frequently identified by first name, further cementing the emotional connection with the
viewer. Themes of parental care are common as well (e.g., “Most kids feel better with just a bandage and
kiss. Kids with cancer need a cure.”) (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2006). In fact, in a Moat ad
St. Jude ad featuring a St. Jude patient battling cancer (Moat,
2014).
Despite relative unfamiliarity with the St. Jude brand and mission, Millennial respondents to Ignite IMC’s survey expressed
overwhelming positivity towards St. Jude: 73% agreed that they viewed St. Jude positively; over 36% strongly agreed with this
sentiment. (Full survey results can be found in Appendix A).
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 24
This full-page newspaper ad ran in USA Today on December 1, 2006 to support the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign (St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2006)
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 25
search for St. Jude ads, nearly all of the 243 results returned prominently featured a child whose short or
missing hair signaled their ongoing battle with cancer (Moat, 2014).
These ads are quite effective at evoking strong emotions, which can be both helpful and harmful. In the
course of telling the story of its organization and the children it helps, St. Jude is necessarily exposing
the general public to a certain level of the traumatic suffering of others, which can result in compassion
fatigue: a gradual decrease in compassion over time mostly due to a growing feeling that support efforts
are becoming increasingly pointless and ineffective (Joslyn, 2002). Potential donors eventually become
desensitized to the stories many charities and nonprofits like St. Jude share to evoke compassion and
encourage support and skeptical about how well any donations are being used (Donaldson, 2012).
Millennials and young professionals in particular are
already skeptical of advertising and hold brands to
a higher-than-average standard of social and fiscal
responsibility (Nahai, 2013). Combined, these factors
mean that nonprofits like St. Jude are walking a brand
positioning tightrope. St. Jude must honestly represent its
mission without inviting the onset of compassion fatigue
by relying too heavily on emotional appeals. It must
also balance the necessary use of emotion with a more
reason-based representation of its trustworthiness and
organizational responsibility. With nationwide charitable
giving more or less level over the past four years, St. Jude and other nonprofits must overcome hurdles
like compassion fatigue and public skepticism/high standards to bolster donor retention (typically more
economical than new donor acquisition) as much as possible (Haydon, 2011).
To reach the desired target audience of young professionals, St. Jude must alter its current brand positioning.
Millennials, especially young professionals at the lower end of this generation’s age range, are marrying
and having children at much lower rates than previous generations (The Nielsen Group, 2014). Appeals to
parental instinct and, to paraphrase a St. Jude tagline, giving thanks for the healthy children in their lives
simply will not hit home nearly as well for this target audience as they will with others. Accordingly, St. Jude
can position itself in a way that helps it reach the young professional demographic and create a strong
affinity and desire to provide support while not alienating other groups.
Brand Personality
Every brand has a personality whether they know it or not, and successful brands have crafted carefully
considered brand personalities to help them reach their audience more consistently and effectively. St. Jude’s
current brand communications suggest a personality that is knowledgeable, helpful, and professional. These
“St. Jude must
overcome hurdles
like compassion
fatigue and public
skepticism/high
standards to bolster
donor retention as
much as possible.”
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 26
are by no means bad attributes for a brand personality, but they are not the most effective in reaching the
young professional target audience. To better reach young professionals now while maintaining a strong
relationship with all constituencies into the future, Ignite IMC suggests St. Jude adopt a brand personality
which is honest, effective, personal, and modern.
Honest
Young professionals want to make sure their hard-earned dollars are being put to good use when donated,
and are sticklers for corporate social and fiscal responsibility—63.6% of Millennial respondents to Ignite’s
survey said they research a charity or nonprofit before making a donation or choosing to volunteer. While St.
Jude is currently in a good position to cater to this market with its continued commitment to effective resource
utilization, the attribute of honesty should make its way into the brand’s personality and its everyday
interactions with young professionals (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014b). Transparency, honesty,
and continued showing of goodwill will bolster St. Jude as a trustworthy organization in the minds of young
professionals.
Effective
Similar to young professionals’ requirement of social and fiscal responsibility from nonprofits they support,
this demographic also expects that their money, time, and voice will be used not only responsibly but to
create a great and lasting positive effect. St. Jude is clearly effective in pursuing its mission: treatments
pioneered at St. Jude have helped to drive the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% in 1962
to more than 80% today with the goal of reaching 90% in the next decade (St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital, 2014h). St. Jude’s brand personality must make it a point to shine a spotlight on its ongoing
achievements to make it apparent to young professional supporters that their efforts are driving positive
impacts in the lives of others.
Personal
Millennials have grown intolerant of being spoken down to or made the target of advertising (Nahai, 2013).
Instead, they want to be part of the conversation. The age of social media has further leveled the playing
field between brands and consumers, allowing for one-to-one communication on a scale that was previously
impossible. Young professionals expect brands to not only listen to their attempts to engage on social media,
but also for brands to take the time to respond individually without PR-heavy cookie cutter language. St. Jude
would benefit greatly from allowing its current highly-professional personality to become more personable
and approachable.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 27
Modern
Young professionals are not willing to bend over backwards to connect with brands and expect that brands
will have done their research to understand this demographic. In this particular case, that means a whole-
hearted embrace of digital and social media, interaction, and open online engagement. It also means that
St. Jude must be comfortable using new technologies to accept donations and drum up event awareness and
attendance. While St. Jude is—and should be—proud of its history, it must show that it is both of and for the
modern age in which it operates. Young professionals are incredibly forward-thinking and hopeful for the
future and would prefer to support a nonprofit that embraces and personifies a similar air of modernity and
progressiveness.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 28
Integrated Communication Strategy
Statement
•	 Established, reputable nonprofit
capable of spurring meaningful
medical progress and immediate
patient support
•	 Consistent progress in research
and treatment of childhood
diseases
•	 Tax deduction for donations
•	 Volunteering is a great résumé-
builder
•	 Contribute to St. Jude’s goal of
raising childhood cancer survival
rates to 90% within the next
decade
•	 Confidence that hard-earned dollars
and volunteered time being put to
good use
•	 Supporting sick children and their
families today, many others as St.
Jude shares its research
•	 Gain appreciation for the healthy
children in your life while helping
those who aren’t
•	 Feeling of satisfaction and
empowerment for having made a
meaningful impact in the lives of
others
Rational Factors Emotional Factors
Strategy Statement
St. Jude is where every ounce of support to a worthy cause makes
a meaningful and noticeable impact now and in the future.
Rationale: St. Jude has a great starting point in that it possesses several brand attributes important to
Millennial donors, including corporate responsibility, a consistent mission and vision, and highly effective
service to those in need. At the core of the current plan to reach young professionals will be an effort
position St. Jude as a trustworthy nonprofit where hard-earned dollars and precious time go further and do
more than elsewhere.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 29
Creative Brief
Why are we advertising?
To position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young professional market, building an affinity
for St. Jude among Millennials by using innovative tactics to authentically engage and activate this crucial
demographic and cultivate strong base of life-long St. Jude supporters.
Whom are we talking to?
Young professionals, age 21 through 30, in the United States. This audience represents the older segment of
the highly-sought-after Millennial generation.
What do they currently think?
Some have never heard of St. Jude. Those who have know St. Jude helps children with cancer but little more
and have no strong reason to support the organization.
What would we like them to think?
St. Jude is a leading treatment and research nonprofit supporting children with catastrophic diseases and
their families. St. Jude makes significant and meaningful positive impacts now and will continue to do so in
the future and I am in a position to support that effort.
What is the single most persuasive idea we can convey?
Young professionals can personally contribute to St. Jude’s mission in a way that makes a meaningful and
lasting impact in the lives of sick children and their families.
Why should they believe it?
St. Jude has made incredible progress in the treatment of childhood diseases since its doors opened. Young
professionals are eager to be involved in charity and volunteering efforts and understand their collective
power. Together, young professionals and St. Jude can make unprecedented progress towards St. Jude’s
goal of increasing the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90% in the next decade.
Are there any creative guidelines?
Young professionals will be engaged within their own sphere of influence. Creative assets and tactics must
be optimized for sharing within an online environment, leveraging young professionals’ social networks to
advocate for St. Jude.
Partner: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Type: Integrated marketing communication campaign
Date: 8/1/14
Pages: 1
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 30
Communication Plan
The overall goal of this campaign is to position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young
professional market and to stimulate that experience into a collection of lifetime connections with St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital. With a total budget of $15 million, Ignite IMC will launch a year-long
integrated marketing campaign running from August 2015 through July 2016. Through exciting in-person
events, efficient and effective fundraising, and engaging online experiences, Ignite will position St. Jude to
raise a total of $30 million over the course of three years.
Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics
Objective 1: Increase the average event fundraising total to $100,000
for events completed from August 2015 to July 2016 for a total
revenue of $3M in year one with the potential to grow to $30M raised
in 3 years. [Budget: $6,451,800]
Strategy: Forge a deeper personal connection between young professionals
and the work being done at St. Jude to help create brand affinity and stimulate
life-long connections.
Tactic 1.1: St. Jude “Champions“ patient advocate program
Participants (“Champions”) in this program will be connected directly with a patient and his or her family.
They will have the opportunity to become deeply familiar with one touching story and will be encouraged
to share that story within their social networks. Through these stories, Champions will be able to expertly
communicate the St. Jude mission through the highly-personal context of a single patient’s story.
Ignite IMC and St. Jude will provide new Champions with a welcome kit that includes a profile of a St. Jude
patient and his or her family and materials that will help the new Champion make the most of this unique
opportunity to affect change, such as ideas for raising awareness and special St. Jude creative assets (high-
quality photos, banner and flyer templates, etc.) to help them do so. Each Champion will have his or her
own dedicated fundraising URL where they can accept donations to be given to St. Jude in honor of their
patient and family. Champions will also have a dedicated section on the St. Jude Community site (see Tactic
2.1 for details) where they can exchange stories, share fundraising ideas, and gather support for their
initiatives.
Awareness of the Champions patient advocate program will be raised via online banner ads, email
marketing, and social media promotion (owned, earned, and paid using the hashtag #StJudeChampions)
driving consumers to a webpage on StJude.org that provide additional information and the opportunity to
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 31
sign up for the program.
Evaluation 1.1
Google Analytics data will be used to analyze traffic to the Champions program landing page as well as the
efficacy of specific online banner ads and social media channels of driving traffic to the site. A subscription
to the social-media-driven analytics service Simply Measured will be used throughout all tactics in this
campaign involving social media. For this tactic, Simply Measured will provide data on the reach and
impressions generated by St. Jude’s social media promotion as well as the most socially active Champions.
MailChimp will provide analytics on email marketing efforts, including open rate, click-through rate, and
conversions. Finally, .
Tactic 1.2: “Champions’ Festival” fundraising events
St. Jude will organize 25 “Champions’ Festival” fundraising events across the United States to help
Champions program advocates raise money for St. Jude and their sponsored patient and family. The
locally-rooted food and drink events will take place in 25 cities across the United States where Millennial
populations are largest, including Austin, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Denver,
CO; Washington, DC; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; San Francisco, CA; and Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX (The
Nielsen Company, 2014).
Tickets to the event will be available on a dedicated page on StJude.org which can be accessed via the
vanity URL ChampsFest.co. Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday will be sold for $18 per day or $32 for the
weekend. For this price, attendees will be granted access to a festival filled with local restaurants offering
samples of their best dishes; local breweries, distilleries, and vineyards offering samples of their beverages;
and local artists and craftspeople displaying and selling their goods. Food and beverage providers will be
charged $500 to set up a booth while arts and crafts booths will be charged a smaller fee of $300 to set up
a booth and will pledge to donate 25% or more of all proceeds to St. Jude. Food and drink samples will be
offered in exchange for tickets. Five tickets will be included with the price of admission and additional tickets
will be available for sale at $1 each with all proceeds going directly to St. Jude.
The Champions’ Festival will be heavily promoted through the use of print and outdoor advertising, online
banner ads, email marketing, social media promotion (owned, earned, and paid using the hashtag
#ChampsFest), and display ads on the music streaming service Pandora. Additionally, full-page interactive
ads will be placed in the electronic versions of magazines popular with young professionals: WIRED, Sports
Illustrated, and Rolling Stone.
Evaluation 1.2
The Champions’ Festival will be evaluated primarily by number of attendees and funds raised. With 25
events of an estimated average attendance of 15,000 each, Ignite anticipates a total attendance of
375,000 across all events and a net fundraising total of $3,050,000.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 32
Each of the promotional tactics stated above (each flyer, each email, etc.) will have a unique discount
code and trackable URL (where applicable) that will offer consumers a $2 discount on their ticket price and
also allow Ignite to track the conversions from each channel. MailChimp will measure open rate and click-
through rate on promotional emails and Simply Measured will be used to evaluate the reach and impressions
generated by social promotion tactics.
Tactic 1.3: St. Jude Hero of the Week
Each week, this web- and social-driven tactic will highlight one St. Jude supporter (not required to be a
Champions program participant) who is going above and beyond to support the St. Jude mission. A Hero of
the Week webpage will be developed within the St. Jude Community webpage (see Tactic 2.1 for details).
Hero of the Week nominees will be collected via this page and the winner will be featured, along with a
short profile, on the webpage as well as through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
This tactic is intended to highlight the people who are making a difference and moving the St. Jude mission
forward. Current and potential St. Jude supporters will be able to see that a single person can make an
appreciable (and appreciated) difference, inspiring others to do the same. Ignite’s survey found that some
Millennials believe that a large and relatively well-known non-profit like St. Jude doesn’t need or wouldn’t
notice their support. The Hero of the Week tactic will show Millennials that their help is noticeable and
effective in supporting the St. Jude mission.
Evaluation 1.3
The St. Jude Hero of the Week program will be evaluated primarily on the reach of its message. Google
Analytics will be used to track visits to the Hero of the Week page and Simply Measured will be used to
monitor social reach and impressions. Ignite will also monitor and track the number of nominations received
over time to evaluate awareness of this tactic and general levels grassroots support for St. Jude.
In addition, the results of a post-campaign survey (see “Campaign Evaluation”) will be compared to Ignite’s
pre-campaign survey to shed further light on how Millennials’ attitudes towards St. Jude and their expressed
likelihood to offer support have changed as a result of this campaign.
Tactic 1.4: “Eat. Shop. Give.” retail, restaurant, and bar partnerships
In an effort to extend the impact of the Champions Festival throughout the year, St. Jude will partner with
local restaurants, bars, and retail stores in each of the 25 major cities where the Champions Festival takes
place. Window decals will advertise that these locations have partnered with St. Jude and provide ongoing
support throughout the year by donating the proceeds from certain menu items and products to St. Jude. A
special “Thankful Thursday” event a week before Thanksgiving will help to bolster the existing Thanks and
Giving campaign by donating a percentage of proceeds (agreed upon per business) from all sales to St.
Jude. This event will receive additional promotional support, in the form of a large and targeted postcard
mailing campaign, above and beyond that listed below.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 33
St. Jude will also list participating businesses on its website to advertise their participation and attempt to
deliver them additional customers. Businesses will also receive a small plastic sign to be displayed near the
registers, host stand, or bar. Bars and restaurants will also receive a supply of promotional coasters. Social
media and email promotion will further ensure awareness of the program and will advertise any special
events or promotions businesses may decide to run to generate additional funds.
Evaluation 1.4
This tactic will be evaluated primarily based on how much money is raised from the sale of featured menu
items and products. Google Analytics will track visits to the tactic’s landing page, Simply Measured
will monitor social media reach and impressions, and MailChimp will monitor email opens, clicks, and
conversions.
Objective 2: Increase visits to StJude.org by 30% between August
2015 and July 2016. [Budget: $5,026,200]
Strategy: Provide a dedicated online space where users, particularly young
professionals, can share their stories, experiences, photos, videos, events, and
encouragement.
Tactic 2.1: Create a dedicated St. Jude Community website section to host forums,
discussions, and user-generated content.
Online interaction comes naturally to Millennials. Much of this conversation occurs on social media, but
the conversations are often disjointed and fleeting. Ignite IMC will provide St. Jude with an owned platform
where supporters, especially young professionals, can share their stories, experiences, videos, events, polls,
and general encouragement around the St. Jude brand.
The St. Jude Community will be developed on St. Jude’s existing website at StJude.org/community. The
functionality will be based on the familiar forum and discussion board format of posts and threads and
will be styled to fit with the St. Jude brand and provide a cohesive experience with the rest of the website.
Community members will be encouraged to share their stories about and experiences with St. Jude. The site
will give St. Jude supporters one central place to go for information, support, and community organization.
Threads and comments will feature a “Like” button that can be used to show agreement or support. A St.
Jude Community Manager can then easily find the most popular topics within the Community and highlight
these through social media (see Tactic 3.2 for more information).
In addition to being an open forum for online interaction among all St. Jude supporters, the Community will
also act as the hosting platform for several other tactics within this communications plan, including:
•	 A sticky “Announcements” thread where St. Jude can post important general information;
•	 A sub-forum for Champions patient advocate program participants where they can share their
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 34
experiences with the program as well as ideas for raising awareness and funds in honor of their
patient and family;
•	 Sticky threads for each Champions Festival event where prospective event attendees can find more
information and discussion about their city’s event;
•	 A nomination and recognition page for the Hero of the Week; and
•	 A page highlighting participants in retail/restaurant/bar partnership program.
The St. Jude Community will be promoted most heavily in the digital space to provide an easy click-through
call to action: online banner ads, social media (owned, earned, and paid), and email.
Evaluation 2.1
This effort will be evaluated primarily by the volume of activity on the St. Jude Community site, including
visits and unique visitors as measured by Google Analytics, number of registered users, and number of
threads and comments. Top referral sources to the Community page will be tracked and promotional budget
will be reallocated between channels as necessary to ensure efficiency. Google Analytics will track visits to
Community pages, Simply Measured will monitor social media reach and impressions, and MailChimp will
monitor email opens, clicks, and conversions. The Community will also provide value as a source of user-
generated content (UGC) that can be repurposed for or promoted on social media and other channels.
Tactic 2.2: Dedicated @StJudeCommunity Twitter account
To help encourage conversations within the community of St. Jude supporters and amplify the best content,
a dedicated @StJudeCommunity Twitter account will be created. This account will be used to seek out those
sharing stories about St. Jude online and engage them in conversation. The account will promote the St. Jude
Community website and encourage social media users to take advantage of the site as a place to share
more in-depth stories that might not resonate with their general social media audience and receive advice
and support from a community of people familiar with the St. Jude mission. @StJudeCommunity will also
share (with permission) the most popular stories and content from the Community.
Evaluation 2.2
Simply Measured will be used to track the audience size, reach, and impressions generated by the Twitter
account, but as the primary goal of this account is to generate web traffic for the St. Jude Community
website, the primary evaluation metrics will be visit and pageview data from Google Analytics.
Tactic 2.3: eMagazine advertising
To drive additional web traffic to the St. Jude site as a whole and the Community pages in particular, full-
page interactive ads will be placed in the digital versions of magazines popular with young professionals:
WIRED, Sports Illustrated, and Rolling Stone. The ads could include a live “What’s Hot” feed of the
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 35
most Liked threads on the Community site; images featuring young professional St. Jude supporters; and
links to StJude.org, the Community site, and St. Jude’s social media profiles. These ads will target young
professionals on their frequently-used mobile devices where the call to action can be immediately followed.
Evaluation 2.3
The eMagazine ads will be evaluated primarily based on the number of impressions generated and the
volume of referrals back to St. Jude’s web properties. In addition, the post-campaign survey will include
questions to investigate where young professional St. Jude supporters first heard about St. Jude.
Objective 3: Increase social media engagement with St. Jude 100%
between August 2015 and July 2016 [Budget: $1,925,000]
Strategy: Through a combination of social advertising, purposeful outbound
engagement, and careful content curation, raise awareness and engagement
with St. Jude’s social profiles.
Tactic 3.1: Promoted Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts around and for events and
campaign tactics
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are among the largest and most-used social networks and are home
to large young professional audience. Ignite will help St. Jude’s social content reach farther within this
audience’s sphere of influence by providing paid support on key posts. Examples include posts promoting
events like the Champions’ Festival, announcing the launch of the St. Jude Community website, or welcoming
a new retail or restaurant partner into the program described in Tactic 1.4.
Evaluation 3.1
While these promoted posts will result in some audience growth, their main purpose is to increase reach
and resulting conversions. Accordingly, reach and impression metrics as calculated by Simply Measured
will be the major evaluative factor. Ignite will also measure click-through rate on promoted posts as well as
conversions (e.g.,. event registrations, Community sign-ups, donations) that are the direct result of promoted
social media content.
Tactic 3.2: Promoted account campaigns on Facebook and Twitter to grow social audiences
Organic audience growth on social media can sometimes be a slow process. Providing fans and followers
with quality content is one way to accelerate audience growth, and Tactics 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, and 3.3 will be
effective to that end. To help provide a faster rate of growth and significant audience growth, Ignite will
manage promoted account campaigns for St. Jude on Facebook and Twitter, specifically targeting the young
professional demographic. With a larger audience, St. Jude will have a far larger platform and greater
organic reach and growth potential for future social media initiatives. This tactic will position St. Jude for
continued success in the social media space even after this campaign has ended.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 36
Evaluation 3.2
This tactic will be judged primarily by audience growth and cost per Facebook like or Twitter follow. Ignite
anticipates an initial spike in growth immediately following ad launch as stagnant fans and “lurkers” (those
who check in with St. Jude occasionally but haven’t liked or followed) are activated. This will be followed
by more gradual but consistent growth. Ignite will also monitor the organic reach, organic impressions,
and engagements (e.g., post likes, comments, retweets, mentions) achieved by St. Jude’s social content as
increased audience size should contribute to corresponding growth in these metrics.
Tactic 3.3: Leverage user-generated content from St. Jude Community site
Sharing quality content on social media is one of the best possible ways to quickly grow your audience and
continually engage in quality conversations. While Ignite and St. Jude will continue to create a steady stream
of quality content, user-generated content (UGC) will also be gathered, repurposed, and shared on social
media. The St. Jude Community site will be one of the primary sources of this UGC.
Within the Community site, St. Jude supporters will be sharing fundraising ideas, pictures from events, and
stories surrounding the St. Jude mission. Ignite will surface the best of this content to be shared with the
broader community on social media, giving supporters a larger platform from which to share their ideas
and inspirations and giving St. Jude a nearly endless source of content sure to resonate with social media
audiences. UGC will account for roughly 25% of the social media content shared by St. Jude, limiting the
risk of compassion fatigue by amplifying the inspirational voices of supporters and further strengthening this
community.
Evaluation 3.3
The success of UGC social media content will be evaluated by the engagement on these posts as measured
by Simply Measured. Google Analytics will be used to track any referrals back to the St. Jude website,
including the Community site, as well as any conversions (email subscriptions, donations, event registrations,
etc.) that may occur as a result of this content.
Objective 4: Build awareness and buy-in of campaign internally
[Budget: $203,150]
Strategy: Create awareness around campaign and educate internal audience
about objectives, tactics, and avenues for involvement
Tactic 4.1: “Hope Begins with YOU” campaign kickoff event
To build awareness around Ignite IMC and St. Jude’s partnership and to educate all internal stakeholders
about the campaign’s objectives and upcoming tactics, Ignite will organize a company-wide event in early
September 2015 as the campaign gets underway.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 37
These events will be created around the theme “Hope Begins with YOU” with the intention of showing
internal audiences that it is their work, individually and collectively, that enables St. Jude to make a
difference in the lives of sick children, their families, and the world as a whole.
Everyone from administrative staff to doctors and fundraisers will be invited to attend the event at the
Memphis Cook Convention Center right in St. Jude’s home town. The event will be free to attend for all
employees and will feature keynote addresses from St. Jude CEO William Evans and Marlo Thomas,
daughter of Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude Children’s research hospital. Marlo Thomas will tell the story
of the founding of St. Jude and the vision for the future, energizing employees and reinvigorating them with
the greater mission in mind. CEO Evans will then briefly announce the partnership with Ignite IMC before
going on to introduce the objectives and highlight the key tactics laid out on this plan. All employees (even
those who are unable to attend) will receive a brief one-page summary of this campaign, a “Hope begins
with ME” t-shirt, and free tickets to attend the Memphis Champions’ Festival.
Evaluation 4.1
Event attendance will be the first major indicator of this tactic’s success. While the event is free, it is
understood that not all employees will be available to attend the event due to staffing concerns and other
potential issues. The extent to which this tactic delivers on the objective of internal awareness and buy-in
will also be evaluated using employee surveys to be administered before and after the campaign. These
surveys will explore, before and after Ignite’s campaign, employee attitudes towards St. Jude in general,
familiarity with the overall mission, familiarity with Ignite’s campaigns on behalf of St. Jude, and opinions on
the success of these campaigns.
Tactic 4.2: Campaign posters and recap emails
To ensure this campaign and upcoming tactic deployments remain top-of-mind for all internal audiences,
posters will be created to hang throughout the St. Jude campus, primarily in employee-only areas. These
posters will highlight upcoming or recently launched programs and will tell employees how they can get
involved and offer their support. These posters will be changed out every 7-9 weeks to ensure the most
recent information is displayed.
As new campaign tactic posters are distributed, Ignite IMC will provide CEO William Evans easily-
understood summary data recapping campaign progress and successes to date. This will show that St. Jude
is committed in a big way to moving its mission forward and is making large, visible strides towards that end.
Evaluation 4.2
As with Tactic 4.1, Tactic 4.2 will be evaluated using employee surveys to be administered to employees
before and after the campaign. Recap emails specifically will be evaluated by open rate and click-through
rate to read further details recapping in-progress and recently completed tactics.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 38
Communications Timeline
To ensure all campaign tactics are deployed in a timely manner and all goals and objectives are met (or
exceeded), Ignite IMC will roll out campaign tactics as shown in the Communications Timeline below.
While some tactic deployments are firm (for example, Champions Festival dates), others are more flexible.
For example, promoted social media account campaign activity may fluctuate from month to month as
inventories and ad unit costs change. Ignite IMC will notify St. Jude of any and all necessary deviations from
the timeline below and will manage tactics such that all goals and objectives are met regardless of tactic
timing.
The Communications Timeline can also be viewed in Appendix B or online at http://bit.ly/IgniteTimeline.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 39
Budget Summary
Rather than an charging hourly fee, Ignite IMC charges a 9% agency fee based on the total campaign
budget. This fee covers all day-to-day campaign planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting,
including administrative costs and any work necessary to ensure your campaign runs smoothly and delivers
on all goals and objectives.
The Budget Summary can also be viewed in Appendix C or online at http://bit.ly/IgniteBudget.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 40
Creative Executions
Champions program online banner ads (Tactic 1.1):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 41
Champions’ Festival t-shirts (Tactic 1.2):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 42
Champions’ Festival Pandora and online banner ads (Tactic 1.2):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 43
Promoted Facebook posts (Tactics 1.1  2.1):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 44
Champions’ Festival promoted tweets (Tactic 1.2):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 45
Hero of the Week site mockup (Tactic 1.3):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 46
Retail/restaurant partnership program poster (Tactic 1.4):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 47
St. Jude Community site mockup (Tactic 2.1):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 48
T-shirts for “Hope begins with YOU” event (Tactic 4.1):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 49
Tactic posters for St. Jude offices (Tactic 4.2):
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 50
Measurement  Evaluation
Focus Group Results
To thoroughly evaluate this campaign plan and gather additional opinions, beliefs, and attitudes with regard
to St. Jude and the young professional target market, Ignite IMC organized a focus group. The focus group
took place on Sunday, November 30, 2014 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. via a recorded Google Hangout.
There were six participants, four male and two female, ranging in age from 25 to 30. Participants
represented four cities from across the country: Washington, D.C.; Boston, MA; San Diego, CA; and
Austin, TX. While the online focus group platform does present certain limitations in terms of observing
body language and other factors, it affords the opportunity to speak with participants from very different
geographic locations, which Ignite felt would provide more useful feedback regarding tactics within this plan
that will be deployed at various locations across the United States.
All participants were employed full-time and expressed an active use of social media and other digital
communications and entertainment platforms. Participants were given an electronic Starbucks gift card in the
amount of $15 prior to their participation and were asked to pick up the beverage of their preference, find a
quiet place where they would be uninterrupted for the duration of the focus group, and log in to the Google
Hangout shortly before the 7:00 p.m. start time.
The focus group began with an Ignite IMC moderator welcoming the participants and thanking them for
agreeing to participate. The moderator explained that the groups purpose would be to openly and honestly
discuss
•	 the young professional demographic,
•	 opinions and attitudes towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
•	 Ignite IMC’s assumptions and findings about the intersection of the young professional market and St.
Jude’s needs, and
•	 Ignite IMC’s communication plan and creative executions.
Each participant was provided a PDF document one week prior to the start of the focus group to allow time
for it to be reviewed. This document included
•	 a list of the questions to be discussed;
•	 a copy of Ignite’s Communication Plan, including objectives, strategies, and tactics; and
•	 high-quality representations of each of Ignite’s 10 creative execution examples.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 51
Before the first question was asked, the moderator reviewed the PDF document and its contents. The
moderator expressed that the discussion would be as natural and free-flowing as possible while still allowing
all participants the opportunity to have his or her opinions heard. To accomplish this, the time immediately
following each question would be designated as time for each participant, one at a time, to offer a quick
expression of their thoughts and opinions. After that, the conversation would be allowed to flow naturally
as participants discussed their opinions together. The moderator was to step in occasionally to ensure
the conversation remained on-topic and to encourage a deeper dive into particular topics of discussion
that were both relevant to the focus group’s objectives and a source of quality conversation amongst the
participants.
The focus group participants were asked seven total questions from which discussion would organically
evolve:
•	 What do you currently know about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital? Are you familiar with their
mission and their work?
•	 Where have you seen St. Jude’s marketing messages before? What did you think about them?
•	 How would you describe the Millennial generation as a whole? Are there any characteristics you
think are common to the generation as a whole?
•	 Do you think most Millennials are interested in donating non-profits and charities? What kind of ways
besides a financial donation do you think Millennials would be likely to show support?
•	 What are your opinion’s on Ignite IMC’s Integrated Communication Strategy Statement (ICSS) for
St. Jude? Does it accurately represent the factors involved and present a viable strategy for reaching
young professionals?
•	 What are your thoughts on the tactics and creative executions presented in the Communication
Plan?
•	 Do you think that the tactics proposed by Ignite will be successful and result in increased engagement
and support activity towards St. Jude from young professionals?
Note: before beginning questions about Ignite IMC’s ICSS and Communication Plan, the moderator gave a
short presentation outlining each of these elements, including individual objectives, strategies, and tactics.
The following is a discussion of the focus group’s responses to each question. The complete moderator’s
guide used for this focus group can be found in Appendix D.
Knowledge of St. Jude
All participants expressed that they had at least heard of St. Jude. Beyond that, knowledge varied a great
deal. One participant stated “I know I’ve heard something about them before, and can remember they’re
some kind of charity, but that’s about it.” Three other participants knew St. Jude was a non-profit engaging
in cancer research, of which one also knew that St. Jude patients aren’t charged for treatment. The two
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 52
remaining participants were actually familiar with the Thanks and Giving campaign from a television
commercial.
When the moderator relayed a few particulars about St. Jude, including their exact mission, details of their
operation and philosophy, and St. Jude’s operating budget and fundraising efforts, participants appeared
to be genuinely surprised. This is consistent with the findings of Ignite’s survey, which found that 47.3% of
Millennials are uncertain about St. Jude’s mission and 20% are actually completely in the dark.
St. Jude Marketing
Only two participants expressed any recollection of St. Jude marketing tactics. Both had seen television
commercials for St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving campaign. One of these participants noted “they must be
doing pretty well because there were, like, five different celebrities in the commercial.”
Both participants viewed the television commercial favorably. They were drawn in by the appearances from
several high-profile celebrities and noted that seeing a St. Jude patient who had lost her hair made a strong
emotional impact. However, neither said they donated to St. Jude as a result of the commercial and in fact
hadn’t thought much about St. Jude again until the focus group.
Given that the focus group took place shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday, Ignite is somewhat surprised
that only two of the six participants were familiar with this campaign, given the increased marketing volume
from St. Jude during this time of year and the fact that many consumers enjoy more leisure time around
the holidays, during which they may spend more time than usual watching television. However, the draw
of spending time with family and the generally overwhelming volume of advertising occurring during the
holidays may contribute to decreased attention or recollection of particular ads like St. Jude’s.
Millennials
Being Millennials themselves, the focus group participants offered some very interesting opinions on the
generational cohort. Their observations were keenly self-aware, showing knowledge of misconceptions
about their generation as well as more accurate descriptions that some might find surprising.
For example, all participants were aware of the characterization of Millennials as entitled and self-
centered, sometimes referred to as the “Me” generation. Unsurprisingly, all participants also disputed this
characterization while admitting its truth for some smaller segments of their generation. The group quickly
went on to discuss the Millennial generation’s diversity and awareness of social issues. One participant
pointed out that she felt Millennials as a whole “are much more progressive than older generations, at least
when it comes to social issues.”
When it comes to media and communications, all participants said they use social media in at least some
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 53
capacity. Of the six participants, all have accounts on Facebook, four on Twitter, five on Instagram, three
on Pinterest, and two on Snapchat. Four participants said they check their social accounts at least once per
day. Of the remaining two, one said he “signs on to Facebook every once in a while—maybe once a week”
while the other was a self-described “Instagram and Snapchat addict,” posting on each of these accounts
at least once per day if not more. Asked to elaborate as to why he chose to use social media only sparingly,
the aforementioned participant said he was “busy enough already...besides, I don’t need my whole life
documented online for everyone to see.”
Millennials and non-profits
Asked specifically about how interested they believed Millennials were in supporting non-profits and
charities, the focus group unanimously agreed that Millennials are “more interested than most people might
think” in philanthropic pursuits. One participant mentioned that, in her experience, Millennials are “not so
much the ‘drop a dollar in the donation jar’” type when it comes to supporting nonprofits, but prefer to be
more involved. This observation is consistent with Ignite IMC’s survey results, which indicated that 63.6% of
Millennials research a charity or non-profit before making a donation.
While two of the six focus group participants said they would personally prefer to just donate money in
support of a charity or non-profit, the remaining four said they’d more readily take actions like buying a
product where proceeds go to a cause, volunteer at or participate in a fundraising event, or help raise
awareness using their social media accounts. As the discussion for this question was coming to a close, one
participant offered up this observation that is particularly relevant to St. Jude: “with Millennials, I feel like it’s
less about whether they want to support charity and more about finding the right charity to support.”
Integrated Communication Strategy
Statement
Presented with Ignite IMC’s Integrated Communication Strategy Statement for St. Jude (“St. Jude is where
every ounce of support to a worthy cause makes a meaningful and noticeable impact now and in the
future.”), focus group participants described it as “comprehensive” and “a good fit” given St. Jude’s needs
and the characteristics of the young professional audience. One participant noted that “it might be more
effective to focus on the immediate impacts of supporting St. Jude because we want to know exactly what
our effort is going towards.” Another valuable piece of feedback received was “based on what we’ve talked
about so far, it sounds like Millennials are looking for more of a relationship, so I would make sure you
emphasize that this isn’t just a one-time thing and St. Jude wants to keep in touch.”
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 54
Communication Plan  Tactics
After taking a moment to refresh their memories using the provided PDF document, focus group participants
were asked their opinions on Ignite’s Communication Plan, tactics, and the 10 provided creative executions.
The consensus of the group was that the plan overall “does a good job of setting up young professionals to
have a more intimate relationship with St. Jude than with a lot of other charities.” Three of the six participants
specifically mentioned the Champions patient advocate program as a great idea, saying “I’d sign up for that
in a heartbeat” and “like we said before, that’s a great way to connect supporting St. Jude with something
more immediate or tangible.“ The group also liked the Hero of the Week concept; one participant noted “I
think that’s a great way to show that St. Jude cares about you and wants more than just your money—they
want a long-term relationship.”
The Champions’ Festival tactic was particularly well-received with the focus group. One participant liked
how “the local focus of the events made them seem more meaningful and impactful than some kind of huge
national event. It makes St. Jude seem more relatable.” Participants noted that the Champions’ Festival was
a great way to leverage something young professionals already enjoy doing and make it a way to support a
good cause at the same time.
The group also offered constructive criticism regarding the St. Jude Community site and the restaurant/
retail partnership program. One participant noted that “something like the Community idea will take time
and effort to get running like you’d want it to.” She went on to say that it might be worth placing additional
ad support towards the Community and @StJudeCommunity Twitter account as a way to “kick start” the
growth of the Community. Several participants were also critical of the initial name and creative supporting
the restaurant/retail partnership program, which was initially “Eat. Drink. Give.” They mentioned that, while
catchy, the inclusion of “Drink” in the title and creative might not be the kind of image St. Jude would like
to project and could be taken the wrong way. Accordingly, Ignite has since changed the program title and
creative to reflect the retail aspect of these partnerships: “Eat. Shop. Give.”
Predicted Impact of Campaign
All focus group participants agreed that the presented plan and tactics seemed like they would help St.
Jude increase engagement and support activity like donations and volunteering. One participant said “it
seems like there’s something there for everyone,” while another stated “I think there’s a good progression
from more casual involvement to the kind of lasting relationship that St. Jude is looking for.” Given the
hypothetical scenario of being presented with all of Ignite’s tactics as options for supporting St. Jude, all six
said they would be willing to participate in at least one, and five of the six participants also said they could
think of at least one friend with whom they would likely share that involvement.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 55
Campaign Evaluation
In addition to the evaluation methods previously described for each individual tactic, Ignite IMC will
evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign as a whole through a few methods.
Continuous evaluation of the campaign will be possible through the use of tools like Simply Measured,
Google Analytics, and MailChimp analytics. Each of these tools will be used at the individual tactic
level, but will also be used to gauge overall progress throughout the duration of the campaign. Just a few
examples of the metrics Ignite will be monitoring throughout the campaign are:
•	 Social media audience size
•	 Social media engagement volume
•	 Social media engagement rate
•	 Total website pageviews
•	 Total website unique visitors
•	 Ignite tactic site pageviews (Community site, Hero of the Week page, etc.)
•	 Ignite tactic site unique visitors (Community site, Hero of the Week page, etc.)
•	 Social media referrals to St. Jude website
•	 Social media conversion rate
•	 Email open rate
•	 Email click-through rate
•	 Email conversion rate
In addition to these measure, Ignite IMC will use of pre- and post-campaign surveys to evaluate the impact
of the campaign as a whole. To achieve statistical significance with this survey, Ignite IMC will seek a
minimum of 1,200 survey respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 for each survey. In addition, for a
true point-to-point comparison, the pre- and post-campaign surveys will be identical, gauging knowledge of
and attitudes towards St. Jude. The questions on the surveys ascertain the following:
•	 Age
•	 Gender
•	 Current donation, volunteering, and other supportive activity for non-profits and charities in
general
•	 Current attitudes towards and opinions of non-profits and charities in general
•	 Awareness of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
•	 Knowledge of St. Jude’s mission and work
•	 Current donation, volunteering, and other supportive activity for St. Jude in particular
•	 Current attitudes towards and opinions of St. Jude in particular
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 56
•	 Exposure to and opinion of Ignite IMC’s communications plan tactics
•	 Extent of any support to St. Jude as a result of Ignite IMC’s communication tactics
•	 Self-evaluation of the efficacy of any support given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 57
Conclusion
Within a complicated landscape, integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a way to bring brands
together with the audiences in the best position to engage with and support them. IMC as a whole is a way
to deliver the right message to the right audience at precisely the right time. When it comes to igniting the
fuel within each of us to realize change in the world, there is no one who does this better than Ignite IMC.
The non-profit landscape and the Millennial generation are, without a doubt, challenging to navigate. But
where others have seen road blocks, Ignite IMC sees opportunity. By leveraging our digital, social, mobile,
creative, and advertising expertise in ways supported by extensive and targeted research,we have laid out
a plan to deliver St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital a highly engaged and supportive audience of young
professionals that will fuel enthusiastic and genuine support in the short and long term.
From recognizing unsung heroes with the Hero of the Week initiative to forging deeply personal connections
through the Champions patient advocacy program, Ignite IMC has crafted a communications plan that will
help St. Jude connect with young professionals in a way that progresses from casual support to life-long
advocacy. This multi-platform approach will enable St. Jude to connect with young professionals in a way
the organization has previously been unable to achieve. Tactics that encourage the kind of one-to-one
communication young professionals crave with any brand will make St. Jude a top-of-mind non-profit that
enjoys affinity and advocacy from an audience with enormous influence and constantly growing economic
power.
St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 58
References
Balkin, A. S. (2014). Baby boomers ruined America: Why blaming millennials is misguided — and annoying.
Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2014/10/20/baby_boomers_ruined_america_why_
blaming_millennials_is_misguided_and_annoying/
broomcr. (2008, December 10). St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - The Fight Against Cancer - Ben 
Hayden [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhuE8K25TWA
Donaldson, D. (2012). Overcoming compassion fatigue. Relevant Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.
relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/worldview/features/26062-overcoming-compassion-fatigue
Drake, B. (2014). 6 new findings about Millennials. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/07/6-new-findings-about-millennials/
Feldmann, D. (2014). Inspiring the next generation workforce: The 2014 millennial impact report. Achieve.
Retrieved from http://www.pointsoflight.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2014_millennial_
impact_report.pdf
Fromm, J., Lindell, C.,  Decker, L. (2011). American Millennials: Deciphering the enigma generation.
Barkley. Retrieved from http://barkley.s3.amazonaws.com/barkleyus/AmericanMillennials.pdf
Griner, D. (2014). Are these the 12 types of millennials? Ad network’s research tries to get more specific
about Gen Y. Adweek. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/are-
these-12-types-millennials-160688
Joslyn, H. (2002). How compassion fatigue can overwhelm charity workers--and what to do about it. The
Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved from http://philanthropy.com/article/How-Compassion-Fatigue-
Can/52422/
Haydon, J. (2011). Nonprofits: Focus on donor retention in 2013. Socialbrite. Retrieved from http://www.
socialbrite.org/2013/02/11/nonprofits-focus-on-donor-retention-in-2013/#more-22586
Moat, Inc. (2014). 240+ St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ads. Retrieved from http://www.moat.com/
search/results?q=St.+Jude+Children%26%23039%3Bs+Research+Hospital
Nahai, N. (2013). 5 things you need to know about marketing to Gen Y. Psychology Today. Retrieved from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/webs-influence/201305/5-things-you-need-know-about-
marketing-gen-y
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St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials
St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials

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St. Jude Campaign Proposal for Millennials

  • 1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Campaign Proposal. Copyright ©2014 Ignite IMC. CONFIDENTIAL. Prepared for 11441 Summer House Ct Reston, VA 20194 on August 1, 2014 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital An IMC Plan for Prepared by Objective: To position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young professional market, building an affinity for St. Jude among Millennials by using innovative tactics to authentically engage and activate this crucial demographic and cultivate strong base of life-long St. Jude supporters.
  • 2. Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 Opening Letter 5 Agency Materials 6 Logos and Business Card 6 Letterhead Example 7 Agency Credentials Identity 8 About Ignite 8 Where We Stand 8 Our Philosophy 8 Mission Statement 9 Approach 9 Core Competencies 9 Press Release 12 Partner Background 13 Situation Analysis 13 Overview 13 History 13 Foundations Progress 14 Branding Position 15 Challenges Future Direction 16 Target Market Analysis 17 Demographics 18 Psychographics 18 Unique Characteristics 18 Young Professionals and Nonprofits 19 SWOT Analysis 20 Brand Perception 22 Brand Positioning 23
  • 3. Brand Personality 25 Honest 26 Effective 26 Personal 26 Modern 27 Integrated Communication Strategy Statement 28 Creative Brief 29 Communication Plan 30 Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics 30 Budget Summary 39 Creative Executions 40 Measurement Evaluation 50 Focus Group Results 50 Knowledge of St. Jude 51 St. Jude Marketing 52 Millennials 52 Millennials and non-profits 53 Integrated Communication Strategy Statement 53 Communication Plan Tactics 54 Predicted Impact of Campaign 54 Campaign Evaluation 55 Conclusion 57 References 58 Appendices 61 Appendix A - Online Survey 61 Appendix B - Communications Timeline 72 Appendix C - Budget Summary 73 Appendix D - Focus Group Moderator’s Guide 74
  • 4. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 4 Executive Summary The non-profit landscape and the Millennial generation are, without a doubt, challenging to navigate. But where others see road blocks, Ignite IMC sees opportunity. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a well established and incredibly effective non-profit organization supporting children with catastrophic diseases and their families through groundbreaking research and the treatment it supports. Young professionals are a segment of the Millennial generation that, in the face of misconceptions, are more than willing to support the right non-profit or charity for them by means of their donations, volunteering, and rapidly expanding online social influence. Ignite IMC is the force that will unite these two groups to create a profound and lasting impact. As a B-corporation, Ignite IMC has been founded with a dedication to submitting ourselves to third-party certification and a higher standard of purpose, accountability, and transparency. In addition to opening ourselves up in this way common to B-corporations, Ignite has pledged to give 100% of its profits back to our local community and deserving charities. We believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be the change they wish to see in the world; we are here to ignite that fuel in ourselves and for those with whom we partner. For our valued partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ignite IMC will leverage our digital, social, mobile, creative, and advertising expertise in ways supported by extensive and targeted research to deliver a highly engaged and supportive audience of young professionals that will fuel enthusiastic and genuine support in the short and long term.
  • 5. IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194 Kevin Kestler Ignite IMC 11441 Summer House Ct. Reston, VA 20194 August 1, 2014 Ms. Melanne Hannock Sr. Vice President, Marketing St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis TN 38015-3678 Cc: Ms. Shelby Anderson and Ms. Katie Foster Dear Ms. Hannock: I would like to express my great appreciation for having been given the opportunity to present Ignite IMC’s campaign proposal for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We are very excited to share with you what we have put together, and are hopeful for an opportunity to partner with such an incredible and impactful organization. Ignite IMC was founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations like St. Jude that choose to do good and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers nonprofits carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to authentically engage with a well- understood target audience. But more than that, we hold at our core a drive, inspired by our nonprofit partners, to give back to the community—among other ways, through our B-corporation status. At Ignite, we believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be the change they wish to see in the world; we are here to ignite it. That process begins with thorough research of your target market and competition to learn the landscape before crafting integrated campaigns and compelling stories to achieve your goals. To achieve your goals, Ignite will call on any and all necessary tools from our extensive marketing communications toolbox. Digital, social, mobile, creative, advertising, branding, positioning, public relations—we’ve got it all covered. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any questions you may have. I look forward to this being just the beginning of a long, productive, and impactful relationship between Ignite IMC and St. Jude. Sincerely, Kevin Kestler Founder CEO Ignite IMC
  • 6. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 6
  • 7. IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194 SA M PLE LETTERH EA D
  • 8. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 8 ig•nite ig-’nīt : to give life or energy to (someone or something); to heat up; to set in motion About Ignite You are more than your logo. You are more than your website. You are more than the weight of the stock on which your business card is printed. You are more. And so are we. Ignite IMC was founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations that choose to do good and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers nonprofits carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to authentically engage with a well-understood target audience. But more than that, we hold at our core a drive, inspired by our nonprofit partners, to give back to the community. Where We Stand Ignite IMC brings a fresh perspective and fiery resolve to the nonprofit sector. We are a full-service integrated marketing agency that can help you with everything from creative design to the most involved ongoing social engagements and community events. We are constantly learning and growing, leveraging the latest proven tactics and technologies to help our partners fuel meaningful and lasting change. Where others talk the talk with nonprofit clients, Ignite walks the walk. As a B-corporation, we at Ignite IMC have chosen to hold ourselves to a higher standard and a greater purpose, giving 100% of our profits back to our community. We are using business as a force for good and want to help you do the same. Our Philosophy We believe that everyone has inside themselves the fuel to be the change they wish to see in the world; we are here to ignite it.
  • 9. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 9 Ignite IMC creates meaningful marketing. We understand your mission as a nonprofit, as well as your challenges. We understand that you must function in much the same way as a typical business but with half the budget and twice the purpose—and we understand why you do it. We use stories—not pitches—to help our partners—not just clients—create authentic, personal connections with their audience. We exercise unwavering integrity in the course of exceeding expectations. And thanks to our B-corp status, you can rest assured that, like every penny given to you is being used to do the greatest good possible, so is every penny you give us. Mission Statement Our mission, in no small part inspired by our incredible nonprofit partners, boils down to one defining drive: to ignite the fuel of meaningful change. Approach Marketing campaigns are only as good as the research behind them. At Ignite IMC we conduct in-depth market and competitive research to fully understand the landscape before crafting integrated campaigns and compelling stories to achieve your goals. Ignite values close collaboration with our partners. We want you to see us as part of your team, and you will certainly be treated as part of ours. We’re not a one-and-done, in-and-out agency. We are in the business of forging long-term relationships with our partners and helping them ignite lasting personal connections with their audience. Core Competencies Ignite IMC is a full-service agency that lives up to the name. Here’s a little fuel to get your imagination going: Digital We fully embrace the promise of the digital landscape in the context of nonprofit and cause marketing and have perfected the art of using emerging digital technologies to fuel real-world impacts. • Front-end web design and development for new websites and redesigns alike • Fully responsive online experiences from purpose-driven landing and donation pages to entire websites • Rich digital storytelling that earns your audience’s emotional interest and support
  • 10. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 10 Social Social media has opened up exciting new possibilities for nonprofits. Ignite IMC knows that social is not objective in itself but is a tactic and a tool to help you achieve your greater goals. We will help your nonprofit expertly navigate the social landscape and take advantage of the authentic connections and grassroots support it has to offer. • Authentic personal engagement with key market segments in their native online communities • Design and execution of two-way social media community management • Socially driven cause marketing and fundraising • Digital word-of-mouth via social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. Mobile We have, in many ways, become a mobile first society. Most of us have a powerful computer and communications device on our hip 24/7. This platform comes with its own unique advantages for nonprofits and Ignite IMC can help you leverage them to their greatest potential. • Reach your audience on a platform that almost never leaves their side • Mobile-first design for web, email, and social campaigns that will fully immerse your target audience at any touch point • Capitalize on authentic face to face connections at events by providing your supporters with an immediately actionable call to action on their mobile device Creative They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We think that’s an understatement. High-quality creative work can efficiently and emotionally speak for your brand in a way that words simply cannot. • Logos that uniquely and accurately reflect your brand, its mission, and its personality • Forget stock photos. Let us shoot high-quality photos of your actual office, people, products, and events • Videos from six-second Vine loops to high-quality productions highlighting your inspiring work Advertising Bolster connections with your current consumers and establish a presence with a larger audience. • Print and online, still and interactive, social and mobile. Your message will reach the right people at the right time in the right place. • Data-driven advertising strategies to give you the best visibility for your advertising dollar
  • 11. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 11 Branding/Positioning Give your brand a life and personality of its own. • Develop a clearly defined brand position and voice that authentically represents your organization and its goals • Solidify your position among charities and nonprofits and make it clear to potential donors why your organization is deserving of their support Public Relations It takes much more than just marketing to consumers to help your nonprofit succeed. • We will support your organization with professional public relations communications • Ignite can function as your liaison to the media, providing you with print-ready content to ensure earned media is on-message and engaging
  • 12. IgniteIMC.com / 202.615.6116 / 11441 Summer House Ct / Reston, VA 20194 For Immediate Release August 1, 2014 Contact: Kevin Kestler Founder CEO, Ignite IMC kevin.kestler@gmail.com (202) 615-6116 Integrated Marketing Agency Ignite IMC Opens for Business New agency focuses on creating meaningful and innovative marketing for charities and nonprofits Reston, VA (Aug 1, 2014) — Ignite IMC, a full-service integrated marketing communications agency in Reston, VA, has announced its official opening for business. The agile marketing agency focuses on creating carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to help charities and nonprofits authentically engage with their audience. Ignite IMC brings a fresh perspective and fiery resolve to the nonprofit sector. The agency assists clients in everything from creative design to the most involved ongoing social engagements and community events. Ignite leverages the latest proven tactics and technologies to help its partners fuel meaningful and lasting change. The company was founded as a B-corporation, submitting itself to third-party certification and a higher standard of purpose, accountability, and transparency. “We believe that nonprofit organizations that choose to do good and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same,” said Kevin Kestler, Founder and CEO of Ignite IMC. “As a B-corporation, we have chosen to walk the walk, giving 100% of our profits back to our community. Our highest motivations of creating a material positive impact on our society align with the motivations of our nonprofit partners. We are offering our marketing expertise to help these partners achieve the awareness and support they unquestionably deserve.“ Ignite is currently accepting new clients. For more information, visit IgniteIMC.com or tweet @IgniteIMC. ### About Ignite IMC Ignite IMC (www.IgniteIMC.com) is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency headquartered in Reston, VA and founded on the principal that nonprofit organizations that choose to do good and hold themselves to a higher standard deserve an agency that does the same. Ignite delivers charitable organizations and nonprofits carefully considered marketing strategies using innovative tactics to authentically engage with a well-understood target audience. Ignite holds at its core a drive, inspired by its nonprofit partners, to give back to the community. As a B-corporation, Ignite IMC holds itself to a higher standard and a greater purpose, giving 100% of profits back to the community.
  • 13. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 13 Partner Background Situation Analysis Overview St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (St. Jude) is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation based in Memphis, Tennessee (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014i). The St. Jude mission is “to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014j). From humble beginnings, St. Jude has become one of the world’s foremost pediatric cancer research and treatment centers. History “It all began with a simple promise.” Danny Thomas was a young man with a struggling entertainment career and a baby on the way. After attending a particularly moving mass in a Detroit church, Danny placed his last $7 in the collection box and prayed for a way to pay the hospital bills looming just over the horizon—and the following day was offered a part that would pay him ten times the $7 he had given to the church (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014d). Having experienced the power of prayer, Danny was reinvigorated and went on to achieve some success, but couldn’t quite make it through to the next level. He prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, saying “help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014d). Years later, after a flourishing career of international celebrity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is Danny’s fulfillment of
  • 14. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 14 that promise. The fuel that has ignited and motivated St. Jude as an organization since can best be described by Danny himself: “No child should die in the dawn of life” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014e). Foundations Progress To help fund the considerable annual operation costs of the early St. Jude, Danny Thomas turned to his fellow Lebanese-Americans and Arabic- speaking Americans for fundraising help. In 1957, 100 representatives of this community came together to form the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) with the sole purpose of generating fundraising support for St. Jude (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014d). With this support—which still continues today—the doors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened on February 4, 1962 (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014e). In the intervening years, St. Jude’s progress has been nothing if not miraculous. Treatments pioneered at St. Jude have helped to drive the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% in 1962 to more than 80% today with the goal of reaching 90% in the next decade (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). In fact, with a major focus on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), St. Jude has been able increase children’s survival rates for this terrible disease from just 4% before 1962 to 94% today (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). Today, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states all around the world and accommodated 67,000 patient visits per year on average (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). Groundbreaking research and daily operating costs of $2 million per day are supported in great part over 35,000 fundraising events per year and annual donations exceeding $880 million (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014a; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). Five-year cancer survival rates - 1962 vs. present* (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014f)
  • 15. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 15 Branding Position St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a veritable powerhouse among charitable organizations, accomplishing feats far beyond those of a typical singular hospital. The St. Jude name is mentioned by industry experts alongside the likes of the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, ranks 18th on Cone’s Power 100 Nonprofit list, and is the nation’s top children’s cancer hospital according to U.S. News and World Report (Zmuba, 2011). St. Jude separates itself from other similar charitable organizations in several ways. First among them is St. Jude’s dedication specifically to children. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). St. Jude has earned a reputation as a premier treatment facility for the toughest cases and most aggressive forms of childhood cancer that other facilities have struggled to treat successfully. Specifically, St. Jude serves as a national referral center for children with cancer and a local referral center for children with cancer, blood disorders, and HIV/AIDS (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014c). Despite its treatment and research focus on children, St. Jude sets itself apart by cultivating donors from all walks of life. St. Jude takes more of a lifecycle marketing approach to fundraising, vying to make an impression long before most other charities and nurturing these supporters throughout their entire lifetimes. Helping to encourage these supporters stick around for the long run are a bevy of celebrity supporters, the ongoing and highly public success of the St. Jude institution, and one other crucial factor: trust. Harris Interactive rates St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital the most-trusted charity in the nation—an invaluable differentiator that can help St. Jude earn donor support in an economy today that is drastically different from that during Danny Thomas’ or his children’s generations (Zmuba, 2011). Not only is St. Jude a world-class treatment facility, but it also is home to some of the most groundbreaking research into the root causes of catastrophic diseases in children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014i). This research and its breakthroughs, in turn, contribute directly back to leading-edge treatment and allow St. Jude to offer more clinical trials for cancer than any other children’s hospital (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). At St. Jude, a focus on children, world-class treatment, and groundbreaking research have come together, becoming more than the sum of their parts, to create “a place for hope” (broomcr, 2008). The best available treatments give parents of sick children time, hope, and support. Thanks to ongoing leading-edge research, parents of children who were unable to overcome their diseases can take comfort in knowing that their “No other organization can claim to have such a profound, lasting, and meaningful impact on the lives of children and pediatric illnesses.”
  • 16. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 16 child’s brave fight will serve to prevent similar suffering in the lives of other children and their families. No other organization can claim to have such a profound, lasting, and meaningful impact on the lives of children and pediatric illnesses as a whole. Challenges Future Direction St. Jude’s daily operating budget of $2 million might sound like a lot, but it is crucial that this money is spent wisely. Much of the media St. Jude uses for marketing and promotion is donated, discounted, or earned (Zmuba, 2011). In large part, St. Jude relies on cost-effective marketing channels such as public relations, social media, and its own website. A quick search for St. Jude’s current social media accounts reveals that they have amassed a very respectable social audience of over 2.2 million people, including • 1.69+ million Likes on Facebook, • 359,000+ Twitter followers, • 265,000+ followers on Google+ • 24,000+ Instagram followers, • 4,800+ YouTube subscribers, and • 230+ Pinterest followers. St. Jude’s social media and web content tends to focus on current and previous patients as well as fundraising and awareness events and is generally well-received and generates positive engagement. While St. Jude also competes for awareness and donations with other charities and nonprofits. In the treatment space, St. Jude competes with the likes of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a nationwide network of high-profile and respected hospitals with a broad variety of treatment specialties. In terms of fundraising for children’s healthcare, St. Jude competes with the Children’s Miracle Network, an international nonprofit fundraising organization supporting children’s hospitals. St. Jude must also compete for support with organizations like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which, while not competitors in the medical space, are able to tell compelling stories of non-medical support for sick children and their families—thereby competing for the attention and support of the same audience St. Jude seeks to reach. Beyond other organizations, St. Jude must also contend with industry-wide challenges. In the course of telling the story of its organization and the children it helps, St. Jude is necessarily exposing the general public to a certain level of the traumatic suffering of others, which can result in compassion fatigue: a gradual decrease in compassion over time mostly due to a growing feeling that support efforts are becoming increasingly pointless and ineffective (Joslyn, 2002). Potential donors eventually become desensitized to the stories many charities and nonprofits like St. Jude share to evoke compassion and encourage support and skeptical about how well any donations are being used (Donaldson, 2012). With nationwide charitable giving more or less level over the past four years, St. Jude must overcome hurdles like compassion fatigue to bolster donor retention (typically more economical than new donor acquisition) as much as possible
  • 17. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 17 (Haydon, 2011). Clearly, the stakes of St. Jude’s overall marketing programs are high. As of St. Jude’s 2013 Annual Report, donations alone accounted for 68% of total annual revenue and cover 94% of total annual expenses (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014a). With an average individual donation of just $30, St. Jude must mobilize all of the 5 million donors and 1 million volunteers on its books to maintain steady progress (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g; Zmuba, 2011). A crucial part of St. Jude’s fundraising effort is its young professional platform, which accounts for $30 million in donations annually (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). Within this platform, St. Jude has launched several successful efforts. Friends of St. Jude, with a focus on consumers ages 22-40, helped to raise funds, awareness, and volunteer participation among young professionals (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). St. Jude has also historically leveraged strong relationships within the collegiate space, specifically with the Tri Delta sorority and St. Jude Up ’til Dawn fundraisers which together boast over 38,000 participants (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). Not only does this demographic support St. Jude financially, but for two years in a row St. Jude has been recognized by Forbes as the top company where Millennials want to work. It is clear that St. Jude is well-known and respected among Millennials, but it has faced several challenges here as well. St. Jude has often lost touch with graduating college seniors—9,000 St. Jude supporters are expected to graduate this year alone (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). Millennials—particularly young professional audience—and their driven, connected lifestyles represent a huge opportunity for St. Jude to generate support now and build a foundation for the future. St. Jude must find a way to maintain its strong relationship with graduating seniors and reconnect with those who have lost contact, leverage social networks and native influence to win the competition for this generation’s fundraising dollars, and cultivate a strong base of life-long Millennial supporters who will generate consistent return on investment. Target Market Analysis Young professionals are a large demographic with quickly growing spending power and economic influence. They are unique from any generation that has come before them and are proud of it. As a brand, reaching this generation presents challenges that involve tactics drastically different from what many large corporations have come to embrace in recent decades, and some brands are facing these challenges more gracefully than others. “Millennials—particularly young professional audience— and their driven, connected lifestyles represent a huge opportunity for St. Jude.”
  • 18. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 18 Demographics Young professionals between the ages of 21 and 30 fall squarely in the middle of a generation known as Millennials. While there is some variation between sources, Millennials are frequently considered to be the generation born between 1977 and 1995. This encompasses 77 million Americans or 24% of the total U.S. population—which is equivalent in size to their parents’ Baby Boomer generation (The Nielsen Group, 2014). Beyond that, there are few similarities between Millennials and Boomers. Millennials are marrying at a rate half that of Boomers and account for 20% of all U.S. same-sex couples (The Nielsen Group, 2014). They prefer living in urban areas rich with culture, social interaction, and diversity. Whereas the Boomer generation’s make-up was mostly driven by high birth rates, the Millennial generation’s growth has been fueled immigration (The Nielsen Group, 2014). At 43% non-white, Millennials are the most ethnically diverse generation in the U.S. (Drake, 2014). In a historical and global context, the Millennial generation has been defined by the growing AIDS epidemic, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the fall of Berlin Wall and Soviet Union, September 11th, and immersion in technologies like email, texting, and social media (Fromm, Lindell, Decker, 2011). Psychographics The Millennial generation is not only demographically more diverse than previous generations, but it is also more tolerant and appreciative of that diversity, likely due to being exposed to it so frequently both in person and online (Nahai, 2013). Millennials are confident and socially aware, valuing equality and social responsibility (Nahai, 2013). Their lifestyles are fairly quiet, consisting largely of hanging out with friends, listening to music, and watching TV—but they are very distrustful of mainstream media (Nahai, 2013). This means that earned media like word-of-mouth, peer reviews and recommendations are the most influential in their purchasing process. Vehemently defensive of their individuality, Millennials will strive to avoid being painted with a broad brush or placed into a single category tightly-defined, though many have tried to do just that (Griner, 2014). Unique Characteristics Millennials have higher student loan debt, higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income than when the two generations before them were at the same stage in their lives (Drake, 2014; Petro, 2013). Some have blamed Millennials themselves and a perceived sense of entitlement; others believe it was in fact the Baby Boomer generation that has left Millennials to inherit a struggling and volatile economy and ailing planet (Balkin, 2014). Despite these hardships, Millennials are extremely
  • 19. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 19 confident about their future—they have big shoes to fill in terms of the economic output and spending power of their predecessors, and they fully intend to do so (Drake, 2014; Petro, 2013). Beyond these economic aspirations, Millennials thrive and gain fulfillment within the online and social ecosystem they have in large part constructed for themselves. Any brand that wishes to earn for itself the benefits of this generation’s current and future spending must fully understand its demographic diversity, individuality, and connectedness (Petro, 2013). Young Professionals and Nonprofits Millennials, in general, are highly engaged with cause marketing and nonprofits. Affiliation with a cause is more important to the Millennial generation than to any previous generation (Fromm, Lindell, Decker, 2011). In fact, in a survey conducted by Ignite IMC on behalf of St. Jude, 61.8% of Millennial survey respondents expressed a desire to find a charity or nonprofit to support over the course of their lifetime (this survey can be found in full in Appendix A. Its results and implications will be revealed and discussed throughout this plan). As Millennials’ digital prowess would suggest, social media is one of the main ways Millennials learn about nonprofits and cause marketing initiatives, but they’re also comfortable engaging with nonprofits via mobile and online (Fromm, Lindell, Decker, 2011). While previous generations have been willing to donate money and used goods, Millennials go the extra mile. They will buy products and services where that purchase supports a cause, they will volunteer their time to organize and attend charity events, and they will actively advocate for causes they believe in (Fromm, Lindell, Decker, 2011). Millennials view their time, their social networks, and their voice as potentially very valuable assets they can “donate” to a cause beyond financial and physical goods (Feldmann, 2014). However, Millennials don’t part with their valuable time, money, and online voice without careful consideration. Young professionals want to make sure their hard-earned dollars are being put to good use when donated, and are sticklers for corporate social and fiscal responsibility—63.6% of Millennial respondents to Ignite’s survey said they research a charity or nonprofit before making a donation or (Ray, Willis, Pattat, 2012)
  • 20. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 20 choosing to volunteer. While this may sound like a high standard to meet, St. Jude is currently in a good position to cater to this market with its continued commitment to effective resource utilization (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014b). Unfortunately, St. Jude has seen a disconnect from Millennials over recent years. St. Jude received donations from 303,000 Millennials in Fiscal Year 2013, a 16% decrease from Fiscal Year 2012 (Ray, Willis, Pattat, 2012). A closer examination reveals that St. Jude seems to be connecting with older Millennials (30-35 years of age) but is not as effective in connecting with younger Millennials. In addition, the median household income of Millennials is $58,000—$13,000 higher than that of the St. Jude active donor population (Ray, Willis, Pattat, 2012). Research suggests that St. Jude scores high in the brand attributes that are important to Millennial donors, and Millennials clearly have the means to become active St. Jude supporters, so the shortcoming appears to be in reaching the younger reaches of the Millennial generation with the right message and the right opportunities to engage with St. Jude (Ray, Willis, Pattat, 2012). Ignite’s survey showed that 47.3% of Millennials were unclear about what exactly St. Jude’s mission is and 20% were completely in the dark—the breakdown is seemingly in communication and not any kind of fundamental disconnect between St. Jude and the Millennial audience. SWOT Analysis St. Jude has several internal strengths and weaknesses that position it for both external opportunities and threats. This SWOT analysis serves to identify these factors both individually and in relation to each other. Among St. Jude’s greatest strengths are its generally high awareness, celebrity support, and world-class research and treatment. Despite past difficulty reaching young professionals, St. Jude is in a position to capitalize on the intersection of its favorable brand attributes and Millennials’ desire to make a difference. “St. Jude scores high in the brand attributes that are important to Millennial donors, and Millennials clearly have the means to become active St. Jude supporters, so the shortcoming appears to be in reaching the younger reaches of the Millennial generation with the right message and the right opportunities to engage with St. Jude.”
  • 21. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 21 Helpful Harmful InternalExternal S ThreatsOpportunities Strengths Weaknesses W O T • High awareness among general public • Large existing social media audience • Strong existing connections with segments of target market • Large internal workforce dedicated to fundraising • Recognizable celebrity spokespeople • Groundbreaking research medical breakthroughs • Low awareness among specific target audience (young professionals age 21- 30) • Social audience could be more engaged in two-way conversation • High daily operating costs • Available stories are often sad or deeply emotional, can evoke compassion fatigue • Decreasing donations from target market • Difficulty reaching younger Millennials, especially recent college graduates • Target market has higher median household income than current active donor population • Increasing acceptance of and support for charity, cause, and nonprofit content on social media • Target market willing more willing to volunteer time than past generations • Target market views its network social voice as an assets it’s willing to share with a nonprofit • Increasing popularity of workplace fundraising and employer donation matching • Many young professionals are seeking a nonprofit to support over their lifetime • Target market has a very high standard of fiscal and corporate responsibility for organizations to which it will donate/ volunteer • Economy still recovering from Great Recession • Compassion fatigue among donors and supporters • Many charities and nonprofits fighting for limited donations • Hard to keep up with young professionals’ use of a rapidly changing digital social landscape • Many young professionals support of a nonprofit is contingent upon a personal connection with its mission
  • 22. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 22 Brand Perception As mentioned above, there is a communication breakdown between St. Jude and the young professional audience. To gather further information Ignite IMC conducted a quick survey. Promoted via social media, the short online survey (detailed in Appendix A) gathered responses from 88 individuals, including 55 in the Millennial demographic (62.5% of total respondents). Responses were collected at https://www. surveymonkey.com/s/WSFWMCN between October 23, 2014 and November 6, 2014. This survey revealed that 47.3% of Millennials expressed uncertainty about what exactly St. Jude’s mission is and 20% were completely in the dark. While St. Jude scores high in brand attributes that are important to Millennials, there appears to be a gap between fulfilling this ideal and specific familiarity and connection directly with St. Jude (Ray, Willis, Pattat, 2012). However, a lack of familiarity with the particulars of St. Jude’s mission doesn’t seem to have affected the light in which young professionals view St. Jude. Of Millennial survey respondents, 73% agreed that they viewed St. Jude positively; over 36% strongly agreed with this sentiment. Rather than just a generic positivity toward the St. Jude brand, 62% of Millennial survey respondents said they viewed St. Jude as an honest and respectable organization. This kind of trustworthiness is essential in earning the support (especially the financial support) of young professionals who do not part easily with their valuable time, money, and voice. In addition, the perceptions described above aren’t empty; rather, they are enough to move young professionals to action. In Ignite’s survey, 45% of Millennials expressed a willingness to donate money to St. Jude and 31% expressed willingness to volunteer at a fundraising event. In other words, young professionals have expressed a general positivity towards St. Jude and a subsequent willingness to offer support, but do not have the deeper understanding of St. Jude that could spark greater affinity and long term commitments and advocacy. St. Jude’s greatest challenge, then, and a central purpose of Ignite IMC’s plan, will be to bridge the awareness gap that exists between St. Jude and this particular audience and forge a strong and lasting connection and commitment.
  • 23. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 23 Brand Positioning St. Jude is currently well-positioned within the marketplace at large, driven by its mission of “finding cures, saving children” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014g). St. Jude is distinctive, in part, as a nonprofit medical treatment and research organization in its focus solely on children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). This organizational focus, it seems, has led St. Jude to position its brand with a focus on parents and older adults. By focusing on parents whose children could potentially be affected by the same ailments facing the children portrayed in St. Jude’s brand messaging, St. Jude is drawing on empathy, parental protection instincts, and even, to a lesser extent, fear to reach its current audience. Many of St. Jude’s creative executions include emotional photographs of current or past St. Jude patients. The children are frequently identified by first name, further cementing the emotional connection with the viewer. Themes of parental care are common as well (e.g., “Most kids feel better with just a bandage and kiss. Kids with cancer need a cure.”) (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2006). In fact, in a Moat ad St. Jude ad featuring a St. Jude patient battling cancer (Moat, 2014). Despite relative unfamiliarity with the St. Jude brand and mission, Millennial respondents to Ignite IMC’s survey expressed overwhelming positivity towards St. Jude: 73% agreed that they viewed St. Jude positively; over 36% strongly agreed with this sentiment. (Full survey results can be found in Appendix A).
  • 24. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 24 This full-page newspaper ad ran in USA Today on December 1, 2006 to support the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2006)
  • 25. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 25 search for St. Jude ads, nearly all of the 243 results returned prominently featured a child whose short or missing hair signaled their ongoing battle with cancer (Moat, 2014). These ads are quite effective at evoking strong emotions, which can be both helpful and harmful. In the course of telling the story of its organization and the children it helps, St. Jude is necessarily exposing the general public to a certain level of the traumatic suffering of others, which can result in compassion fatigue: a gradual decrease in compassion over time mostly due to a growing feeling that support efforts are becoming increasingly pointless and ineffective (Joslyn, 2002). Potential donors eventually become desensitized to the stories many charities and nonprofits like St. Jude share to evoke compassion and encourage support and skeptical about how well any donations are being used (Donaldson, 2012). Millennials and young professionals in particular are already skeptical of advertising and hold brands to a higher-than-average standard of social and fiscal responsibility (Nahai, 2013). Combined, these factors mean that nonprofits like St. Jude are walking a brand positioning tightrope. St. Jude must honestly represent its mission without inviting the onset of compassion fatigue by relying too heavily on emotional appeals. It must also balance the necessary use of emotion with a more reason-based representation of its trustworthiness and organizational responsibility. With nationwide charitable giving more or less level over the past four years, St. Jude and other nonprofits must overcome hurdles like compassion fatigue and public skepticism/high standards to bolster donor retention (typically more economical than new donor acquisition) as much as possible (Haydon, 2011). To reach the desired target audience of young professionals, St. Jude must alter its current brand positioning. Millennials, especially young professionals at the lower end of this generation’s age range, are marrying and having children at much lower rates than previous generations (The Nielsen Group, 2014). Appeals to parental instinct and, to paraphrase a St. Jude tagline, giving thanks for the healthy children in their lives simply will not hit home nearly as well for this target audience as they will with others. Accordingly, St. Jude can position itself in a way that helps it reach the young professional demographic and create a strong affinity and desire to provide support while not alienating other groups. Brand Personality Every brand has a personality whether they know it or not, and successful brands have crafted carefully considered brand personalities to help them reach their audience more consistently and effectively. St. Jude’s current brand communications suggest a personality that is knowledgeable, helpful, and professional. These “St. Jude must overcome hurdles like compassion fatigue and public skepticism/high standards to bolster donor retention as much as possible.”
  • 26. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 26 are by no means bad attributes for a brand personality, but they are not the most effective in reaching the young professional target audience. To better reach young professionals now while maintaining a strong relationship with all constituencies into the future, Ignite IMC suggests St. Jude adopt a brand personality which is honest, effective, personal, and modern. Honest Young professionals want to make sure their hard-earned dollars are being put to good use when donated, and are sticklers for corporate social and fiscal responsibility—63.6% of Millennial respondents to Ignite’s survey said they research a charity or nonprofit before making a donation or choosing to volunteer. While St. Jude is currently in a good position to cater to this market with its continued commitment to effective resource utilization, the attribute of honesty should make its way into the brand’s personality and its everyday interactions with young professionals (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014b). Transparency, honesty, and continued showing of goodwill will bolster St. Jude as a trustworthy organization in the minds of young professionals. Effective Similar to young professionals’ requirement of social and fiscal responsibility from nonprofits they support, this demographic also expects that their money, time, and voice will be used not only responsibly but to create a great and lasting positive effect. St. Jude is clearly effective in pursuing its mission: treatments pioneered at St. Jude have helped to drive the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% in 1962 to more than 80% today with the goal of reaching 90% in the next decade (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 2014h). St. Jude’s brand personality must make it a point to shine a spotlight on its ongoing achievements to make it apparent to young professional supporters that their efforts are driving positive impacts in the lives of others. Personal Millennials have grown intolerant of being spoken down to or made the target of advertising (Nahai, 2013). Instead, they want to be part of the conversation. The age of social media has further leveled the playing field between brands and consumers, allowing for one-to-one communication on a scale that was previously impossible. Young professionals expect brands to not only listen to their attempts to engage on social media, but also for brands to take the time to respond individually without PR-heavy cookie cutter language. St. Jude would benefit greatly from allowing its current highly-professional personality to become more personable and approachable.
  • 27. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 27 Modern Young professionals are not willing to bend over backwards to connect with brands and expect that brands will have done their research to understand this demographic. In this particular case, that means a whole- hearted embrace of digital and social media, interaction, and open online engagement. It also means that St. Jude must be comfortable using new technologies to accept donations and drum up event awareness and attendance. While St. Jude is—and should be—proud of its history, it must show that it is both of and for the modern age in which it operates. Young professionals are incredibly forward-thinking and hopeful for the future and would prefer to support a nonprofit that embraces and personifies a similar air of modernity and progressiveness.
  • 28. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 28 Integrated Communication Strategy Statement • Established, reputable nonprofit capable of spurring meaningful medical progress and immediate patient support • Consistent progress in research and treatment of childhood diseases • Tax deduction for donations • Volunteering is a great résumé- builder • Contribute to St. Jude’s goal of raising childhood cancer survival rates to 90% within the next decade • Confidence that hard-earned dollars and volunteered time being put to good use • Supporting sick children and their families today, many others as St. Jude shares its research • Gain appreciation for the healthy children in your life while helping those who aren’t • Feeling of satisfaction and empowerment for having made a meaningful impact in the lives of others Rational Factors Emotional Factors Strategy Statement St. Jude is where every ounce of support to a worthy cause makes a meaningful and noticeable impact now and in the future. Rationale: St. Jude has a great starting point in that it possesses several brand attributes important to Millennial donors, including corporate responsibility, a consistent mission and vision, and highly effective service to those in need. At the core of the current plan to reach young professionals will be an effort position St. Jude as a trustworthy nonprofit where hard-earned dollars and precious time go further and do more than elsewhere.
  • 29. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 29 Creative Brief Why are we advertising? To position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young professional market, building an affinity for St. Jude among Millennials by using innovative tactics to authentically engage and activate this crucial demographic and cultivate strong base of life-long St. Jude supporters. Whom are we talking to? Young professionals, age 21 through 30, in the United States. This audience represents the older segment of the highly-sought-after Millennial generation. What do they currently think? Some have never heard of St. Jude. Those who have know St. Jude helps children with cancer but little more and have no strong reason to support the organization. What would we like them to think? St. Jude is a leading treatment and research nonprofit supporting children with catastrophic diseases and their families. St. Jude makes significant and meaningful positive impacts now and will continue to do so in the future and I am in a position to support that effort. What is the single most persuasive idea we can convey? Young professionals can personally contribute to St. Jude’s mission in a way that makes a meaningful and lasting impact in the lives of sick children and their families. Why should they believe it? St. Jude has made incredible progress in the treatment of childhood diseases since its doors opened. Young professionals are eager to be involved in charity and volunteering efforts and understand their collective power. Together, young professionals and St. Jude can make unprecedented progress towards St. Jude’s goal of increasing the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90% in the next decade. Are there any creative guidelines? Young professionals will be engaged within their own sphere of influence. Creative assets and tactics must be optimized for sharing within an online environment, leveraging young professionals’ social networks to advocate for St. Jude. Partner: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Type: Integrated marketing communication campaign Date: 8/1/14 Pages: 1
  • 30. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 30 Communication Plan The overall goal of this campaign is to position St. Jude as the elite fundraising program in the young professional market and to stimulate that experience into a collection of lifetime connections with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. With a total budget of $15 million, Ignite IMC will launch a year-long integrated marketing campaign running from August 2015 through July 2016. Through exciting in-person events, efficient and effective fundraising, and engaging online experiences, Ignite will position St. Jude to raise a total of $30 million over the course of three years. Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics Objective 1: Increase the average event fundraising total to $100,000 for events completed from August 2015 to July 2016 for a total revenue of $3M in year one with the potential to grow to $30M raised in 3 years. [Budget: $6,451,800] Strategy: Forge a deeper personal connection between young professionals and the work being done at St. Jude to help create brand affinity and stimulate life-long connections. Tactic 1.1: St. Jude “Champions“ patient advocate program Participants (“Champions”) in this program will be connected directly with a patient and his or her family. They will have the opportunity to become deeply familiar with one touching story and will be encouraged to share that story within their social networks. Through these stories, Champions will be able to expertly communicate the St. Jude mission through the highly-personal context of a single patient’s story. Ignite IMC and St. Jude will provide new Champions with a welcome kit that includes a profile of a St. Jude patient and his or her family and materials that will help the new Champion make the most of this unique opportunity to affect change, such as ideas for raising awareness and special St. Jude creative assets (high- quality photos, banner and flyer templates, etc.) to help them do so. Each Champion will have his or her own dedicated fundraising URL where they can accept donations to be given to St. Jude in honor of their patient and family. Champions will also have a dedicated section on the St. Jude Community site (see Tactic 2.1 for details) where they can exchange stories, share fundraising ideas, and gather support for their initiatives. Awareness of the Champions patient advocate program will be raised via online banner ads, email marketing, and social media promotion (owned, earned, and paid using the hashtag #StJudeChampions) driving consumers to a webpage on StJude.org that provide additional information and the opportunity to
  • 31. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 31 sign up for the program. Evaluation 1.1 Google Analytics data will be used to analyze traffic to the Champions program landing page as well as the efficacy of specific online banner ads and social media channels of driving traffic to the site. A subscription to the social-media-driven analytics service Simply Measured will be used throughout all tactics in this campaign involving social media. For this tactic, Simply Measured will provide data on the reach and impressions generated by St. Jude’s social media promotion as well as the most socially active Champions. MailChimp will provide analytics on email marketing efforts, including open rate, click-through rate, and conversions. Finally, . Tactic 1.2: “Champions’ Festival” fundraising events St. Jude will organize 25 “Champions’ Festival” fundraising events across the United States to help Champions program advocates raise money for St. Jude and their sponsored patient and family. The locally-rooted food and drink events will take place in 25 cities across the United States where Millennial populations are largest, including Austin, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; San Francisco, CA; and Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX (The Nielsen Company, 2014). Tickets to the event will be available on a dedicated page on StJude.org which can be accessed via the vanity URL ChampsFest.co. Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday will be sold for $18 per day or $32 for the weekend. For this price, attendees will be granted access to a festival filled with local restaurants offering samples of their best dishes; local breweries, distilleries, and vineyards offering samples of their beverages; and local artists and craftspeople displaying and selling their goods. Food and beverage providers will be charged $500 to set up a booth while arts and crafts booths will be charged a smaller fee of $300 to set up a booth and will pledge to donate 25% or more of all proceeds to St. Jude. Food and drink samples will be offered in exchange for tickets. Five tickets will be included with the price of admission and additional tickets will be available for sale at $1 each with all proceeds going directly to St. Jude. The Champions’ Festival will be heavily promoted through the use of print and outdoor advertising, online banner ads, email marketing, social media promotion (owned, earned, and paid using the hashtag #ChampsFest), and display ads on the music streaming service Pandora. Additionally, full-page interactive ads will be placed in the electronic versions of magazines popular with young professionals: WIRED, Sports Illustrated, and Rolling Stone. Evaluation 1.2 The Champions’ Festival will be evaluated primarily by number of attendees and funds raised. With 25 events of an estimated average attendance of 15,000 each, Ignite anticipates a total attendance of 375,000 across all events and a net fundraising total of $3,050,000.
  • 32. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 32 Each of the promotional tactics stated above (each flyer, each email, etc.) will have a unique discount code and trackable URL (where applicable) that will offer consumers a $2 discount on their ticket price and also allow Ignite to track the conversions from each channel. MailChimp will measure open rate and click- through rate on promotional emails and Simply Measured will be used to evaluate the reach and impressions generated by social promotion tactics. Tactic 1.3: St. Jude Hero of the Week Each week, this web- and social-driven tactic will highlight one St. Jude supporter (not required to be a Champions program participant) who is going above and beyond to support the St. Jude mission. A Hero of the Week webpage will be developed within the St. Jude Community webpage (see Tactic 2.1 for details). Hero of the Week nominees will be collected via this page and the winner will be featured, along with a short profile, on the webpage as well as through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. This tactic is intended to highlight the people who are making a difference and moving the St. Jude mission forward. Current and potential St. Jude supporters will be able to see that a single person can make an appreciable (and appreciated) difference, inspiring others to do the same. Ignite’s survey found that some Millennials believe that a large and relatively well-known non-profit like St. Jude doesn’t need or wouldn’t notice their support. The Hero of the Week tactic will show Millennials that their help is noticeable and effective in supporting the St. Jude mission. Evaluation 1.3 The St. Jude Hero of the Week program will be evaluated primarily on the reach of its message. Google Analytics will be used to track visits to the Hero of the Week page and Simply Measured will be used to monitor social reach and impressions. Ignite will also monitor and track the number of nominations received over time to evaluate awareness of this tactic and general levels grassroots support for St. Jude. In addition, the results of a post-campaign survey (see “Campaign Evaluation”) will be compared to Ignite’s pre-campaign survey to shed further light on how Millennials’ attitudes towards St. Jude and their expressed likelihood to offer support have changed as a result of this campaign. Tactic 1.4: “Eat. Shop. Give.” retail, restaurant, and bar partnerships In an effort to extend the impact of the Champions Festival throughout the year, St. Jude will partner with local restaurants, bars, and retail stores in each of the 25 major cities where the Champions Festival takes place. Window decals will advertise that these locations have partnered with St. Jude and provide ongoing support throughout the year by donating the proceeds from certain menu items and products to St. Jude. A special “Thankful Thursday” event a week before Thanksgiving will help to bolster the existing Thanks and Giving campaign by donating a percentage of proceeds (agreed upon per business) from all sales to St. Jude. This event will receive additional promotional support, in the form of a large and targeted postcard mailing campaign, above and beyond that listed below.
  • 33. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 33 St. Jude will also list participating businesses on its website to advertise their participation and attempt to deliver them additional customers. Businesses will also receive a small plastic sign to be displayed near the registers, host stand, or bar. Bars and restaurants will also receive a supply of promotional coasters. Social media and email promotion will further ensure awareness of the program and will advertise any special events or promotions businesses may decide to run to generate additional funds. Evaluation 1.4 This tactic will be evaluated primarily based on how much money is raised from the sale of featured menu items and products. Google Analytics will track visits to the tactic’s landing page, Simply Measured will monitor social media reach and impressions, and MailChimp will monitor email opens, clicks, and conversions. Objective 2: Increase visits to StJude.org by 30% between August 2015 and July 2016. [Budget: $5,026,200] Strategy: Provide a dedicated online space where users, particularly young professionals, can share their stories, experiences, photos, videos, events, and encouragement. Tactic 2.1: Create a dedicated St. Jude Community website section to host forums, discussions, and user-generated content. Online interaction comes naturally to Millennials. Much of this conversation occurs on social media, but the conversations are often disjointed and fleeting. Ignite IMC will provide St. Jude with an owned platform where supporters, especially young professionals, can share their stories, experiences, videos, events, polls, and general encouragement around the St. Jude brand. The St. Jude Community will be developed on St. Jude’s existing website at StJude.org/community. The functionality will be based on the familiar forum and discussion board format of posts and threads and will be styled to fit with the St. Jude brand and provide a cohesive experience with the rest of the website. Community members will be encouraged to share their stories about and experiences with St. Jude. The site will give St. Jude supporters one central place to go for information, support, and community organization. Threads and comments will feature a “Like” button that can be used to show agreement or support. A St. Jude Community Manager can then easily find the most popular topics within the Community and highlight these through social media (see Tactic 3.2 for more information). In addition to being an open forum for online interaction among all St. Jude supporters, the Community will also act as the hosting platform for several other tactics within this communications plan, including: • A sticky “Announcements” thread where St. Jude can post important general information; • A sub-forum for Champions patient advocate program participants where they can share their
  • 34. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 34 experiences with the program as well as ideas for raising awareness and funds in honor of their patient and family; • Sticky threads for each Champions Festival event where prospective event attendees can find more information and discussion about their city’s event; • A nomination and recognition page for the Hero of the Week; and • A page highlighting participants in retail/restaurant/bar partnership program. The St. Jude Community will be promoted most heavily in the digital space to provide an easy click-through call to action: online banner ads, social media (owned, earned, and paid), and email. Evaluation 2.1 This effort will be evaluated primarily by the volume of activity on the St. Jude Community site, including visits and unique visitors as measured by Google Analytics, number of registered users, and number of threads and comments. Top referral sources to the Community page will be tracked and promotional budget will be reallocated between channels as necessary to ensure efficiency. Google Analytics will track visits to Community pages, Simply Measured will monitor social media reach and impressions, and MailChimp will monitor email opens, clicks, and conversions. The Community will also provide value as a source of user- generated content (UGC) that can be repurposed for or promoted on social media and other channels. Tactic 2.2: Dedicated @StJudeCommunity Twitter account To help encourage conversations within the community of St. Jude supporters and amplify the best content, a dedicated @StJudeCommunity Twitter account will be created. This account will be used to seek out those sharing stories about St. Jude online and engage them in conversation. The account will promote the St. Jude Community website and encourage social media users to take advantage of the site as a place to share more in-depth stories that might not resonate with their general social media audience and receive advice and support from a community of people familiar with the St. Jude mission. @StJudeCommunity will also share (with permission) the most popular stories and content from the Community. Evaluation 2.2 Simply Measured will be used to track the audience size, reach, and impressions generated by the Twitter account, but as the primary goal of this account is to generate web traffic for the St. Jude Community website, the primary evaluation metrics will be visit and pageview data from Google Analytics. Tactic 2.3: eMagazine advertising To drive additional web traffic to the St. Jude site as a whole and the Community pages in particular, full- page interactive ads will be placed in the digital versions of magazines popular with young professionals: WIRED, Sports Illustrated, and Rolling Stone. The ads could include a live “What’s Hot” feed of the
  • 35. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 35 most Liked threads on the Community site; images featuring young professional St. Jude supporters; and links to StJude.org, the Community site, and St. Jude’s social media profiles. These ads will target young professionals on their frequently-used mobile devices where the call to action can be immediately followed. Evaluation 2.3 The eMagazine ads will be evaluated primarily based on the number of impressions generated and the volume of referrals back to St. Jude’s web properties. In addition, the post-campaign survey will include questions to investigate where young professional St. Jude supporters first heard about St. Jude. Objective 3: Increase social media engagement with St. Jude 100% between August 2015 and July 2016 [Budget: $1,925,000] Strategy: Through a combination of social advertising, purposeful outbound engagement, and careful content curation, raise awareness and engagement with St. Jude’s social profiles. Tactic 3.1: Promoted Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts around and for events and campaign tactics Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are among the largest and most-used social networks and are home to large young professional audience. Ignite will help St. Jude’s social content reach farther within this audience’s sphere of influence by providing paid support on key posts. Examples include posts promoting events like the Champions’ Festival, announcing the launch of the St. Jude Community website, or welcoming a new retail or restaurant partner into the program described in Tactic 1.4. Evaluation 3.1 While these promoted posts will result in some audience growth, their main purpose is to increase reach and resulting conversions. Accordingly, reach and impression metrics as calculated by Simply Measured will be the major evaluative factor. Ignite will also measure click-through rate on promoted posts as well as conversions (e.g.,. event registrations, Community sign-ups, donations) that are the direct result of promoted social media content. Tactic 3.2: Promoted account campaigns on Facebook and Twitter to grow social audiences Organic audience growth on social media can sometimes be a slow process. Providing fans and followers with quality content is one way to accelerate audience growth, and Tactics 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, and 3.3 will be effective to that end. To help provide a faster rate of growth and significant audience growth, Ignite will manage promoted account campaigns for St. Jude on Facebook and Twitter, specifically targeting the young professional demographic. With a larger audience, St. Jude will have a far larger platform and greater organic reach and growth potential for future social media initiatives. This tactic will position St. Jude for continued success in the social media space even after this campaign has ended.
  • 36. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 36 Evaluation 3.2 This tactic will be judged primarily by audience growth and cost per Facebook like or Twitter follow. Ignite anticipates an initial spike in growth immediately following ad launch as stagnant fans and “lurkers” (those who check in with St. Jude occasionally but haven’t liked or followed) are activated. This will be followed by more gradual but consistent growth. Ignite will also monitor the organic reach, organic impressions, and engagements (e.g., post likes, comments, retweets, mentions) achieved by St. Jude’s social content as increased audience size should contribute to corresponding growth in these metrics. Tactic 3.3: Leverage user-generated content from St. Jude Community site Sharing quality content on social media is one of the best possible ways to quickly grow your audience and continually engage in quality conversations. While Ignite and St. Jude will continue to create a steady stream of quality content, user-generated content (UGC) will also be gathered, repurposed, and shared on social media. The St. Jude Community site will be one of the primary sources of this UGC. Within the Community site, St. Jude supporters will be sharing fundraising ideas, pictures from events, and stories surrounding the St. Jude mission. Ignite will surface the best of this content to be shared with the broader community on social media, giving supporters a larger platform from which to share their ideas and inspirations and giving St. Jude a nearly endless source of content sure to resonate with social media audiences. UGC will account for roughly 25% of the social media content shared by St. Jude, limiting the risk of compassion fatigue by amplifying the inspirational voices of supporters and further strengthening this community. Evaluation 3.3 The success of UGC social media content will be evaluated by the engagement on these posts as measured by Simply Measured. Google Analytics will be used to track any referrals back to the St. Jude website, including the Community site, as well as any conversions (email subscriptions, donations, event registrations, etc.) that may occur as a result of this content. Objective 4: Build awareness and buy-in of campaign internally [Budget: $203,150] Strategy: Create awareness around campaign and educate internal audience about objectives, tactics, and avenues for involvement Tactic 4.1: “Hope Begins with YOU” campaign kickoff event To build awareness around Ignite IMC and St. Jude’s partnership and to educate all internal stakeholders about the campaign’s objectives and upcoming tactics, Ignite will organize a company-wide event in early September 2015 as the campaign gets underway.
  • 37. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 37 These events will be created around the theme “Hope Begins with YOU” with the intention of showing internal audiences that it is their work, individually and collectively, that enables St. Jude to make a difference in the lives of sick children, their families, and the world as a whole. Everyone from administrative staff to doctors and fundraisers will be invited to attend the event at the Memphis Cook Convention Center right in St. Jude’s home town. The event will be free to attend for all employees and will feature keynote addresses from St. Jude CEO William Evans and Marlo Thomas, daughter of Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude Children’s research hospital. Marlo Thomas will tell the story of the founding of St. Jude and the vision for the future, energizing employees and reinvigorating them with the greater mission in mind. CEO Evans will then briefly announce the partnership with Ignite IMC before going on to introduce the objectives and highlight the key tactics laid out on this plan. All employees (even those who are unable to attend) will receive a brief one-page summary of this campaign, a “Hope begins with ME” t-shirt, and free tickets to attend the Memphis Champions’ Festival. Evaluation 4.1 Event attendance will be the first major indicator of this tactic’s success. While the event is free, it is understood that not all employees will be available to attend the event due to staffing concerns and other potential issues. The extent to which this tactic delivers on the objective of internal awareness and buy-in will also be evaluated using employee surveys to be administered before and after the campaign. These surveys will explore, before and after Ignite’s campaign, employee attitudes towards St. Jude in general, familiarity with the overall mission, familiarity with Ignite’s campaigns on behalf of St. Jude, and opinions on the success of these campaigns. Tactic 4.2: Campaign posters and recap emails To ensure this campaign and upcoming tactic deployments remain top-of-mind for all internal audiences, posters will be created to hang throughout the St. Jude campus, primarily in employee-only areas. These posters will highlight upcoming or recently launched programs and will tell employees how they can get involved and offer their support. These posters will be changed out every 7-9 weeks to ensure the most recent information is displayed. As new campaign tactic posters are distributed, Ignite IMC will provide CEO William Evans easily- understood summary data recapping campaign progress and successes to date. This will show that St. Jude is committed in a big way to moving its mission forward and is making large, visible strides towards that end. Evaluation 4.2 As with Tactic 4.1, Tactic 4.2 will be evaluated using employee surveys to be administered to employees before and after the campaign. Recap emails specifically will be evaluated by open rate and click-through rate to read further details recapping in-progress and recently completed tactics.
  • 38. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 38 Communications Timeline To ensure all campaign tactics are deployed in a timely manner and all goals and objectives are met (or exceeded), Ignite IMC will roll out campaign tactics as shown in the Communications Timeline below. While some tactic deployments are firm (for example, Champions Festival dates), others are more flexible. For example, promoted social media account campaign activity may fluctuate from month to month as inventories and ad unit costs change. Ignite IMC will notify St. Jude of any and all necessary deviations from the timeline below and will manage tactics such that all goals and objectives are met regardless of tactic timing. The Communications Timeline can also be viewed in Appendix B or online at http://bit.ly/IgniteTimeline.
  • 39. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 39 Budget Summary Rather than an charging hourly fee, Ignite IMC charges a 9% agency fee based on the total campaign budget. This fee covers all day-to-day campaign planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, including administrative costs and any work necessary to ensure your campaign runs smoothly and delivers on all goals and objectives. The Budget Summary can also be viewed in Appendix C or online at http://bit.ly/IgniteBudget.
  • 40. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 40 Creative Executions Champions program online banner ads (Tactic 1.1):
  • 41. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 41 Champions’ Festival t-shirts (Tactic 1.2):
  • 42. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 42 Champions’ Festival Pandora and online banner ads (Tactic 1.2):
  • 43. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 43 Promoted Facebook posts (Tactics 1.1 2.1):
  • 44. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 44 Champions’ Festival promoted tweets (Tactic 1.2):
  • 45. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 45 Hero of the Week site mockup (Tactic 1.3):
  • 46. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 46 Retail/restaurant partnership program poster (Tactic 1.4):
  • 47. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 47 St. Jude Community site mockup (Tactic 2.1):
  • 48. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 48 T-shirts for “Hope begins with YOU” event (Tactic 4.1):
  • 49. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 49 Tactic posters for St. Jude offices (Tactic 4.2):
  • 50. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 50 Measurement Evaluation Focus Group Results To thoroughly evaluate this campaign plan and gather additional opinions, beliefs, and attitudes with regard to St. Jude and the young professional target market, Ignite IMC organized a focus group. The focus group took place on Sunday, November 30, 2014 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. via a recorded Google Hangout. There were six participants, four male and two female, ranging in age from 25 to 30. Participants represented four cities from across the country: Washington, D.C.; Boston, MA; San Diego, CA; and Austin, TX. While the online focus group platform does present certain limitations in terms of observing body language and other factors, it affords the opportunity to speak with participants from very different geographic locations, which Ignite felt would provide more useful feedback regarding tactics within this plan that will be deployed at various locations across the United States. All participants were employed full-time and expressed an active use of social media and other digital communications and entertainment platforms. Participants were given an electronic Starbucks gift card in the amount of $15 prior to their participation and were asked to pick up the beverage of their preference, find a quiet place where they would be uninterrupted for the duration of the focus group, and log in to the Google Hangout shortly before the 7:00 p.m. start time. The focus group began with an Ignite IMC moderator welcoming the participants and thanking them for agreeing to participate. The moderator explained that the groups purpose would be to openly and honestly discuss • the young professional demographic, • opinions and attitudes towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, • Ignite IMC’s assumptions and findings about the intersection of the young professional market and St. Jude’s needs, and • Ignite IMC’s communication plan and creative executions. Each participant was provided a PDF document one week prior to the start of the focus group to allow time for it to be reviewed. This document included • a list of the questions to be discussed; • a copy of Ignite’s Communication Plan, including objectives, strategies, and tactics; and • high-quality representations of each of Ignite’s 10 creative execution examples.
  • 51. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 51 Before the first question was asked, the moderator reviewed the PDF document and its contents. The moderator expressed that the discussion would be as natural and free-flowing as possible while still allowing all participants the opportunity to have his or her opinions heard. To accomplish this, the time immediately following each question would be designated as time for each participant, one at a time, to offer a quick expression of their thoughts and opinions. After that, the conversation would be allowed to flow naturally as participants discussed their opinions together. The moderator was to step in occasionally to ensure the conversation remained on-topic and to encourage a deeper dive into particular topics of discussion that were both relevant to the focus group’s objectives and a source of quality conversation amongst the participants. The focus group participants were asked seven total questions from which discussion would organically evolve: • What do you currently know about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital? Are you familiar with their mission and their work? • Where have you seen St. Jude’s marketing messages before? What did you think about them? • How would you describe the Millennial generation as a whole? Are there any characteristics you think are common to the generation as a whole? • Do you think most Millennials are interested in donating non-profits and charities? What kind of ways besides a financial donation do you think Millennials would be likely to show support? • What are your opinion’s on Ignite IMC’s Integrated Communication Strategy Statement (ICSS) for St. Jude? Does it accurately represent the factors involved and present a viable strategy for reaching young professionals? • What are your thoughts on the tactics and creative executions presented in the Communication Plan? • Do you think that the tactics proposed by Ignite will be successful and result in increased engagement and support activity towards St. Jude from young professionals? Note: before beginning questions about Ignite IMC’s ICSS and Communication Plan, the moderator gave a short presentation outlining each of these elements, including individual objectives, strategies, and tactics. The following is a discussion of the focus group’s responses to each question. The complete moderator’s guide used for this focus group can be found in Appendix D. Knowledge of St. Jude All participants expressed that they had at least heard of St. Jude. Beyond that, knowledge varied a great deal. One participant stated “I know I’ve heard something about them before, and can remember they’re some kind of charity, but that’s about it.” Three other participants knew St. Jude was a non-profit engaging in cancer research, of which one also knew that St. Jude patients aren’t charged for treatment. The two
  • 52. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 52 remaining participants were actually familiar with the Thanks and Giving campaign from a television commercial. When the moderator relayed a few particulars about St. Jude, including their exact mission, details of their operation and philosophy, and St. Jude’s operating budget and fundraising efforts, participants appeared to be genuinely surprised. This is consistent with the findings of Ignite’s survey, which found that 47.3% of Millennials are uncertain about St. Jude’s mission and 20% are actually completely in the dark. St. Jude Marketing Only two participants expressed any recollection of St. Jude marketing tactics. Both had seen television commercials for St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving campaign. One of these participants noted “they must be doing pretty well because there were, like, five different celebrities in the commercial.” Both participants viewed the television commercial favorably. They were drawn in by the appearances from several high-profile celebrities and noted that seeing a St. Jude patient who had lost her hair made a strong emotional impact. However, neither said they donated to St. Jude as a result of the commercial and in fact hadn’t thought much about St. Jude again until the focus group. Given that the focus group took place shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday, Ignite is somewhat surprised that only two of the six participants were familiar with this campaign, given the increased marketing volume from St. Jude during this time of year and the fact that many consumers enjoy more leisure time around the holidays, during which they may spend more time than usual watching television. However, the draw of spending time with family and the generally overwhelming volume of advertising occurring during the holidays may contribute to decreased attention or recollection of particular ads like St. Jude’s. Millennials Being Millennials themselves, the focus group participants offered some very interesting opinions on the generational cohort. Their observations were keenly self-aware, showing knowledge of misconceptions about their generation as well as more accurate descriptions that some might find surprising. For example, all participants were aware of the characterization of Millennials as entitled and self- centered, sometimes referred to as the “Me” generation. Unsurprisingly, all participants also disputed this characterization while admitting its truth for some smaller segments of their generation. The group quickly went on to discuss the Millennial generation’s diversity and awareness of social issues. One participant pointed out that she felt Millennials as a whole “are much more progressive than older generations, at least when it comes to social issues.” When it comes to media and communications, all participants said they use social media in at least some
  • 53. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 53 capacity. Of the six participants, all have accounts on Facebook, four on Twitter, five on Instagram, three on Pinterest, and two on Snapchat. Four participants said they check their social accounts at least once per day. Of the remaining two, one said he “signs on to Facebook every once in a while—maybe once a week” while the other was a self-described “Instagram and Snapchat addict,” posting on each of these accounts at least once per day if not more. Asked to elaborate as to why he chose to use social media only sparingly, the aforementioned participant said he was “busy enough already...besides, I don’t need my whole life documented online for everyone to see.” Millennials and non-profits Asked specifically about how interested they believed Millennials were in supporting non-profits and charities, the focus group unanimously agreed that Millennials are “more interested than most people might think” in philanthropic pursuits. One participant mentioned that, in her experience, Millennials are “not so much the ‘drop a dollar in the donation jar’” type when it comes to supporting nonprofits, but prefer to be more involved. This observation is consistent with Ignite IMC’s survey results, which indicated that 63.6% of Millennials research a charity or non-profit before making a donation. While two of the six focus group participants said they would personally prefer to just donate money in support of a charity or non-profit, the remaining four said they’d more readily take actions like buying a product where proceeds go to a cause, volunteer at or participate in a fundraising event, or help raise awareness using their social media accounts. As the discussion for this question was coming to a close, one participant offered up this observation that is particularly relevant to St. Jude: “with Millennials, I feel like it’s less about whether they want to support charity and more about finding the right charity to support.” Integrated Communication Strategy Statement Presented with Ignite IMC’s Integrated Communication Strategy Statement for St. Jude (“St. Jude is where every ounce of support to a worthy cause makes a meaningful and noticeable impact now and in the future.”), focus group participants described it as “comprehensive” and “a good fit” given St. Jude’s needs and the characteristics of the young professional audience. One participant noted that “it might be more effective to focus on the immediate impacts of supporting St. Jude because we want to know exactly what our effort is going towards.” Another valuable piece of feedback received was “based on what we’ve talked about so far, it sounds like Millennials are looking for more of a relationship, so I would make sure you emphasize that this isn’t just a one-time thing and St. Jude wants to keep in touch.”
  • 54. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 54 Communication Plan Tactics After taking a moment to refresh their memories using the provided PDF document, focus group participants were asked their opinions on Ignite’s Communication Plan, tactics, and the 10 provided creative executions. The consensus of the group was that the plan overall “does a good job of setting up young professionals to have a more intimate relationship with St. Jude than with a lot of other charities.” Three of the six participants specifically mentioned the Champions patient advocate program as a great idea, saying “I’d sign up for that in a heartbeat” and “like we said before, that’s a great way to connect supporting St. Jude with something more immediate or tangible.“ The group also liked the Hero of the Week concept; one participant noted “I think that’s a great way to show that St. Jude cares about you and wants more than just your money—they want a long-term relationship.” The Champions’ Festival tactic was particularly well-received with the focus group. One participant liked how “the local focus of the events made them seem more meaningful and impactful than some kind of huge national event. It makes St. Jude seem more relatable.” Participants noted that the Champions’ Festival was a great way to leverage something young professionals already enjoy doing and make it a way to support a good cause at the same time. The group also offered constructive criticism regarding the St. Jude Community site and the restaurant/ retail partnership program. One participant noted that “something like the Community idea will take time and effort to get running like you’d want it to.” She went on to say that it might be worth placing additional ad support towards the Community and @StJudeCommunity Twitter account as a way to “kick start” the growth of the Community. Several participants were also critical of the initial name and creative supporting the restaurant/retail partnership program, which was initially “Eat. Drink. Give.” They mentioned that, while catchy, the inclusion of “Drink” in the title and creative might not be the kind of image St. Jude would like to project and could be taken the wrong way. Accordingly, Ignite has since changed the program title and creative to reflect the retail aspect of these partnerships: “Eat. Shop. Give.” Predicted Impact of Campaign All focus group participants agreed that the presented plan and tactics seemed like they would help St. Jude increase engagement and support activity like donations and volunteering. One participant said “it seems like there’s something there for everyone,” while another stated “I think there’s a good progression from more casual involvement to the kind of lasting relationship that St. Jude is looking for.” Given the hypothetical scenario of being presented with all of Ignite’s tactics as options for supporting St. Jude, all six said they would be willing to participate in at least one, and five of the six participants also said they could think of at least one friend with whom they would likely share that involvement.
  • 55. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 55 Campaign Evaluation In addition to the evaluation methods previously described for each individual tactic, Ignite IMC will evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign as a whole through a few methods. Continuous evaluation of the campaign will be possible through the use of tools like Simply Measured, Google Analytics, and MailChimp analytics. Each of these tools will be used at the individual tactic level, but will also be used to gauge overall progress throughout the duration of the campaign. Just a few examples of the metrics Ignite will be monitoring throughout the campaign are: • Social media audience size • Social media engagement volume • Social media engagement rate • Total website pageviews • Total website unique visitors • Ignite tactic site pageviews (Community site, Hero of the Week page, etc.) • Ignite tactic site unique visitors (Community site, Hero of the Week page, etc.) • Social media referrals to St. Jude website • Social media conversion rate • Email open rate • Email click-through rate • Email conversion rate In addition to these measure, Ignite IMC will use of pre- and post-campaign surveys to evaluate the impact of the campaign as a whole. To achieve statistical significance with this survey, Ignite IMC will seek a minimum of 1,200 survey respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 for each survey. In addition, for a true point-to-point comparison, the pre- and post-campaign surveys will be identical, gauging knowledge of and attitudes towards St. Jude. The questions on the surveys ascertain the following: • Age • Gender • Current donation, volunteering, and other supportive activity for non-profits and charities in general • Current attitudes towards and opinions of non-profits and charities in general • Awareness of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital • Knowledge of St. Jude’s mission and work • Current donation, volunteering, and other supportive activity for St. Jude in particular • Current attitudes towards and opinions of St. Jude in particular
  • 56. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 56 • Exposure to and opinion of Ignite IMC’s communications plan tactics • Extent of any support to St. Jude as a result of Ignite IMC’s communication tactics • Self-evaluation of the efficacy of any support given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • 57. St. Jude Campaign Proposal | 2014 Ignite IMC Page | 57 Conclusion Within a complicated landscape, integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a way to bring brands together with the audiences in the best position to engage with and support them. IMC as a whole is a way to deliver the right message to the right audience at precisely the right time. When it comes to igniting the fuel within each of us to realize change in the world, there is no one who does this better than Ignite IMC. The non-profit landscape and the Millennial generation are, without a doubt, challenging to navigate. But where others have seen road blocks, Ignite IMC sees opportunity. By leveraging our digital, social, mobile, creative, and advertising expertise in ways supported by extensive and targeted research,we have laid out a plan to deliver St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital a highly engaged and supportive audience of young professionals that will fuel enthusiastic and genuine support in the short and long term. From recognizing unsung heroes with the Hero of the Week initiative to forging deeply personal connections through the Champions patient advocacy program, Ignite IMC has crafted a communications plan that will help St. Jude connect with young professionals in a way that progresses from casual support to life-long advocacy. This multi-platform approach will enable St. Jude to connect with young professionals in a way the organization has previously been unable to achieve. Tactics that encourage the kind of one-to-one communication young professionals crave with any brand will make St. Jude a top-of-mind non-profit that enjoys affinity and advocacy from an audience with enormous influence and constantly growing economic power.
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