UV2’s second presentation for Management 5150.
Members:
Jonathan Elbaz
Miroslav Jeliazkov
Natalie Kotikova
Keith Loo
Rafael Rosenzuaig
Manpreet Virdi
Himanshu Vyas
4. Sugar-coated messages The South African community is like a child scared of taking unknown medicine. Sugar-coat the medicine, and the fear of the unknown is dissolved.
5. The next BIG thing TV Series Everyday people Emotional connection Subtle message Inspire change
Is the De Beers HIV/AIDS strategy sustainable in the emerging new structure?How can De Beers have the greatest impact on this issue given their organizational constraints?REMOVE CAPITAL I
In preparation for this meeting we have reviewed multiple aspects of HIV/AIDS problem and their impact on DeBeers.Economical - The projected labour shortages due to people dying from AIDS are not yet noticeable at DeBeers because half of the population in SA is under the age of 20 and the demand for jobs is high. However, as more employees get sick, their treatment cost will rise together with the cost of hiring and training. Given the DeBeer’s eroding market share in the diamond business, it is unknown whether the company will have a sufficient AIDS budget going forward . In fact, some unprofitable mines don’t have a budget already and already the treatment isn’t available to all in needs (contractors, multiple spouses, kids are not eligible for the corporate program). 95% of DeBeers diamonds are mined in Africa. This won’t be sustainable if workforce isn’t there, which is a threat to DeBeers business.Medical – HIV/AIDS is a huge medical problem. SA is lacking the sufficient health infrastructure, medical staff, affordable insurance coverage. The anti-viral drugs are expensive, the side effects are severe and the treatment routine is complicated. DeBeers, with its clinics and doctors, is trying to fill the void, but the corporate resources and program outreach clearly isn't sufficient enough to combat the decease alone.Political – The government of SA has not taken a leadership position in addressing the AIDS. Instead of offering subsidies to companies such as DeBeers who are trying to help, the government is taking too long to grant or renew the existing mining licences. It creates a paradox where DeBeers has to invest in social programs to please local governments, yet the company does not have an assurance of a long term presence in those communities.Social – SA has some unique features (concurrent partners, beliefs in traditional healers, male dominated culture). You yourself have observed the following paradoxes related to AIDS program. - There are many sick people who are eligible to receive treatment yet they don’t enrol into the program. - People with a substantial knowledge of HIV/AIDS still engage in risky behaviour.Clearly, this proves a complexity of HIV/AIDS problem and the environment in SA.__________________________________________________________________________Business Frame? Unproductive employees Cost of Hiring and Training Potential Labour shortages No disposable income to buy diamonds, etc. Expensive programs to test and treat Unprofitable mines cannot finance VCT No access to treatment for contractors Peer Educators are leavingMedical Frame? Nutrition Expensive drugs Difficult treatment routine Not enough hospitals Shortage of medical staff (nurses, doctors) Not enough condoms Blood safetyPolitical Frame? Government position on the issue – malnutrition vs A!*$ No subsidies to companies who are trying to resolve the issues No regulations, for example making H1V test a mandatory routine No national educational and awareness programCultural/Social Frame? Male dominated society Perception of A1D$ as a ‘poor black people disease’ Going to natural healers instead of doctors Risky sexual behaviours Multiple concurrent partners
So far De Beers strategy was mostly “giving a man a fish”, where “fish” is annual HIV tests, drugs, counselling, grants to various charities, money to communities for building schools, hospitals, etc.This has been a great strategy and DeBeers has done more than anybody else to help people in South Africa. We applaud you for that.Unfortunately, current approach is lacking two things that are a must for a sustainable development. First, it’s a long term approach and secondly, innovation. DeBeers current strategy in fighting AIDS is modelled after the Debswana operations for the corporate program and after the Anglo-American strategy for the community program. Benchmarking itself against tried and true methods results in playing a catch up game. If tomorrow DeBeers chooses to pull its stake in South Africa and leave, there will be very little legacy left behind in terms of impact on AIDS. The fish will be gone and the men will start starving again.This makes DeBeers current strategy not sustainable long term.We suggest that DeBeers shall continue with what is already working well, but shift the focus on “teaching a man to fish”, using a solution that will create long term benefits.What is this solution?_____________________________________________Each frame can have its own 15% solution. Examples:Business: a) raising more funds could help in extending treatment to more people (spouses, kids, contractors) or b) Empowering Peer Educators (career, $$$) could improve the effectiveness of communication.à Will it generate a snow ball effect? Likely not, because people don’t enrol in the program even where it is available, funded and well communicated.Medical: lobby pharmaceutical companies to make cheaper and better drugs.à If people continue to engage in risky sexual behaviour, drugs won’t solve the problem.Political: lobby government to make H1V test mandatory or make medical schemas cheap and accessible so everyone can receive treatment for A1D$ and related deceases (TB, malaria).à Good, but does not address the risky sexual behaviour, women being raped, people preferring natural healers.Cultural: Find a solution that will change how people think of A1D$, deal with it and behave. Changing the mentality of the society has the most potential of generating a chain reaction of positive changes.What king of solution would do that?
The South African community is like a small child scared of taking unknown medicine. Sugar coat the medicine, and the fear of the unknown is dissolved.Intangible benefits – product placement, credits, relationships with local governments where films are being produced.Snowball effect slide – radio, newspaper coverage, etc. – reframe each seasonTV show – radio show, newspaper, magazine
Use TV image
Picture this.It is a Saturday evening of summer 2012. Everyone is home in a small mining community. People have gathered around their TV sets to watch the last episode of the season of their favourite show ‘Life beyond diamonds’. Over the past two years (since the series were first aired in South Africa) the characters from the show entered and became an integral part of life of every household in the country. Most recently, everyone was following a story of a young man, Kopano, who has left his village to work at the mine miles away, leaving his beloved fiancée Mandisa behind. His story is controversial. Kopano is a hero who rescued several people during a bad accident in the mine that claimed lives of many miners. Yet, while living at the hostel, he is having an affair with a sex worker. He travels many miles to see his fiancée once a month. He knows that soon they will be married and he is saving money to support his future family. What Kopano does not know is that with small gifts he is bringing home on each visit he also brought HIV.
Every episode of the show is captivating and emotional. Kopano’s fiancée is ashamed of being sick with AIDS and is trying to hide this fact. She suffers immensely. Her father, a healer, is doing everything in his power to help her, but shortly after her marriage to Kopano it becomes clear that she is dying. Tonight’s episode is a climax for the year and it has received a lot of advanced media coverage. Respected doctors shared their opinions on how anti-viral drugs can save a life of an AIDS patient. People, once sick and now recovering, were interviewed to provide some first hand insights on the issue. And the whole country wants to know what happens to Mandisa. Well, it’s a tragic ending, she dies. Her father, unable to cope with the loss, looses his mind.
The episode is over, but people aren’t leaving. Some women are still crying and some are trying to explain to their children, who watched the show with their parents, the significance of the AIDS problem. Paki, a young minor, who also watched the episode, is shocked. He just returned home and was looking forward seeing his girlfriend. Just like Kopano in the show, he also had a casual relationship while away, and now he is afraid that he might be infected. He makes a decision to test for HIV as soon as he returns to work. He also makes a mental note to buy condoms on his way to his girlfriend’s house because he feels responsible for his actions. One man sits quietly in the corner. He is a natural healer and the whole community looks up to him. He’s been following a story of Mandisa’s father and he knows only too well the frustration, pain and despair of being powerless to help people with AIDS. He was approached by a doctor who works for a big corporation in the area to join forces in the fight against AIDS. The healer does not like the corporation much, but now he thinks it is his duty to promote the usage of the anti-viral drugs. The series are far from being over. More episodes will come out next year portraying joys and tragedies, love and hatred, crime and justice, everything that takes place in small communities devastated by AIDS. There will be new charismatic characters in the show and viewers will be able to easily relate to them, learn from them and subconsciously adopt new ways of behaving, thinking and dealing with AIDS. The show was created with an ambitious, but not an impossible, goal to change the mentality of the entire society. Over the past two years it generated a chain reaction and the positive changes are taking place everywhere. And you, De Beers, made it happen.
Why is this a good idea?‘leverage what is working’ This is a twofold strategy: 1- Leverage our experience in Botswana with regards to producing a TV series 2-We already have the medical infrastructure, the literature, but we are not using them effectively. By changing the way people perceive the virus, we will be better able to capitalize on the infrastructure that we put in place. Emotional CharactersWe want to introduce characters that resonate with their audience by depicting their struggle, which the audience can relate to. We want to depict children that are forced to care for a family in peril…Minors that are forced to relocate to hostels and other dwellings in search of work…Women being subjected to a subservient culture …Managers and people of different walks of life to finally break the stigma of this being a poor black man’s disease. Change Perception of AidsThis approach will help de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS and ultimately lead to our goal of changing behaviour.
IMPLEMENTATION: TV StationsEstablish an oversight committee to manage the show: De BeersMedia & corporate partners interested in teaming up against AIDSLocal governments who have local reachWe will also reach out to local and international celebrities who are already engaged in combating the virus. With their stardom they will be able to further attract support to the show and grant us access to the most talented pool of writers, directors & producers.Film pilotMarket with out media partners: SABC1, websites cudoclub.com (a popular media website), magazines, buses etc… Launch pilot
Were starting off by temporarily shifting part of our social & corporate budget to jumpstarting the showInitial funding powers production and allows the show to materialize. We then leverage our relationship with our media partners to generate hypeThis will generate an advertising revenue for the show that will allow the program to become self sufficient and continue to grow indefinitely.The show will have intangible benefits to Be Beers through establishing better relations to local governments and agencies that air the program. Our efforts will trigger a snowball effect that will get more companies involved…in fighting AIDS and will have lasting effects on the community!
TV Show => Awareness => Other outlets for combating Aids.