Do you also have the feeling we are not doing enough to really help for example the Syrian refugees? I believe that we should structure our efforts to support people in need and that marketers are in the perfect position to take the lead. The five key rules from Music For Life I hand here can enable marketers to set up a campaign and create real impact.
Many people recognize the Syrian refugees’ severe situation and want to help, but often they don’t know how. Well, this is where you as a marketer step in. You have the power to combine your creativity, your sense of organization and the support of your company to set up a big campaign for people in need.
Now I hear you thinking: “easier said than done, but how can I realize this?” Well, let’s start with the basics and take Music For Life as an example.
Music For Life of Studio Brussels is THE Christmas action in Belgium for several years now. Each year, the radio station chooses a good cause and organizes several initiatives to collect money for this cause. The Music For Life campaign is very successful and keeps on growing each year. Nowadays, everyone knows Music For Life and sees it as an established value.
So, what are the key success factors of the Music For Life campaign?
- Centralization: Studio Brussels sets up a lot of activities and there are different possibilities to help out. To keep an overview, there is one central station that keeps track of all the others. I’m talking about the Music For Life house where three radio presenters play music on request 24/7 and talk about all the different initiatives and their results.
- Participation: Studio Brussels lets people set up their own mini action to collect money. People can decide themselves how they want to participate and have their own input. The only condition is that they gather money for a chosen good cause.
- Competition and unity: The mini groups can compete with each other to collect the biggest amount of money, but in the end they are all working for one big cause. The combination of competition and unity is a very strong factor in this campaign.
- Broad target group: not only Studio Brussels listeners can participate, the target group is every person in Flanders. There is no segmentation in gender, age, location nor function. The only criteria for segmentation is the willingness to help.
- Omnichannel media approach: Studio Brussels not only uses its own medium – radio. The radio station strengthens its message by using an omnichannel media approach. People can visit the Music For Life house for personal contact and they also get more info via television ads, magazine advertising, the website, social media, an app,… All these channels have the same goal: informing people about the actions and convincing them to participate.
These five factors are the drivers that make the Music For Life campaign so successful. Now, let’s translate those characteristics into five general key success factors for YOUR campaign to help people in need.
- First of all, create one central action around which you can weave other smaller initiatives.
- Second, make sure people feel like it is their project too by letting them participate in their way. It should be easy for them to have an input.
- Third, add a bit of competition to the campaign, this stretches people even further.
- Fourth, don’t only address your own company clients. Your target group can be very broad.
- Last but not least, use an omnichannel approach to spread your message.
Well, what are you waiting for? Show Belgium that marketing is not about selling, but about creating impact. Use these building stones, spice them up with your own creativity and create impactful marketing to help people in need.
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