If you saw Ed Cotton’s presentation at the conference, the brief for the next Planning for Good assignment is up! Join the facebook group to get the updates:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4736469785

We now have a brief from UNICEF with a very tough deadline of 10 days.

That means submissions need to be sent in by November 7th.

Here’s how to respond

1 Join a local group meet and brainstorm- details sent around earlier this morning

2. Submit your own thinking

3. Form your own groups- virtual or otherwise

Send submissions in to us using this form

http://planningforgood.wikispaces.com/Idea+Submissions+Form

Send the ideas to committee@planningforgood.org.

The Brief…

Develop Thinking To Help UNICEF Get Heard And Raise Money This Holiday Season

The Landscape

Marketing and communications are everywhere: on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, on mobile phones, windows buses, even tray tables on airplanes. And all that’s in addition to what’s available online – through websites, blogs and podcasts, videos, social networks and more. As a result, audiences are more saturated than ever with data, images and messages – and more skeptical about where they should spend their time and money.

Caught up in the middle of this massive media whirlwind are non-profit organizations like UNICEF, who do not have the funds or the reach to compete with major brands and media companies for awareness among audiences. UNICEF supports child development, protection and survival worldwide through education, advocacy and awareness – and desperately needs to raise funds, particularly online and in the United States, to support their global efforts. With audiences facing a crush of media from all angles, and all mediums, UNICEF must find new ways to be heard and raise money.

There is a window of opportunity.

During the last week of the calendar year, the number of donations to non-profits spikes in the United States — a combination of holiday spirit (and the recently received holiday bonuses) and the reality that they need to make gifts by year-end to qualify for tax benefits. The spike is especially notable in the online channel because consumers are growing increasingly aware of the ability of non-profit organizations to collect donations and generate immediate receipts right up until the last second of the year.

The Brief
How can UNICEF (and its domestic affiliate, the US Fund for UNICEF) position itself to capitalize on this late year interest among Americans and use the final week(s) of the year to build a foundation for long-term awareness and support that carries into the next year?

The Goal

UNICEF’s goal is to develop a campaign that will collect $150,000 from an average gift of $125 – this would mean securing 1,200 new donations in a six day period.

This campaign is considered a test and designed to be scalable. If this campaign meets expectations, UNICEF will apply the lessons learned to future campaigns, and roll out a larger version during the same time period in 2008.

Opportunities and Challenges

• Opportunity: UNICEF has an opportunity to ‘own’ the last week(s) of the year — to actively solicit donations in this time period in a major way. A successful campaign can help to establish a culture of giving and support that extends to the future and can be adapted in other ways to benefit UNICEF’s communications work.

• Challenge: UNICEF has high awareness and is not especially controversial – it provides no humanitarian support within the United States so its issues can seem distant to prospective supporters who are bombarded with opportunities to give locally.

• Opportunity: A campaign waged during the last week of the year will help to introduce UNICEF to new supporters, and renew contact with existing supporters – each conversation will yield a valuable opportunity to learn, and test, opportunities that can be utilized in future campaigns. Best practices can be applied to future campaigns and shared with UNICEF’s 36 other national committees around the globe.

• Challenge: With only a week to capitalize, UNICEF must create significant awareness and momentum for a campaign in order for it to drive the success and learning desired.

• Opportunity: The target audience, once introduced to an effective campaign, is likely to say: “It’s a no-brainer. I’m in a hurry and I need to make a donation before the end of the year. I want to share some of my holiday cheer and UNICEF is a logical, safe choice.”

Budget & Timing

The actual campaign would launch at 12:00am on 12/26 and be completed by 12:00pm on 12/31. Planning will begin immediately. Preparation and promotion will begin as early as necessary.

UNICEF has less than $100,000 available to support the campaign — including media, creative, and any ad serving or email sending that may be required. UNICEF is open to any partnerships or other extensions for the campaign, but have limited time and resources to help coordinate.

Audience

The audience for the campaign includes:

- Empathetic globals and free spirits. Individuals of all ages and income levels who are aware of the issues facing children around the globe – war, lack of education, disease, and emergency – and believe they can have an impact on these issues through their donations, volunteering, and other support.

- People who are aware of the tax benefit of charitable contributions. People itemize their tax deductions and believe UNICEF is a worthy cause, make donations regularly – online and offline – and are looking for opportunities to give right up until the end of the year.

Messaging and Creative

• UNICEF’s positioning is as the child survival authority

About UNICEF

UNICEF is out to change the world for children and with children—vaccination by vaccination, blanket by blanket, biscuit by biscuit, book by book. In most of America, these things are considered completely ordinary. But in many parts of the developing world, they can save a child’s life.

UNICEF is unique among world organizations and unique among those working with young people. As a global movement, we use our authority to influence decision makers and diverse partners to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. In 156 countries and territories, UNICEF’s field staff uses hard-won expertise to meet the challenges facing children and those who care for them.

Our history has given us a profound understanding of development and the importance of child health, education, equality and protection in advancing humanity. All that we do helps children realize their full potential.

In support of UNICEF’s work, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF focuses on five major priorities: education, emergencies, HIV/AIDS, immunization and malnutrition.

Additional information about UNICEF is available at www.unicef.org.
Additional information about the US Fund for UNICEF is available at www.unicefusa.org