Herts Young Homeless Group Marketing Strategy

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Table of Contents

Executive summary
Situational analysis
Brand positioning
Objectives of the IMC
The Unique Selling Proposition (UPS)
The Creative Strategy
The IMC plan
Promotion budget
Implementation recommendation
References

Executive summary

In the recent past, Herts Young Homeless Group has experienced challenges emanating from the new government agenda, homelessness trends and public spending cuts. If not addressed, these issues may threaten the organization’s ability to provide quality services to its clients. It is with these undertones that the organization has decided to embark on an advertising campaign in order to attract more sponsors and volunteers.

If successful, this integrated marketing communication plan will enable the organization to raise adequate funds to sustain and foster its growth amidst these challenging times. The Integrated marketing communication plan is expected to take last for six months and will cost $1500.

Situational analysis

Company and services history

Herts Young Homeless Group (HYHG) is an independent charitable organization dedicated to the provision of integrated services to homeless youths between the age of 16 and 24 years. The organization was established in 1988 in a bid to address the issue of homelessness among the youth of Hertfordshire (hyhg, 2011).

The organization works with young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness within this region. To achieve this aim, the organization seeks to secure and maintain accommodation for the victims through prevention, crisis intervention and employment tenancy programs (hyhg, 2011).

Through its team of dedicated employees, sponsors and volunteers, the organization has recorded a proven track record of success throughout its existence.

The organization specializes in offering different services including but not limited to:

16 – 24 mediation
Crashpad
Floating support
Herts Health Action for the Homeless (HHAH)
Under 16s mediation among others (hyh, 2011).

These services are designed to help homeless people and those at risk of homelessness to cope with various factors (health, social and psychological) that may inhibit their ability to succeed in life or live independent happy lives. Over the years, the services provided by the organization have recorded significant success. In 2011, the organizations assisted over 2,500 young people deal with their issues, and ultimately get their lives back on track (hyh, 2011).

The table below shows the success rate of each program within the 2010/11 year

program	Number of participants	Success rate	description
Crashpad	94 cases	80% and above	50 participants maintained education, 9 enrolled for courses and gained employment, 57 maintained family ties and 33 reported improved family ties.
16 – 24 mediation	90 referrals	78%	78% of the referred youths returned or remained at home as a result of the work done by the mediation team.
Floating support	482 referrals	100% positive post-service feedbacks.	Participants reported that the program helped them achieve their goal of a safe and independent life.
HHAH	75 cases	82% improvement in overall health, 95% improvement in accommodation status and 77% reported improvement in employability skills.	Services in this category include dual diagnosis, counseling and anger management seeking to promote the well-being and health care access for homeless people.
Under 16s Mediation	133 cases	97% remained or returned home, 79% reported successful conflict resolution or an improvement in that regard.	Participants were helped to develop efficient communication skills and resolve different family conflicts.

Source (hyh, 2011, pp. 6 – 11)

Service evaluation

The organization has internal and external competitors. Internal competitors include various partners that work in collaboration with HYHG so as to provide its wide range of services. Some of these partners have vast resources that may be employed to provide a competitive advantage against the organization.

External competitors include new entrants and existing charity organizations that may have better social and financial networking skills. On the same note, local authority temporary accommodation programs are also external competitors since they have consistent financial and infrastructural support from the government.

Despite these competitors, HYHG is able to compete effectively due to its proven track record of success and quality services. The skill and effort employed by the players is unmatched. In addition, the organization has over the years established a good reputation from its clients, suppliers and supporters through its work ethics and affordability of services. This too helps it maintain a competitive edge over its competitors.

Consumer evaluation

As mentioned earlier, the organization offers integrated services to male and female youths between the age of 16 and 24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. According to sources cited by Coyne (2007, p. 6), homelessness is as a result of family breakdowns, conflicts and communication problems.

The age bracket selected is vulnerable to homelessness since the youths are in the process of self discovery and realization of self. This stage of development is very critical and perhaps the most challenging in one’s life.

Brand positioning

Throughout the years, the team at HYHG has worked tirelessly to establish a reputation based on quality, passion and integrity. This has been done to ensure that the people we cater for consider us as a reliable ally in their fight for independence and conflict resolution. The organization wants its clients to perceive it as a one-stop-point for all family resolution issues.

Objectives of the IMC

General objective

The campaign seeks to boost awareness of the organization’s services and impact across Hertfordshire.

Specific objectives

To increase the support and donations from private individuals
Attract financial and other support from corporate sponsors.

The Unique Selling Proposition (UPS)

HYHG offers individuals and corporate sponsors an opportunity to partner with a reputable charity organization in its quest to positively impact the lives of homeless youths and those at risk of homelessness by giving them a fighting chance to an independent and successful future.

While there maybe other charitable organizations committed to this cause, HYHG maintains a track record that cannot be matched by other organizations. Individuals and corporate sponsors will have an avenue through which they can fulfill their social and corporate responsibility to their community by helping those in need achieve their desired life goals.

The Creative Strategy

Each contribution will make a significant impact on the lives of the youths affected by homelessness in Hertfordshire. The campaign theme is “fostering independence by empowering the youth”. Considering the current economic, psychological and social difficulties experienced by majority of people around the world, it is a worthwhile endeavor for the capable to help ease the troubles experienced by the less fortunate.

The successful completion of this campaign will give the homeless youths in Hertfordshire the slice of life that they could otherwise have missed without the support of compassionate members of society.

The IMC plan

Advertising

Lester (2006, p. 75) defines an advertisement as “any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, good and services by an identified sponsor”. Print, audio and visual media shall be used to create awareness of the services offered by HYHG in a bid to raise its profile locally. Specifically, posters and internet advertisements will be used in order to reach more people.

In addition, direct marketing will be used as the pull marketing strategy. Volunteers and members of the community will be encouraged to market the organization to their friends and families. Similarly, a direct sales team will visit various corporate entities in a bid to solicit their donations and support to this just cause.

E-communications

According to Veltman (2006, p. 509), most people have access to the internet and spend a significant amount of time surfing. As such, links will be integrated in social media sites such as Facebook and twitter. In addition, adverts will be linked in various sites that attract traffic.

This will ensure that people get the message and are redirected to the organization’s website where they can get more information on how to play an active role in changing the lives of others.

Charity events

Three charity events will be organized during the campaign period. These events will be held in strategic locations across Hertfordshire. They will involve raffle competitions and other activities, which will help the organization, create awareness of the issues it handles, all the while raising the funds needed to support its operations.

Advertising schedule

Media	Duration	Comment
Internet advertisements	12 months	The links and advertisements posted in various social networks and websites will be integrated at the beginning of April and will run for a whole year
Posters	3 months	Posters and flyers will be strategically placed and distributed in various social hotspots across Hertfordshire (April, June and August).
Radio and TV Advertisements	1 month	The advertisements will run for a minute during the morning hours (7am-8am) on radio and evening hours (7pm-8pm) on television. The station with the best rating will be selected

Promotion budget

Since HYHG is a non-profit organization, the cost of running the campaign for the six months will be deducted from the donations received. After careful deliberations with the financial and PR departments, it was established that $1,500 would suffice in financing various aspects of the campaign. The proposed budget is as follows:

Internet advertisements $150
Posters $ 300
Direct sales expenses $200
Radio and TV advertisements $600
Overhead expenses $250

Implementation recommendation

For this campaign to be successful, organization of the available resources is very important. As such, there must be a committee selected to oversee all aspects of the campaign are well planned and organized. In addition, forming strategic alliances with media outlets and government institutions will see to it that the organization meets its target within the given timeframe.

Forming alliances with influential partners reduces the cost of marketing and expands the market base since the clients of such partners are likely to offer their support.

References

Coyne, B 2007, Homelessness: a bibliography, Nova Publishers, Boston.

hyh 2011, About Herts Young Homeless, Web.

hyh 2011, Annual Report 2010/11. Web.

Lester, PM 2006, Visual communication: images with messages, Cengage Learning, New York.

Veltman, K 2006, Understanding new media: augmented knowledge & culture, University of Calgary Press, USA.

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