Content Analysis for Nonprofits

For this blog, I will select a nonprofit organization and conduct a content analysis. The organization I will use for this exercise is The Muscular Dystrophy Association. (MDA).

The MDA is a voluntary national health agency that involves a partnership between caring citizens and scientists. The main focus of this organization is to eliminate neuromuscular diseases that over a million Americans deal with every day. Funded entirely by private contributors, the MDA offers programs for research and medical care. According to www.mda.org, the MDA is one of the leading voluntary health agencies and have local offices throughout the United States.

Using Google News, I conducted a search for Muscular Dystrophy Association. Most of the articles I found were related to treatment for the disease and fundraising efforts for the MDA.  Out of the top 20 links, 17 of them were related to community efforts. Granted some referred to the same fundraiser, but they were from different media outlets. The MDA has shown popularity with fundraising events in Seattle, WA and Pryor, OK (Locked up for MDA), to fundraisers at a popular burger joint in San Clemente, CA.

The MDA has also shown popularity across different demographics.  One example I found was a link to a blog for Great American Country. The link was for promoting “The 2013 New Faces Of Country Music.” This is an annual event co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and the MDA. This event, in addition to the regular Labor Day telethon “MDA Show of Strength, provides the MDA with the plenty of national exposure.

There is also evidence of the MDA’s popularity among younger generations. One example is the annual “Fill the Boot” campaign organized by an Oklahoma University fraternity and their local fire departments. According to the Oklahoma Daily, this year’s fundraiser raised more than $250,000. Overall, the local chapter in Oklahoma City raises approximately 1.6 million a year, with about 14% going to muscular dystrophy (MD) research around the world. Approximately 77% of the money raised goes to helping local MD patients. Other examples of MDA’s popularity among younger people are “Rock away for MDA” and “The MDA Walk” organized in collaboration with university organizations across the country.

I feel the articles I found were right in line with the message this non-profit organization promotes. The MDA is dedicated to doing research and helping people globally, nationally, and locally. Of the top 20 articles I found, the other three were about breakthroughs in treatments for MD. I did not really find anything from a credible media outlet that casted the MDA in a negative way.

Based on the continuous support of the MDA and its sponsored events, I do not have any recommendations for them to improve their communications. The MDA continues to gain support, both with those familiar with the Jerry Lewis hosted telethon and those who have no idea who he is. With their funding of medical breakthroughs and prolific fundraising efforts, the MDA can feel secure in its place amongst other nonprofit organizations.

References: http://blog.gactv.com/blog/2012/11/28/country-radio-seminar-announces-new-faces-lineup/; http://www.lionsroarnews.com/campus-life/kappa-alpha-hosts-rock-away-for-mda-1.2952198#.ULagdEI1b8s; http://mda.org; http://www.ocregister.com/articles/open-378982-today-association.html; http://pryordailytimes.com/local/x983001822/Locked-up-in-Pryor-for-MDA. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Case Study

Using the Blue Cross Blue Shield Case Study at the end of Chapter 12 in the KDP textbook, I discuss how BCBS could measure the results of their communications plan. In this blog I will suggest ways BCBS can measure the effectiveness of communications and the relationships with local offices.

BCBS could begin by evaluate the consistency of their messaging. The focus could be placed on a few nationwide key messages. This united communication will enable BCBS to quantify what the opinions of the media are and who is seeing these key messages.

Another way BCBS can measure the communication plan is by examining what their visibility is, in relation to the competition. Success for this KPI could be based on the following criteria:

1. The overall mention of the company in headlines, articles, and captions
2. The volume of coverage

If BCBS is outperforming the completion both nationally and locally, than their communication plan is effective.

One last way BCBS can measure the effectiveness of their communication plan for a local franchise is by obtaining greater visibility. BCBS could work towards having company spokespeople interact with or become community leaders. This type of action could increase the amount of exposure and the number of quotes used over the competition. BCBS could track this data on what is being said and design a tool for improving relations in the community.

Communications across the Sales Channels

For this blog, I will discuss level of communication McDonald’s has with its franchises and if the same core values are being expressed. I realize not all McDonald’s locations are same, so I will only use the Charlotte, MI location as my benchmark.

According to www. aboutmcdonalds.com, their franchises worldwide should follow a strategy referred to as “the Plan to Win.” This philosophy focuses on high-quality customer experience based on the people, products, place, price, and promotion. Using these five items as my criteria, here is how the local franchisee fared:

People:

All in all, the people that work at this location are generally friendly. They handle requests without complications, recognize repeat customers and are courteous, whether it is dine-in or at the drive-thru.

Products:

Most of the time the meals seem fresh (as they can be for fast food. *Hint* - alter to sandwich slightly to protect against getting one that has been sitting around). Sometimes the fries are stale and sandwiches are carelessly made. However, I would not say these issues are isolated to this location and are areas where the Company goal is not met on a consistent basis.

Place:

This particular location is typically fairly clean and organized. They have a children’s play area that is isolated from the main lobby. This is helpful for parents with small children or multiple kids. It also helps to ensure the safety of the kids and the surrounding patrons.

Price:

The price at this location is competitive. Compared to the other fast-food restaurants in the area, McDonald’s has the some of the lowest prices…Rally’s is generally cheaper, but McDonald’s (in this area) food tastes better.  With that being said, McDonald’s offers affordable menu items.

Promotion:

This location does an excellent job with promoting new products and contests. Associates in the drive-thru and at the counter consistently mention new food items and attempt to sell additional menu items. This type of employee effort is consistent with the global strategy of the parent company.

If McDonald’s wanted to measure its relationships with this particular franchise it could gauge local perception by using an omnibus poll or by conducting telephone surveys. McDonald’s could also utilize Google Alert to obtain information about what is being said on a franchise level. To get a true perspective of the customer experience, McDonald’s could send undercover reps to patron the franchises. Although this option could be pricey, I think it worth the quality and instantaneous results.

Reference: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mission_and_values.html. 

PR Crisis

For this blog I will select a company that has experienced a PR crisis and discuss how they coped with the situation. I will use PepsiCo for this exercise and focus on a crisis involving their Diet Pepsi brand.

Back in 1993, PepsiCo image suffered a major blow to their public image when reports surfaced that syringes were found in cans of Diet Pepsi. What made this situation worse was it occurred during a time when people were still getting used to AIDS and HIV. Whatever damage control needed to be done, had to prompt and sensitive to their customers.

At a time of crisis, people usually want answers. So, PepsiCo went on the offensive and established an open relationship with the media…both nationally and at the local level where the syringes were found. The company also reached out to retailers asking them not to drop their products until the ongoing investigation was completed.  Additionally, PepsiCo’s local bottler and distributor opened its doors to the members of the media. The Alpac Bottling Company invited the media to film canning procedures and take tours of the plant.

PepsiCo adopted the philosophy of transparency and was open and upfront with the public. They did not try to deny or run away from the issue, but instead showed great concern for the situation. By allowing their processes to be transparent to the media and the public, PepsiCo received positive media coverage both during and after the incident. Naturally, this positive attention carried over to the company’s overall public image. In return for their loyalty, PepsiCo offered coupons to consumers and ran multiple ad campaigns expressing their appreciation.

If PepsiCo wanted to measure the effectiveness of their damage controls, they could track the number of sales during the crisis (for Diet Pepsi and other PepsiCo products) and the number of sales after the crisis has been resolved. For more context, PepsiCo could compare the data to the number of sales from the previous year. Another way PepsiCo could gauge the effectiveness of their crisis management is with surveys. The company could conduct surveys by mail and/or in-person at various retailers. Surveys would allow PepsiCo to acquire a better insight into what consumers really think.

Based on the outcome, it is hard to pinpoint something PepsiCo should have done differently. It appears the public and media appreciated the upfront and honest approach to the situation. When the investigation determined the contamination resulted from consumer tampering, PepsiCo’s credibility continued to grow. Consumers are not fazed by the potential for future contamination because of the PepsiCo’s willingness to be transparent in their processes.

Multichannel Campaign Analysis

For this blog, I will provide a Multichannel Campaign Analysis using BestBuy as my company of choice. My analysis will be provided as responses to the following questions:

Question 1: What type of campaigns is your company using?

One type of campaign Best Buy uses is vanity URLs. This campaign is useful in establishing tracking parameters for a specific promotion. Another type of campaign are online coupons available on third party websites (i.e., www.dealcatcher.com, & www.retailmenot.com).  Other types of campaigns, being utilized by Best Buy, include registering emails to receive unique discount coupons/codes; registration for RSS feeds; and the option to sign-up for a Best Buy Reward Zone credit card.

Question 2: How might they be able to tell which channels are giving them results?

Here is an example of vanity URL for an upcoming seasonal promotion:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global-Promotions/Special-Sale/pcmcat185700050011.c?id=pcmcat185700050011&AID=10597222&PID=2210202&SID=uuuF6FF41A9-B352-85AE-32B3-CB8BE820D39F&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FGlobal-Promotions%2FSpecial-Sale%2Fpcmcat185700050011.c%3Fid%3Dpcmcat185700050011&ref=39&CJPID=2210202&loc=01

In this example, you can see the vanity URL highlighted in orange that allows activity generated by this link to be connected to this specific marketing effort.

When it comes to coupons and promotional codes, Best Buy would be able to determine the effectiveness by the codes entered on a website, or the coupon used in a store. Best Buy can see how effective their Reward Zone card promotion is by tracking how many purchases are made with that type of card and how many reward points are being accumulated and used by customers.

Question 3: How can they track results that may flow across online to offline (or vice versa)?

Using a tool like Google Analytics can track the results of vanity URLs and unique discount/coupon codes that generate traffic on Best Buy’s website. The company would also be able to easily determine the results linked to coupons based on those redeemed at retail stores. For other traffic on Best Buy’s website, the company can utilize online surveys to obtain a more in depth customer perspective. Surveys can help a company fill in the missing pieces that analytic tools can leave out. Customers would also be able to directly assign a reason for their visit, clarifying which campaign was responsible for the traffic.

References: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global-Promotions/Special-Sale/pcmcat185700050011.c?id=pcmcat185700050011&AID=10597222&PID=2210202&SID=uuuF6FF41A9-B352-85AE-32B3-CB8BE820D39F&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FGlobal-Promotions%2FSpecial-Sale%2Fpcmcat185700050011.c%3Fid%3Dpcmcat185700050011&ref=39&CJPID=2210202&loc=01; http://www.dealcatcher.com; http://www.retailmenot.com.