Over the last 8 weeks the On Purpose Associates have been contributing to a series of articles for The Guardian's Social Enterprise Network. Each week, one Associate talks to a 'builder or runner' from a social enterprise or commercially-driven charity, many from our current placement organisations.
So far we've interviewed:
Charlotte Glynn, Head of People at Just Giving
Jonathan Bamber, International Sales & Development Director at Tough Stuff
Damian Peat, Operational Director and Financial Controller at Terra Plana and VIVOBAREFOOT
Ariane van de Ven, Head of Future and Trend Insights at O2
Sylvia Lowe, Head of UK Innovation at Comic Relief
Miriam Turner, Innovations Director EMEAI at InterfaceFLOR
Patrick Reyburn, Strategic Development Manager at HCT Group
Lucy Payton, Associate Director at Teaching Leaders
To check out the series of interviews click here.
Keep an eye on this space for the 3 remaining interviews!
Showing posts with label Comic Relief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comic Relief. Show all posts
11 Jun 2011
9 May 2011
Branding, Branding, Branding
By Jordyan Edmiston
My months working at Comic Relief have exposed me to an important value that is often overlooked when an organisation is busy focusing on its social mission – brand value. Comic Relief and its campaigns of Red Nose Day and Sport Relief are known by 98% of the British public. They are well known for many reasons, but most significantly because of the humorous way they grab media through their relationships with celebrities. The 20-strong PR team that sits directly behind me during campaign time is very good at their job!
Celebrity and media contacts are not resources that most organisations pushing for social change have at their disposal. I've learned that Comic Relief prides itself as a brand that uses its cultivated, high profile image to raise funds for charitable causes by means that most charities have no access to. Though most charities do not have the same access to media coverage, that doesn't mean it is not worth taking a hard look at what their brand image is worth and who would value it most. This can help an organisation ensure the message is well-received by those who most value what an organisation does as well as sharpen and focus its mission.
The three main stakeholder groups to whom I see Comic Relief's brand being accountable are the charities who receive the funds and their beneficiaries, the general public who is inspired to raise money, and the corporate partners that label their products as benefiting Comic Relief through a purchase donation. Red Nose Day and Sport Relief give corporate partners great media exposure during campaigns, but how much weight do the values of the Comic Relief brand carry with its corporate partners? A great deal, I hope. Certainly enough for big corporations to associate their name with us during 6 week campaigns. But enough to develop special sustainable products with us? Enough to switch to fair trade in their supply chain? I'm not yet sure, but during my time as an On Purpose Associate, I intend to find out.
My months working at Comic Relief have exposed me to an important value that is often overlooked when an organisation is busy focusing on its social mission – brand value. Comic Relief and its campaigns of Red Nose Day and Sport Relief are known by 98% of the British public. They are well known for many reasons, but most significantly because of the humorous way they grab media through their relationships with celebrities. The 20-strong PR team that sits directly behind me during campaign time is very good at their job!
Celebrity and media contacts are not resources that most organisations pushing for social change have at their disposal. I've learned that Comic Relief prides itself as a brand that uses its cultivated, high profile image to raise funds for charitable causes by means that most charities have no access to. Though most charities do not have the same access to media coverage, that doesn't mean it is not worth taking a hard look at what their brand image is worth and who would value it most. This can help an organisation ensure the message is well-received by those who most value what an organisation does as well as sharpen and focus its mission.
The three main stakeholder groups to whom I see Comic Relief's brand being accountable are the charities who receive the funds and their beneficiaries, the general public who is inspired to raise money, and the corporate partners that label their products as benefiting Comic Relief through a purchase donation. Red Nose Day and Sport Relief give corporate partners great media exposure during campaigns, but how much weight do the values of the Comic Relief brand carry with its corporate partners? A great deal, I hope. Certainly enough for big corporations to associate their name with us during 6 week campaigns. But enough to develop special sustainable products with us? Enough to switch to fair trade in their supply chain? I'm not yet sure, but during my time as an On Purpose Associate, I intend to find out.
13 Apr 2011
ICT in the Social Sector
Since beginning my placement with Comic Relief's Future Media and Technology (FM&T) team in January, every day I discover more about the essential role that information and communications technology (ICT) now plays in the social sector. Whether it is charities adopting online fundraising tools to empower their supporters to raise money for them, or social enterprises directly engaging with customers and the general public through use of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, the message is clear: in the twenty-first century social sector organisations must get on the ICT bandwagon if they want to be sustainable. A plethora of research reports and case studies all point to the fact that strategic use of ICT tools can help organisations lower costs; raise brand awareness; attract, directly engage and retain supporters or customers, thereby raising or earning more money; and in some cases, reach more beneficiaries. For a couple of examples, check out CAF's report on new media fundraising and NCVO's ICT Foresights.
Comic Relief provides an excellent case study of an organisation (technically a charity but arguably also a social enterprise) that is seizing every opportunity to adopt, adapt, and develop new technology to continuously innovate their campaigns (their IT team is called Future Media and Technology, after all!). For Red Nose Day 2009 Comic Relief spearheaded a deal with mobile phone operators so that it could retain 100% of text donations. For this year's Red Nose Day, Comic Relief made a ground-breaking deal with Apple to be able to raise funds through its own iphone app. These and other examples of how Comic Relief is using technology strategically can be found Race Online 2012's Casebook for Charity Sustainability through Technology.
Information and communications technology is being used in the social sector to not only help organisations deliver their own solutions to whatever social problem they're targeting, but also to connect innovators, entrepreneurs and other creative thinkers to search for and develop new solutions to social problems. One example that I find incredibly exciting is Open IDEO, an online platform that enables people anywhere in the world to collaborate in order to inspire one another, develop concepts, evaluate these concepts, and design promising solutions to real social challenges. A challenge that I've recently been following is 'How might we better connect food production and consumption?' The aim is to better connect rural food production and urban food consumption to improve producer livelihoods, improve consumer health, enhance sustainability in food production, and even minimise waste and other environmental problems associated with the production, transportation and disposal of food. If you're interested click here to keep an eye on this challenge.
It's now obvious that strategic use of ICT tools can strengthen social sector organisations, potentially improving their impact in the communities in which they operate, and also better connect people who strive to find new ways to address existing social problems. The ongoing challenge for social sector organisations and individuals is to keep up with the continuous, rapid advances in technology that are occurring almost every day. It will be a difficult and time-consuming task but well worth the effort and investment.
Comic Relief provides an excellent case study of an organisation (technically a charity but arguably also a social enterprise) that is seizing every opportunity to adopt, adapt, and develop new technology to continuously innovate their campaigns (their IT team is called Future Media and Technology, after all!). For Red Nose Day 2009 Comic Relief spearheaded a deal with mobile phone operators so that it could retain 100% of text donations. For this year's Red Nose Day, Comic Relief made a ground-breaking deal with Apple to be able to raise funds through its own iphone app. These and other examples of how Comic Relief is using technology strategically can be found Race Online 2012's Casebook for Charity Sustainability through Technology.
Information and communications technology is being used in the social sector to not only help organisations deliver their own solutions to whatever social problem they're targeting, but also to connect innovators, entrepreneurs and other creative thinkers to search for and develop new solutions to social problems. One example that I find incredibly exciting is Open IDEO, an online platform that enables people anywhere in the world to collaborate in order to inspire one another, develop concepts, evaluate these concepts, and design promising solutions to real social challenges. A challenge that I've recently been following is 'How might we better connect food production and consumption?' The aim is to better connect rural food production and urban food consumption to improve producer livelihoods, improve consumer health, enhance sustainability in food production, and even minimise waste and other environmental problems associated with the production, transportation and disposal of food. If you're interested click here to keep an eye on this challenge.
It's now obvious that strategic use of ICT tools can strengthen social sector organisations, potentially improving their impact in the communities in which they operate, and also better connect people who strive to find new ways to address existing social problems. The ongoing challenge for social sector organisations and individuals is to keep up with the continuous, rapid advances in technology that are occurring almost every day. It will be a difficult and time-consuming task but well worth the effort and investment.
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