Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 1 Public Relations Campaign: St. Jude Children s Research Hospital Kale Fisher, Allie Howry, Kyle Vander Ark PBRL 445-H1WW Professor Hamlin May 4, 2014
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 2 Public Relations Campaign: St. Jude Children s Research Hospital (Summary) One Page Summary of Public Relations Campaign Executive Summary The purpose of this campaign is to bring awareness of the seriousness of life-threatening diseases that are affecting children. This campaign will show ways St. Jude s will be able to build awareness and show how St. Jude s will raise money for their cause. Organizational and Communication Audit St. Jude Children s Research Hospital opened February 4, 1962 and was founded by a comedian, television and film actor, and producer by the name of Danny Thomas (Wikipedia, n.d.). The mission of St. Jude Children s Research hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment (St. Jude, n.d.). St. Jude presents messages that bring adults and children from all types of backgrounds together to raise awareness and funds to help save lives. St. Jude has established several messages to encourage individuals from all walks of life to help. St. Jude s uses many channels to get their message out. These channels include traditional media, social media, and many others. Public Relations Campaign (The next five actions are combined in the actual plan) Vital thing to remember is this campaign will add to what St. Jude s is already doing not replace those channels. Campaign Goals Increase awareness of all the catastrophic diseases affecting children Increase awareness of what it costs to fight these catastrophic diseases Increase the awareness how people can volunteer to help the cause Increase the amount of charity events to raise funds for St. Jude Children s Research Hospital Campaign Objectives Increase awareness of all the catastrophic diseases affecting children by 20% Increase awareness of what it costs to fight these catastrophic diseases by 15% Increase the awareness how people can volunteer to help the cause by 10%
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 3 Increase the amount of charity events to raise funds for St. Jude Children s Research Hospital by 10% Increase the amount of money St. Jude Children s Research Hospital is receiving from volunteers by 5% Messages and Themes Each message will be specifically designed to inspire individual s to believe whole heartedly in St. Jude and their mission to save the lives of children. Overall each message will portray a consistent theme of the uniqueness of this organization Strategies and Tactics Evaluate the Campaign Determine Demographics Communication Plans Timeline of Events Preparation for this campaign will begin August 2014 New event planning and event preparation will take place in September 2014 Press Releases for events will take place in November 2014 There will be a quarterly distribution of campaign materials starting in January 2015 Social media campaign will also begin in January 2015 School campaign will take place in May 2015 Freeze Out Cancer campaign will take place in March 2015 Evaluation The campaign will conduct evaluations after every event to rate the success of the event There will also be quarterly evaluations to make everything is going as per the campaign plan (January 2015, April 2015, August 2015, and December 2015) Then the end of December 2015 a yearly evaluation will be completed
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 4 Public Relations Campaign: St. Jude Children s Research Hospital Executive Summary St. Jude Children s Research Hospital strives to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment (St. Jude, n.d.). They strive to meet these measures by uniting people from all walks of life. One of their primary missions is to not turn anyone away who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay for these life-saving treatments. St. Jude s has established in their mission that no family should ever be concerned about paying their organization for anything, but only saving their child s life. This particular reason is why they seek to bring people from all walks of life together to believe in their mission and to raise funds to help all the children in need regardless of their circumstances. So the purpose of this campaign is to bring awareness of the seriousness of lifethreatening diseases that are affecting children. This campaign will demonstrate ways in which St. Jude will be able to raise awareness about these different diseases. This campaign will also show ways St. Jude will go about raising money for research and treatments with different Public Relations messages and activities. Organizational Audit Organization St. Jude Children s Research Hospital opened February 4, 1962 (St. Jude, n.d.). The founder of the hospital was a nightclub comedian, television and film actor, and producer by the name of Danny Thomas (Wikipedia, n.d.). Danny Thomas made a pledge to St. Jude Thaddeus.
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 5 Saint Jude Thaddeus is the patron of lost causes, desperate cases, and the patron saint of hospitals (Life, n.d.). Once Thomas s entertainment career began to flourish he decided to fulfill his pledge. He built a haven for the helpless. A facility where research would bring light to a darkened world. A hospital that would treat all children regardless of race, color, creed, or whether the child s family had the ability to pay for treatments. He built St. Jude Children s Research Hospital (St. Jude, n.d.). Mission and Purpose The mission of St. Jude Children s Research hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment (St. Jude, n.d.). Founder Danny Thomas had the vision that no child would ever be denied treatment based on race, religion, or money. To this day St. Jude Children s Research Hospital continues to find cures for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases with research and treatment. The biggest thing to note is no family ever pays St. Jude for anything (St. Jude, n.d.). Company History St. Jude founder Danny Thomas lived by the dream that, No child should die in the dawn of life. After more than a half century, millions of individuals continue to embrace this dream (St. Jude, n.d.). They have established a legacy of love and hope. For more than fifty years St. Jude Children s Research Hospital has practiced their mission. They have united people from all walks of life with their mission. The vision of founder Danny Thomas has become a rallying cry for people young and old (St. Jude, n.d.). To this day St. Jude continues their quest of improving survival rates for childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude declares
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 6 they will not stop until there they have eliminated these diseases 100%. St. Jude Children s Research Hospital is perceived as the world s premier pediatric research institution. Industry Segment St. Jude Children s Research Hospital is a part of the non-profit industry. Many different organizations make up this particular segment therefore, the entire industry has been divided into several sub-sectors to include the variety of organizations that are operating without making a profit. St. Jude s is recognized in the health services sector of the non-profit industry (Experience). This foundation is dedicated to studying and treating illnesses solely in the health of younger patients. St. Jude s is a major player within the health services sector as the 2nd largest healthcare charity in the U.S. with 31 regional fundraising offices (St. Jude Children s Research Hospital, 2013). This organization also dominates brand awareness as it is recognized by 4 out of 5 Americans (St. Jude Children s Research Hospital, 2013). St. Jude s Serves Cancer has no boundaries; it may strike at any time or any age. Any individual could potentially benefit from the services offered at St. Jude s. This particular aspect makes determining exactly who St. Jude s serves endless because these catastrophic diseases could prevail in any individual s life at any time. St. Jude s is solely dedicated to studying and treating all children regardless of their ability to pay, but their services do not stop with children. St. Jude s also lends a helping hand to the patient s family in numerous ways. The foundation ensures that no family will ever receive a bill whether it be for; treatment, traveling, housing or food (St. Jude Children s Research Hospital, 2013). St. Jude s main concern is that no family
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 7 should ever worry about anything other than helping their child live. While considering making a donation to this non-profit organization, each individual should keep in mind the selfless attitude St. Jude s has dedicated to saving the lives of children. One may never know when they could benefit from the services offered only through St. Jude Children s Research Hospital. Finances Many people wonder how a large non-profit organization can afford to keep their doors open when their operating costs are very high. On average, St. Jude Children's Hospital has a daily operating cost of over $1.8 million. This number is so large because of everything St. Jude does for the families and children. St. Jude Children's Hospital takes pride in providing free treatment to any child that is brought to their facility. Even if a family does not have insurance, St. Jude will treat their child instantly. St. Jude also supports the families of the children with transportation, housing, and meal assistance. St. Jude Children's Hospital hosts many fund raising events throughout the year to support their large operating costs. These events include, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which is a sponsored PGA golf tour. St. Jude also hosts the St. Jude Math-A-Thon, Up 'til Dawn, direct mailings, Radio-Thons, and television marketing to raise money. All of these separate fundraisers provide St. Jude with enough money in donations to continue to operate at a high level. St Jude also earns money by producing the Hope Catalog. The Hope Catalog is a magazine that sells nearly everything someone would want to purchase from T-Shirts to house items. The largest fundraiser that St. Jude conducts today is the Dream Home Giveaway. St. Jude makes money on people purchasing $100 tickets to be placed in a raffle to win a dream home worth between $300,000 and $600,000. Overall, St. Jude Children's Hospital can cover their
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 8 extremely large operating costs from receiving individual donations on a frequent basis. Communication Audit Audience of St. Jude Children s Research Hospital St. Jude presents messages that bring adults and children from all types of backgrounds together to raise awareness and funds to help save lives. They also produce messages through a variety of activities to allow everyone regardless of their situation an opportunity to help a child in need. Many of their activities may target adults, but they also have activities that encourage children to become involved in their cause. St. Jude does not primarily target just those who are financially sound enough to make a monetary contribution to their organization. Their organization has been creative enough to develop ways for anyone to help even if they cannot make a monetary contribution. Overall, their main targeted audience is simply people who are good hearted people. St. Jude s targets all individuals with the heart to listen and help make a difference in the lives of others regardless if they have the funds to help. Messages Sent To Audiences St. Jude has established several messages to encourage individuals from all walks of life to help. Each message has a purpose designed to appeal to a specific target audience. For example, they seek athletic adults with activities like encouraging people to become St. Jude Warriors for the St. Jude Warrior Dash. They also target the opposite side of the spectrum by providing opportunities to participate in activities that do not require physical fitness, but rather monetary contributions. One of their most popular opportunities to help in a non-physical manner includes purchasing a $100 raffle ticket for a chance to win a dream home (St. Jude
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 9 Children s Research, 2013). St. Jude also caters fundraisers to spread cheer around the seasons. During March and April potential and existing donors have the opportunity to decorate an Easter Egg for the St. Jude Easter baskets for a very low price. This activity does not only raise money, it also spreads cheer to all patients under their care. People can also encourage their workplace to participate in this foundation by fundraising at work. One could even order checks to simply share the story every time they break out their check book. St. Jude has provided numerous opportunities any individual can take to become involved in their mission. Some opportunities may be fairly easy simply by opening one s wallet, while others may require a little more work, but no monetary contributions from ones own wallet. Overall, each message produced by St. Jude is designated to the many target audiences that believe in making a difference in children s lives. Media Communication Channels Used By St. Jude There are hundreds of different ways for a large corporation to communicate with multiple audiences. St. Jude Children's Hospital strives to communicate to individuals or other companies that share the same values as them. Since St. Jude Children's Hospital relies primarily on donations, communication is vital to the cause. St. Jude tends to communicate through as many channels as they can to allow the most coverage. This allows St. Jude to get the word out when they are hosting different events to help raise money. If St. Jude were to fail at communicating, they would never be able to keep their doors open to the sick children. Maintaining a daily operating cost of almost $2 million dollars is extremely difficult on a corporation. This forces St. Jude to maintain strong relationships with other companies and
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 10 individuals that can assist the hospital financially. St. Jude Children's Hospital is also connecting through social media to maintain these relationships. Their audience tends to notice the little things a large corporation like this will do. For example, St. Jude takes the time to reply to nearly everyone that mentions them on twitter, thanking them for their support. This is critical for a non-profit organization like St. Jude. Potential Effective Alternatives While St. Jude is doing an exceptional job staying connected with individuals on social media, they could integrate more of a broad approach. Reaching out to large corporations may sound easy, but it could propose many challenges. St. Jude does a great job at reaching deep within a corporation to contact the correct people. By doing this, St. Jude acquires many resources that were not usually available to the public. Companies like McDonald's make annual donations to St. Jude to help children fight battles. As long as St. Jude Children's Hospital continues to maintain these relationships, they can continue down the path they paved for themselves. Future Public Relation Campaign Objective 1 Timeline & Logistics Increase awareness of all the catastrophic diseases affecting children by 20%. Objective one will consist of presenting press releases, brochures, and direct mailings to increase public knowledge of the situation at stake. The public relations team will be responsible for developing these materials. In August of 2014 the team will begin developing each individual campaign piece. The campaign will begin distribution to the public in January of 2015. The
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 11 information will be released at the beginning of each of the four quarters of 2015. This particular aspect will ensure that there is a consistent message appearing frequently, but will also not overwhelm the public. Press releases will be distributed physically and virtually to ensure all outlets are covered. Brochures will be added to www.stjude.org where volunteers will be encouraged to forward, print, and distribute to friends in their own hometown. They will also have the opportunity to request an awareness packet that will consist of brochures already printed for them to distribute. The team will track the location of where these brochures are being printed or mailed too. If the team recognizes any particular area not becoming involved a direct mailer will be sent to certain routes within these areas. The public relations team will consistently monitor and track each message to better assist the overall evaluation process. Objective 2 Timeline & Logistics Objective 2- Increase awareness of what it costs to fight these catastrophic diseases by 15% The campaign will complete objective two with the same channels as objective one. Both objectives are similar therefore objective two will also be presented on objective one s messages. Overall, both messages strongly tie into each other. The timeline for objective two will also follow the timeline for objective one. Objective 3 Timeline & Logistics Objective 3- Increase the awareness how people can volunteer to help the cause by 10%
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 12 The campaign will use brochures, direct mailings, internet, and social media to complete objective 3. The campaign will start compiling all material together in September of 2014 and send out a press release announcing the event November 2014. The brochures and direct mailings will start January of 2015. The information will be produced at the beginning of each of the four quarters of 2015 to ensure a consistency in distribution. This campaign will also use the St. Jude website to display information about volunteer opportunities at the beginning of 2015. Individuals will be allowed to sign up for a phone or email notification if a volunteer opportunity arises in their area. The campaign will use social media to get the objective across to audiences already involved in St. Jude s social media pages. Objective 4 Timeline & Logistics Objective 4- Increase the amount of charity events to raise funds for St. Jude Children s Research Hospital by 10% The public relations team will start planning new events for 2015 in September of 2014 to ensure plenty of time to alert publics. The campaign will announce all events online on the St. Jude website in November 2014 in a calendar of events page. This objective will also be translated through social media in January 2015. The campaign will produce press releases virtually in January 2015 as well to present this information physically. The campaign will also use exhibits and brochures in schools and libraries to help push the message of this objective. The school campaign will take place in the month of May in 2015. All the information for the campaign will be put together in September of 2014. The campaign will announce this event in January of 2015. It is important to alert children about the issues St. Jude s faces, but it is crucial
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 13 to handle this task sensitively when working with children. Special incentives will be developed through large sponsors to encourage children to participate in fundraising for St. Jude. Large sponsors will also offer certain incentives to adults, work places, and even teachers that encourage others to participate in fundraising for St. Jude. The campaign designed to spread awareness and collect funds for St. Jude Children s Research hospital will be known as Freeze Out Cancer. Freeze Out Cancer will be a special event held in March of 2015. This event will begin development in September of 2014 and by November of 2014 this campaign will be released to the public. Local businesses, friends, or family members can nominate, support a team or individual to take a plunge into chilly water. Patients of St. Jude s will be invited to watch this event in a heated environment near the lake where contestants will be jumping. Individuals will fearlessly dive into the chilly water to show support for children fighting cancer. The goal of this event is not only to raise funds for the hospital, but to also share a sense of encouragement for these patients. The ultimate message will be presented to children that they can fearlessly Freeze Out Cancer and that they are not alone. Objective 5 Timeline & Logistics Objective 5- Increase the amount of money St. Jude Children s Research Hospital is receiving from volunteers by 5% The campaign will complete objective five with the same channels as objective one and two. Both objectives are similar, therefore, objective five will also be presented on objective one and two s messages. Overall, all three messages strongly tie into each other. The timeline for objective five will also follow objective one and two s timeline.
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 14 Evaluation Plan St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will need to evaluate how successful the campaigns actually are upon completion. Every campaign that is conducted will need to be evaluated to see if the time and effort put in truly assisted the company in the long run. This is also important because it may determine whether or not this method should be considered in future campaigns. A non-profit organization like St. Jude Children s Hospital may conclude that the success of a campaign can easily be done by calculating donations received. By setting annual goals as well as individual campaign goals, the total donations will be calculated overall. This will allow the organization to constantly have an idea of how much more funds they should campaign for. The campaign will have evaluations at the beginning of every quarter starting in January to make sure everything is going correctly per this Public Relations campaign. The team will track the location of where brochures are being printed or emailed too through website analytics. They will also track where donations come from. Each team member will ask around during the events to see where the individual heard about the campaign since some individuals may choose to act offline. Evaluation will be especially important at the event Freeze Out Cancer in order to decide if this campaign should be completed again in the future. Setting goals should consistently fall on the higher end of the scale. For example, if the organization has a goal of earning $500,000 at a local golf event, we are over shooting what we expect. St. Jude can then evaluate the campaign based on the overall goal. If the goal was $1 million raised at a single campaign, a success would be anything relatively close to that total. By hosting multiple campaigns throughout the year, St. Jude can afford to have a little slack on the donations. This campaign will also have a yearly evaluation at the end of December 2015 to see
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 15 how the whole campaign impacted St. Jude Children s Research Hospital. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital needs to spread awareness across the globe about certain health concerns involving children. The overall goal of the campaigns, are not to just raise money, but to educate the general public on these issues. St. Jude can evaluate their progress by the number of people that attend the campaigns. If the numbers continue to rise with each campaign, awareness is spreading and more people are being educated in the general public. This would be the overall goal of each campaign hosted by St. Jude Children s Research Hospital.
Fisher, Howry, Vander Ark 16 Reference Annual Report 2013. (n.d.). St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Retrieved April 14, 2014, From, http://www.stjude.org/sjfile/annual-report-13.pdf Life of St. Jude. (n.d.). Life of St. Jude Saint Jude Thaddeus. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://st-jude-medal.com/ St. Jude. (n.d.). St. Jude Children s Research Hospital website. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.stjude.org St. Jude. (n.d.). St. Jude Children s Research Hospital website. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.stjude.org/waystohelp Wikipedia. (n.d.). Danny Thomas. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/danny_thomas What sectors make up the non-profit industry. (n.d.). NGO - Blogs, Articles and Jobs - Experience.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from https://www.experience.com/alumnus/ articlechannel_id=nonprofit&source_page=additional_articles&article_id=article_115982373667 2