Operation Pride

Current Product/Services Situation Operation PRIDE creates value through the benefits it offers to the community through its service, which is essentially creating and maintaining a beautiful Bowling Green that its citizens can enjoy and be proud of. First impressions are vitally important! If the first impression of Bowling Green which people experience is a good one, this makes the city more desirable for new businesses, which provide more needed jobs for our work force. It is also more desirable for new residents, which makes for more valuable real estate. More people will also want to make multiple visits to Bowling Green, which makes the city and its businesses even more prosperous. The organization’s beautification efforts are performed by its own staff, in addition to volunteers, partners, and inmates from the county detention center. PRIDE actually stands for Plant, Repair, Improve, Develop, and Enjoy, which are the five things all of the contributors to the PRIDE effort do to make Bowling Green more visually appealing. Company Situation Operation PRIDE currently has thirty-three official partners. Volunteers come from these partnerships as well as other community and WKU campus organizations. Its Board of Directors consists of 21 people (http://www2.bgky.org/operationpride/board.php). PRIDE is funded mostly by its partners and donors, as it is a non-profit organization. Currently, the organization has an excess of funds in the range of $100,000, which needs to be used. In order to gain more funding and volunteers, Operation PRIDE needs to be positioned more prominently in the community. Increasing awareness will gain more partners and volunteers for future projects. Current Market Situation *what to discuss here without sounding redundant* A current trend that is especially relevant is the “green” movement. Many businesses practice this as part of their corporate social responsibility. It entails conserving water and electricity, using fewer products that contain “harmful chemicals”, and in some cases planting trees and gardens. Available media includes social media, web, and print. The possibility of TV and radio also exists. Consumer Situation If Bowling Green is the target market for Operation PRIDE, there are a couple of trends going on here. First of all, there are thousands of college students in Bowling Green, obviously because it is a college town. Many of these students are involved in organizations that require them to perform a certain number of hours of community service. Secondly, there is a large community of local businesses in Bowling Green, and many of them practice corporate social responsibility. A couple of other largely untapped groups who might possibly be interested in serving the community through PRIDE include church youth groups and groups of students from our local middle and high schools. Our modern culture is largely losing the gift of volunterism in our younger generations. These youth will greatly benefit from opportunities to gain a sense of personal self-worth and pride in their city through their contributions of time and energy in Operation PRIDE. Macro-environment Situation Current sociological trends affecting this market are the movement toward being “environmentally friendly” or “green,” as mentioned before, and even a moment toward volunteerism. Many areas have signs posted warning of hefty fines for littering. Thousands of people are switching to cars that emit smaller amounts of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. The shift toward solar power is and has been in effect for many years already. And specific to Operation PRIDE’s market, there is a heightened focus on preservation and restoration of the environment. In today’s society, it is also popular to volunteer with various organizations. Technological trends also have an effect. It is so easy today to spread awareness of projects, businesses, events, and much more through digital media, especially social media and the Internet in general. This makes word-of-mouth communications about a business spread faster than ever before (whether good or bad, so businesses must be careful with this.) Economic trends, such as the recession in past years, could have affected Bowling Green by reducing spending by individuals and even businesses on things such as building cleanup and repairs, especially in impoverished areas of town. Environmental trends include a push toward using fewer harmful chemicals and pesticides, which is difficult for Operation PRIDE to avoid since one of their goals is to maintain the welcoming appearance of certain stretches of roadways in Bowling Green. They need ways to keep the grass green and the flowers alive. Politically and legally speaking, Operation PRIDE has to adhere to the requirements of a non-profit organization. *should we include some examples of requirements here?* Competitive Situation Operation PRIDE’s indirect competition would be organizations such as WKU’s ALIVE Center(?) and Habitat for Humanity. Their direct competition would be Green Ways and the Landmark Association of Bowling Green-Warren County. Various landscaping businesses could also be seen as competition. SWOT Analysis *Make a chart to go with this?* Opportunities include the relatively large number of buildings and homes in Bowling Green that are in disrepair or completely abandoned. Many of these buildings are in areas that would be good locations for other things, and many others are historic and could benefit from being restored. Another opportunity is all of the organizations in Bowling Green that are advocates of community service. Threats include, as previously mentioned, Operation PRIDE’s competition, and also factors like crime rate and the economy. Crime rate makes a city less desirable for businesses, potential new residents and even current residents. When the economy is struggling, businesses don’t have as much extra revenue to spend on side projects. Operation PRIDE’s strengths are, of course, its ability to get cleanups, maintenance, and restorations performed in and around the city of Bowling Green. It is also good at getting partners and volunteers to help fund and perform these tasks. Another strength is that the organization is tax-exempt (?) and donations to the organization are tax-exempt as well. Operation PRIDE is also the only organization allowed to display off-premise signage, which incentivizes partnership; the name of the partnering business goes on the sign. One of Operation PRIDE’s weaknesses is its social media presence and its website. Another weakness is community awareness in general. They also have limited staff. There have been little to no marketing and advertising activities to date, and market research is an issue as well. The Board of Directors is also unwilling to change the “PRIDE” acronym. Positioning Statement for Operation PRIDE In 1993, a group of visionaries in Bowling Green, KY decided to take the appearance of their city into their own hands. This city was their home -- a place to make beautiful and take pride in. And that’s exactly what they did so that others could see its beauty and be proud of it too. Not only did they want to make Bowling Green beautiful in the present, they wanted to keep it beautiful for future generations so their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s grandchildren could love the same Bowling Green as they did so many years before. Today, Operation PRIDE is a master of transformation. It takes the old and makes it new again. It takes an eyesore and turns it into something beautiful. Then, it keeps it that way. For the businesses in the community of Bowling Green, Operation PRIDE offers an extremely unique opportunity. To not only give back to the great community of Bowling Green but also have your business advertised in the community. Operation pride is the only non profit organization in Bowling Green that improves the aesthetics of the city and gives businesses the chance to put their names on these improved grounds for everyone to see. When businesses invest in partnership with Operation PRIDE, they are investing in the future of Bowling Green and keeping that dream from 1993 alive. Promotional Strategy Improvements on Existing Media Operation PRIDE already has some of its marketing in place around the community, so these media can simply be enhanced to add to the community’s awareness of Operation PRIDE and what they do. Signage Although visibility is an issue for the Partner With PRIDE signs on Cemetery Road, not much can be done to their appearance to improve visibility because of distraction issues. Also, solar lights are not good to use for uplighting because they are difficult to mow around. The suggestion here is to strategically attach solar lights to the top of the signs so they are visible at night in addition to being no more trouble to mow around. The supplies for this can be purchased inexpensively at Harbor Freight. S Website The existing website, while informative, needs a little more visual appeal. If possible, the website should be moved to its own domain so there is freedom to experiment with different layouts and design elements. WordPress or Wix is a good place to start because they are easy to use with just a little instruction. The “.wordpress.com” and “.wix.com” domains can be used for free, or a “.org” or “.com” domain can be subscribed to for around $18/year on WordPress. Below is a mockup of an Operation PRIDE landing page. *insert mockup here* Another advantage to using a site like WordPress is the addition of the capability to use it as a blog in addition to a website. Blogging is a great way to get more visitors to your website and establish a relationship with your customers (Moz), and it even helps make it easier for people to find your website when they search for you or phrases that pertain to you on Google. Examples of blog entries are stories about special activities being performed such as the shrub planting day that occurred on October 24, entries about big restoration projects such as the L&N Train Depot, and tips for readers on how to keep their neighborhood looking welcoming and clean. *insert sample blog entry* Social Media More activity on Operation PRIDE’s social media pages would also help to increase community awareness and participation. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all good outlets to use, so now Operation PRIDE needs a plan to use them more effectively. Throughout the month of October, an increase happened in Facebook activity, which is a step in the right direction. Facebook Facebook is best used as an advertising medium along with some supplemental content. Paying just $100 over the course of 31 days for a sponsored ad on Facebook would reach up to 1,300 people on Facebook. Below are two screenshots of some potential ad settings and the projected results of that campaign on Facebook Ads Manager, and an example of a Facebook ad that Operation PRIDE could run. *insert sample ad here* Other things that can be posted about on Facebook are upcoming events, day-to-day activities, and special days like Earth Day and other national holidays. The important thing to remember is that posts that include photos and videos get viewed, liked, and shared most often. Facebook is the medium used by the majority of Operation PRIDE’s target market, so most of the focus should be on Facebook; this is where Operation PRIDE will get the most return for its time and funds. Twitter and Instagram These two social media accounts are a good thing to have an account on and should, therefore, be maintained regularly, but given the small number of people in Operation PRIDE’s target market who use Twitter or Instagram and the even smaller number of people at Operation PRIDE who have time to run these accounts, the best practice here would be to post pictures from cleanup days, planting days, award presentations, and similar activities. This requires minimal time, but maintains a presence on these accounts. Additional Media Print Print advertisements should be placed in the Bowling Green Daily News and the SOKY Happenings publications. The general advertisement for Operation PRIDE would look like this: *insert sample ad* It will have plenty of white space, with script at the bottom reading, “Does this look familiar? Chances are, you’ve seen signs like this around Bowling Green for years, but do you know what they mean? Operation PRIDE has been keeping Bowling Green beautiful for more than 22 years with the help of partner businesses like the ones you see on these signs. Without Operation PRIDE and its partners, what do you think Bowling Green would look like?” In the center of the page is a replica of one of the partnership signs like the ones on Cemetery Road. This will help the citizens of Bowling Green to recognize the signs as Operation PRIDE-affiliated without changing the signs themselves. The physical signs then serve as a reminder of the ads they see in SOKY or Daily News. Business to Business Materials One thing that will make business to business interaction easier and potentially have better results is something to physically hand business managers and owners that will explain to them in a very direct way what the benefits of helping Operation PRIDE are for them. Below is a sample brochure that explains why and how to partner with PRIDE. *insert brochure graphic here* It explains what Operation PRIDE is, why it benefits their business to partner with PRIDE (donations are tax-deductible, they get an off-premise sign which is not otherwise allowed, and they become positioned in the mind of their customers as a business that participates in social responsibility), and how to begin a partnership with PRIDE. Another useful tool when interacting with potential partners is a brief PowerPoint presentation that will allow the presenter, such as Angie, to explain more in-depth about what is mentioned in the brochure in addition to what other partners have done in participation with PRIDE, the kinds of activities they would be participating in if their business decides to join as a partner, and why Operation PRIDE truly does need their help. A brochure is informative but it is harder to say no to a face-to-face interaction. When a business partners with Operation PRIDE, they should be given a sticker to display in their window similar to those that say Kentucky Proud or Member FDIC. *insert sticker here* Additional Materials for the Community In the event that Operation PRIDE sets up a booth at a community-wide event such as Balloons, Tunes, and BBQ or Bowling Green’s “Second Saturdays” events, it would be useful to have some informative materials that the average citizen would be interested in. A simple display board such as the ones used in school science fairs is a great start. It could include a brief history of Operation PRIDE and how it came to be, some of the projects it has overseen, upcoming projects, pictures of volunteer groups, and a list of the current partners. *insert mockup here* A brochure that is a “handheld” version of the display board that visitors to the booth can take with them is also suggested. Also, people love to show their support with things like stickers, t-shirts, reusable water bottles, and keychains. Simply having the Operation PRIDE logo printed onto some of these items would stimulate word-of-mouth about the organization. You could choose to either give these items away if you found them for a good enough price, or sell them to raise extra funds. *insert image of what each would look like* Internship Program If Operation PRIDE would like to add an internship program, here are some suggestions for that. First of all, the social media and website aspects of Operation PRIDE’s new marketing plan could be largely done by a digital marketing intern if one were hired. This intern could be responsible for maintaining the social media accounts and keeping the website (and, potentially, the blog) up to date. This would help ensure that the social media accounts remain current and bring in more loyal followers without adding more of a workload to anyone else on the Operation PRIDE team. To find good candidates for this internship, PRIDE could seek the help of WKU’s Social Media Marketing program. If needed, a second intern could potentially be hired to assist Angie in her day-to-day activities. This intern could be from any business-related background, such as sales, entrepreneurship, or even corporate and organizational communication. Events With more manpower comes the potential of the ability to hold a couple of community-wide events to raise awareness of the Operation PRIDE cause. Community Cleanup Day If starting small is best, perhaps a community-wide cleanup day would work. One way to do this would be to pick an area of the community to work on, and openly invite anyone in Bowling Green who wants to participate to meet at that place at a certain time. Include games and prizes throughout the day to incentivize participation. A good way to find volunteers for this who are already incentivized is to contact campus organizations at WKU and SKYCTC who have required community service hours to complete. Declare a Community-Wide “Holiday” Another small, yet powerful, way to garner community participation in beautifying Bowling Green is to simply declare that a certain day of each month is “Keep Bowling Green Beautiful Day”. By making this a sponsored post on Facebook, more people will see it (even those who do not follow the Operation PRIDE page) and some may even share it on their wall or at least mention it to their friends and coworkers in real life. If you can get people to talk about it and share it with others, it will grow. This is just one more thing that puts Operation PRIDE closer to the front of people’s minds. *insert mockup of sponsored post* Operation PRIDE 5K In the future, if manpower permits, a great way to get the community involved with Operation PRIDE is to hold an annual 5K which could double as a fundraiser. Partnering with another organization is a great way to staff this type of event. These races are very popular right now, even among people who are not avid runners. Combine it with a good cause and participation increases. When promoting this event, the tagline could be, “A healthy community starts with healthy people,” indicating the connection between the mission of Operation PRIDE and the type of event this is. There are a number of media on which to promote this event. First, we will make use of Facebook, SOKY Happenings, and BG Daily News which are the media already having been used to maintain a position in the minds of the community on a regular basis. The ads for the 5K would look like this: *one ad for each, respectively* Additionally, a press release could be sent out to the local news and radio stations to gain some PR time. Radio stations often attend events of this scale, so we could try to get a station like WUHU to attend. *written press release* Email Campaigns Whenever an event is held, it is important to remember Operation PRIDE’s loyal partners and volunteers. Anyone who is already in PRIDE’s email list should be sent an email about community-wide events that are happening, so they feel that they are being invited first. This will increase their loyalty and make their bond with PRIDE stronger each time. Things to do: Come up with good tagline for Operation PRIDE as a whole (something to do with transformation or beautification) Attempt to come up with better acronym Reference used: https://moz.com/blog/should-you-blog Display board for community events: -What I’m picturing in my mind looks something like this, but the information included on it will be about Operation PRIDE: -You do not have to make one of these by hand, just use Paint or something on the computer to make this: -Then write a few things about what Operation PRIDE is/does, and copy and paste Operation PRIDE photos (from their FB and website) and arrange them in a similar manner to the picture above Press release for community events: -Here is the URL to a good website that should be really helpful in formatting the press release. This is basically what would be given to radio and news stations to announce the Community Cleanup Day, the “Keep Bowling Green Beautiful” Day, or the 5K. http://fitsmallbusiness.com/press-release-format-and-template/ Example event email for existing partners: -This would be sent out to all of Operation PRIDE’s existing partners/past volunteers to tell them about upcoming events. It would start out with something like “Dear Operation PRIDE Supporter:” The body of the email would say it is an invitation to participate in the upcoming event and include a brief description of the event, and where and when the event is held. In its conclusion, it should thank the recipient for their support of Operation PRIDE. Advertisement for print media (SOKY Happenings, Daily News): -For now, should be a large Operation PRIDE logo in the center of a white background. Eventually when we have a new tagline for the organization we can add this to the design. Don’t worry too much about this one right now.