We Stay Well Together: A Social Marketing Campaign

Abstract

Coimbra Business School offers a well-shaped plan of education merging technical and social competencies and real training, and so giving strength to its student development for a better human society. One of the ways for doing so lies in Social Marketing, an optative discipline of the marketing graduation. Within this discipline, students are challenged to develop a real project, most of the times for the real benefit of a not for profit organization.

In 2020, on the top of the Covid-19 epidemic ‘season’, the students were invited to develop a campaign for a charity supporting homeless in the city of Coimbra (Portugal). The chosen team of students developed a social marketing (through social media) and developed other actions for this purpose as a crowdfunding campaign. They have been enrolled within this campaign for more than 3 months, struggling with the ups and downs a group of students has to face especially with the drawbacks of the state of emergency the country was dwelling with.

Overall the students gained tremendously with this experience learning how to do a social marketing campaign, including a fundraising campaign, and contribute to improve the quality of life of homeless people. Moreover, the outcome was most appreciated by the charity and also by other people that were enrolled with the project.

Teaching Notes

Answers to Discussion Questions

• 1. What were the best ways to handle a successful social marketing campaign, including a fundraising campaign, like this one? Are there other methods that were forgotten? And taking into account that the main goal was improving people’s quality of life overall?

  The success of a fundraising camping lies very much in a definition of a fundraising potential based on real facts. The students did not develop a plan based on evidence and past similar cases. Also these kinds of campaigns should begin with Brainstorming, with possible strategies. Moreover, the people’s quality of life was not studied and the benefactors should have been interviewed at least.

• 2. Which are the more important groups for the success of a fundraising campaign like this one? Were the tasks the proper ones?

  The biggest problem the team had to tackle was the lack of leadership. The team faced various problems that needed almost an iron figure. The team lost energy, time and personal trust because every project needs rules, decisions, and authority, resources that were not well planned.

• 3. Could the team of 12 students be coordinated in other ways? What kind of divisions/departments could be more efficacious for a social marketing campaign?

  Working in groups is fruitful and has many advantages, but it is an enabler of greater complexity and of which we must be aware and know how to solve. And so there have been some days that we did not manage properly the fundraising campaign due to interpersonal conflicts. Every project with the participation of different people needs a clear division.

• 4. How could the team of students be evaluated? Would it be also admissible to ask people from the charity for their opinion? Should there be a discussion at the end of the project?

  The team of students should have been evaluated by the charity staff. This could be indeed a very good way for self-development and a powerful source of knowledge about each one’s capacities. Moreover, the discussion at the end should discuss the most appropriate ideas, messages, and action developed.

• 5. What are the advantages and drawbacks of a social marketing campaign, including a fundraising campaign, solely via web?

  A social marketing campaign via the web can miss a great part of the target audience. Social marketing asks for personal contact with who you want to influence, and using solely the web can damage the more personal messages.