Resources / Ripples & Wipeouts

This blog entry is the fourth installment in a series from the Nonprofit Marketing class at the Milano School of Nonprofit Management.  The class is working on a pro bono basis with Global Partnership for Afghanistan to develop a marketing strategy.

We’ve approached week 4 of our work with Global Partnership for Afghanistan (GPFA), and here’s another update for you!  After our meeting with key staff of GPFA, our class divided into four groups and each began a portion of a landscape media analysis.

The first group of students is examining GPFA’s exposure in traditional media.  They used various search terms relevant to GPFA to determine media coverage.  For example, the terms “Women/Afghanistan” and “Opium/Poppies” returned the most media results, although most of the results did not relate to GPFA’s work.  In contrast, the terms “Reforestation /Afghanistan” and “Successful poppy reduction/Afghanistan” returned few results, indicating media gaps.  GPFA may be able to capitalize on these gaps by offering the media good story angles related to these topics.

Another group of students analyzed GPFA’s website and online presence.  A few simple Google searches showed that GPFA is not the top hit when you search for its name directly.  Using keywords similar to those listed above, GPFA was nowhere to be found within the first few pages of results. Therefore, an effort needs to be made to improve GPFA’s search engine optimization.

A third group researched polling data using PEW and Roper.  However, much of the polling data was not relevant to our research.  The class agreed that it may be worthwhile to develop, distribute and analyze a survey of its own.  More to come on this.

The final group analyzed competitors’ media presence and websites.  A lot of competitors don’t have a significant online media presence, but they are using their websites and other networking sites to recruit donors to their causes.  It’s important to find an advantageous frame for GPFA’s messages that will effectively target people that may be willing to donate to GPFA’s cause. 

Be sure to check back next week to find out what additional progress has been made!

--Jeffrey Brandt