Membership Growth Strategy for the Anaphylaxis Campaign

1.0 Executive Summary

The Anaphylaxis campaign UK is a national charity based in Farnborough, Hampshire. The Campaign provides support for those people who suffer from any kind of allergy including nuts, egg, milk, Soya, insect stings and many more. At the moment there are around 8,000 members of the charity. These are mostly made up of people with children suffering from an allergy, mainly intolerance to peanuts or nuts. This new marketing campaign is aiming to increase the membership by the end of the coming year. To start with we are aiming to do that by 25% taking the total membership to 10,000 members. The campaign is aimed at people with children aged 12 - 18 years of age, as it is realised that this age group, teenagers and young adults, are most at risk from allergy attacks and they need the most support. It is also believed that it is unlikely they would be willing or keen to join the campaign themselves, so it is felt the best idea would be to focus on their parents. The aim is to see a more varied membership with more people joining who suffer from other allergies other than peanut. This will be done by creating awareness of the Campaign and highlighting the fact that it is not for any particular allergy, but for anyone who feels they would benefit from membership.

There is a very large potential market for our Campaign with an estimated 1 million people in the United Kingdom suffering from an allergy of some form, although not all are life threatening. If this figure is taken as an estimate then our members only make up 0.008% of the total population who have an allergy, leaving the Campaign with a very large potential market indeed. Although the Anaphylaxis Campaign is a charitable non-profit organisation, sufficient funds are required to remain in existence. With the membership rates at the moment it may be unable to continue operation in the future. This is not beneficial to anyone as those who need help and support from the organisation would no longer be able to receive it. This could lead to an increase of fatal attacks arising from lack of information.

The market will be reached in various ways. It is believed that awareness of the charity is limited, and so this is the first hurdle we aim to overcome. It is also felt that there should be more benefits of becoming a member. To establish this a text alert service will be introduced for members, and also a text 'query' line so that members can access help at all times. The Campaign feels this is a discreet way for young people to still receive information without really having to look hard for it, e.g. visiting the website, reading newsletters. It will also provide a helpline open 24 hours. Clearly this service cannot be restricted to members only as the Campaign is a charitable organisation, but it will also be a benefit to members.

2.0 Situation Analysis

The Anaphylaxis Campaign was launched in 1994 and is now entering its twelfth year of operation. Although the service being provided is highly valued by its users, there is a pressing need to raise awareness of the Campaign and increase the membership base, in order to procure funding to continue raising awareness and helping with research. The Anaphylaxis Campaign currently runs a website containing detailed information about Anaphylaxis including frequently asked questions, symptoms, food alerts and guidance for parents. The Campaign also offers a help-line, newsletters, training videos for schools, and runs workshops and seminars around the country.

2.1 Market Summary

The Anaphylaxis Campaign possesses some knowledge on the number of people affected by severe allergic reactions, but information is generally hard to come by and is often based on intelligent estimates.

Target Market

The segment to be targeted by the Campaign will be parents of children aged between 12 and 18. Teenagers and young adults in this age group are believed to be most at risk due to their behavioural patterns; as they become more independent, they become more exposed to the dangers of a severe allergic attack. It is also believed that at this age they would be unwilling to become members themselves, and so it must be their parents or guardians who will be informed.

2.1.1 Market Demographics

* The target market is spread across the whole of the United Kingdom. No particular geographical area is being targeted, and the Campaign's website will be the primary source of information and means of becoming a member.

* Many members are parents of children with peanut or nut allergies.

* Egg allergy accounts for 20% of members.

* Young adults and teenagers are particularly susceptible to anaphylactic attacks - 75% of members are under 18.

* 1 in 17 young children in the UK have some type of food allergy.

* 1 in 3 people in the UK suffer from some kind of allergy.

* Peanut allergy has tripled in the past few years to 1 in 70 children.

2.1.2 Market Needs

The vision of the Anaphylaxis Campaign is of a world in which the prevention of life-threatening allergic conditions has been achieved. The Campaign strives to provide the following important market needs:

* Information, guidance and support. Severe allergies can cause huge amounts of anxiety, fear and distress. The Campaign aims to make those suffering from severe allergies feel at ease, by providing them with up to date product alerts, important information and support groups.

* The provision of a safer environment for severe allergy sufferers. The Campaign recognises that need for better labelling of food products, and provides the food industry with information about anaphylaxis in an effort to raise awareness and create a safer environment.

* Increased research into severe allergies. If progress is to be made in this field, more funding is required - a further reason why it is crucial to expand the membership base.

2.1.3 Market Growth

The number of people with allergies, including severe types, is rising. The Campaign believes these people do not have the information and support they need. As this market continues to grow, there are more and more potential members that the Campaign needs to reach. Included below is line graph showing membership growth over the years, based on estimated data supplied by the Campaign.

Based