Respite Volunteers

Respite Volunteers

Advertising Plan

Section 1: Introduction

Executive Summary

U.S. Advertising was asked by Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee to make an advertising plan. The main goal of the advertising plan was to get more male volunteers into the organization. As a group U.S. Advertising came up with two main objectives. The first main objective is to have the community, mainly men, become aware of the services that Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee offers. The second objective is to stay within the budget given. This way there would be no undo hardship to the services of Respite.

U.S. Advertising worked very hard and tried to be creative when coming up with this advertising plan for Respite. Hopefully the advertising plan will work for Respite or a least give them some creative ideas for the future.

Overview

Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee was established in 1991 however the first volunteer training was not until 1994. Since Respite is a non profit organization it is funded by a memorial grant in memory of Robert Wood Johnson.

Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee has four employees and a Board of Directors. Currently they have seventy-five trained volunteers who are mostly women. Respite is trying to expand their volunteer base to include more men. They are finding that many families want men to come into the home for companionship.

Our advertising group, who is creating an advertising plan, for Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee, has seven members. Our group name is U.S. Advertising. U.S. Advertising stands for Unique Students. The group was formed about five weeks ago. The members include April Peck, Jim Judd, Shari Bennett, Geoff Chaney, Jason O'Connor, Kassy Heard, and Erica Flegel,. Each member of U.S. Advertising is responsible for a different section of the advertising plan.

Section 2: Identify Product, Service, or Idea

The non profit organization that our group has created an advertising plan for is Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee. Respite offers a service to families who live in Shiawassee County in central Michigan. The service that Respite provides is trained volunteers who go into the home for two to four hours a week to provide companionship for adults who are ill. This allows for family members who are taking care of their love ones to have a break. Several of the families that Respite Volunteers of Shiawassee are elderly couples, where one spouse is taking care of the other one. They also serve families where the caregiver is an adult child caring for a parent.

This break that Respite gives to family caretakers allow them to take a nap, run errands, or just have time for themselves. It is also a special time for the person who is ill because they get to have a visitor and something to look forward to.

Section 3: Situation Analysis

Historical Context:

The first volunteers of the Shiawassee County Respite were trained in 1994. Since then, they now have seventy-five volunteers. With Respite being a Faith-in-Action agency, many of their volunteers come from local churches, local hospitals, and some from word of mouth.

The Shiawassee Respite has now entered its 11th year of service in this area. As stated earlier Respite is a Faith-in-Action Group which is one of twenty-two groups in Michigan.

Through donations, annual memberships, fundraising and a big help from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Helen Howard, Respite's Program Directory, can make this voluntary service possible to many families in the Shiawassee Country area. The Robert Wood Johnson foundation is devoted to health and healthcare and is the biggest in the United States.

Industry Analysis:

Through research, the demographic shows locally and nationally that there will be a higher population of seniors and needed caregivers in the future with the baby boomers getting older. The supply, or patients needing help, should be stable in the future. As stated in the Rural Elderly Report to the Administration on Aging Report to Congress, potential caregivers are decreasing as the number of elderly needing care increases.

Market Analysis:

With the need for caregivers so high, the demand for volunteers is growing, especially the demand for male volunteers, which Respite wants to focus more attention on. The majority has been female volunteers, but with the different kinds of assistance needed now, they want to try and have more male volunteers. Respite is also focusing on volunteers.

Competitor Analysis:

The competition is pretty low, considering that this is a non-profit organization, and the only organization in Shiawassee County that offer these services. Options for the elderly are nursing homes, paid care-givers, and then family. Even though family should be the first option, sometimes family caregivers need a break. That is where Respite comes in.

Section 4: Advertising Objectives

1. Establish a quantitative benchmark.

* Increase the variety of volunteers from adults (30 - 60 years old) to include more men and couples above the age of 18.

* Increase the number of volunteers by at least 10% from 75 currently.

2. Specify measurement methods and criteria for success.

* Increase awareness of program from churches and volunteers to include various forms of media. Media can include but is not limited to:

o Website www.shiarespite.org

o Newspaper

o Brochures, flyers

o Local schools

o Hospitals, nursing homes, health fairs and senior days at local mall, blood banks

o Flower shops, funeral homes

o Automotive stores, departments stores, electronic stores (specifically targeted at men)

* Website can be advertised more frequently through the brochures, newspaper, and flyers.

* Newspaper