EXPAT TEAM MARKETING & EVENT STRATEGY

EXPAT TEAM MARKETING & EVENT STRATEGY

WWF s Mission The WWF s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet s natural environment, & to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature by: Where there s the will, the means will present themselves. Conserving the world s biological diversity. Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable. Reducing pollution and wasteful consumption. 2

The Volunteers Vision To be agents of cultural change to establish a society where people live in harmony with nature The Volunteers Mission To understand the drivers of our strategy, we need to put it into the context of our mission. The volunteer s long-term mission: to provide the community with high value opportunities to take practical action to raise funds & awareness at minimum costs to support the WWF s global mission. The volunteer s short-term mission: to develop a network of volunteers & supporters to inspire annually 2% of the population of The Hague to participate in our events & fund raise 100k Euros. Raised awareness encourages individual s behavioural to: Change voting patterns to encourage politicians to enact legislation to enable more sustainable environmental practices. Inform employees & consumers to enable them to encourage companies & other organisations to make their business practices more sustainable. Encourage people to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle & consume more sustainable products. Encourage people to become volunteers in NL & directly on WWF projects. Encourage people to donate money. In addition, to encourage individuals to support us - participation in our events & sponsorship etc. In carrying out their mission, volunteers must always protect the WWF brand. 3

Purpose of the Expat Team s strategy This purpose of this strategy is to guide the Expat Team to achieve its mission by providing events to the community to maximise funds & awareness raised from individuals, corporations & non-profits. Summary of the Expat Team s strategy The Expat Team s market Our market is both expats & native-dutch speakers. Characteristics of successful events A successful event is one that delivers on the volunteers mission. In addition it is desirable that it delivers the following: Awareness & funds. High impact with low volunteer resources. Developmental of our skills & contacts / network. Develops & nurtures our support base volunteers, fund-raisers, sponsors & event participants amongst individuals, community organisations & businesses etc. Behavioural change. Repeatable as found in, for example, the CPC & presentations etc. Replicable extendable by applying the same model for other types of events & / or exporting the same events to other regions; Simple. Provides news feed for our public engagement on social media etc. Further, we should always ensure that the event delivers as promoted. Partners Partners are non-wwf organisations who support our events. For partners & ourselves, we should ensure a win-win situation. Promotion & branding In as many ways as possible, we should use WWF logos on our props - volunteers t-shirts & caps, as well as flags & banners etc. - to promote & brand events. Image & Communication In all dealings with the public, volunteers will represent the values of the WWF & project the image of a professional organisation. For more information, see Expat Team s code of conduct. Volunteer s responsibility To achieve the Expat Team s mission. The remainder of this document explains the Expat Team s strategy in detail. 4

Detailed Expat Team s Marketing & Event Strategy The Expat Team s Market Our market is composed of ex-pats - adults as well as children. We should look to combine with the Dutch volunteers where we have a mixture of expat & local Dutch participants as, for e.g., in the CPC. To tap into our market effectively we need good WWF visibility & strongly connect to people. Children, for e.g., the British & international schools & scouts etc., provide opportunities to acquaint their families with the WWF. See Appendix 3: Dealing with children. Market Segmentation We should match events to our audiences as well as to the interests & skills of our volunteers. We can consider sub-groups to target & manage specific markets. For instance, some people are oriented to the outdoors runners ramblers, bikers etc. - in contrast to entertainment types who prefer pubs, dances, & dinners etc. WWF Champions A powerful way to promote the WWF is to encourage volunteers to be our champions in organisations where they work. Champions can also be very effective when based in community organisations such as schools, universities, religious groups & scouts etc. Creating champions in organisations in which they belong gives many benefits: they have the network, understand the culture &, as they spent a lot of their time in their own organisations, they can be opportunistic & have high impact for less effort - they know who to speak to, how to speak to & when to speak to including emails & posters etc. Our WWF champions in the OPCW got a lot of support for our running events & presentations. Although normally the most effective champions are volunteers, there are occasions when they are not & when they are temporary. For example, staff at Bagels & Beans became, for three months, non-volunteer champions promoting the WWF in the City Pier City in 2014. WWF champions can be taken further with, for example, the development of university post-graduate WWF societies. The members of these societies will be WWF s & nature s champions in their future senior roles as employees of governments, companies & other organisations. An overview of how champions will work is available. See Occupying the community space. Also see appendix Different market groups. 5

Event creation repeatable, replicable & organised for us We will achieve our mission by building an active volunteer team with the right mix of skills to create high value events. This team will be more effective by selecting events that are preferably Repeatable*, Replicable** & Organised for us - the CPC run being a good example. This lowers risk, cost & volunteer manpower, builds confidence & is less stressful. It also enables us to better build partnerships. Utilising the learning & contacts gained by *Repeating an event, such as the annual CPC running event, is an efficient way of staging events. However, for repeat events, market saturation must be avoided. This can be done in a number of ways: leaving sufficient time between repeat events; changing the participants by, for example, changing venues / geographic location, introducing innovations & novelties etc. We can also select organisations that have higher turnover levels. Pupils In schools & students have high turnover rates so that our established events can be repeated to a fresh audience. We can rotate our events by, for example, by launching one through a school(s) where we have existing relations to prove the model. Once proven, we are in a better position to get other schools on board. Depending on the circumstances, we might be able to get schools to make our events annual ones, or for some schools, they may need a break of a couple of years until they cooperate with us for another event. It s important that we devise ways of developing & maintaining relations with schools including through event breaks. **Replicable events are those that can be extended: To other events for e.g., by applying the CPC running model to other running events as well as to sponsored cycling, swimming & skating etc. Across other WWF regions. This can be facilitated in a number of ways: set-up a database of descriptions of events that are accessible by all regions as a source of ideas; invite other WWF regions to, for e.g., the CPC to encourage them to get involved in sponsored running events; use their current skills, such as working with children - schools, bamboo kids, Rangers, & Lifeguards - as a platform to launch in other regions by getting, for example, kids to run. Offering our services to tap into their networks by using, for example, our presentation skills. (A list of possible events is available in the Event Selection Matrix.) 6

Locking in relations The idea is to give organisations a compelling programme to engender loyalty, trust & ease of participation with maximum added value. To do this, we need to understand what the client wants to create a win-win & extend it with events throughout the year. An example of this is the scouts see linking events together below. Bagels & Beans is another example; the customer base, employees & company business model is more representative of the care, know & want to do something about it than the rest of society. The cafe has also developed sustainability plans. They provided support to us over a three month period in the following ways: Customers & employees sponsored ran for the WWF. Promoted the CPC on their Facebook pages & websites including with videos & posters. Sold merchandise, had painting competitions, had collection boxes, a valentines day special, founded a Bagels & Bean s running club. Etc. Bagels & Beans benefits: Common goals that is attractive to owners, managers, staff & customers. Encouraged team building. Association with the WWF. Etc. To deepen our relations with them, we have supported Bagels & Beans supplying volunteers & our brand for promotion in their own environmental projects: re-cycling events for kids & garden events etc. Our support & our personal relations with Bagels & Beans means that we are in a good position to get support from them for a future CPC event. However, for them to avoid market saturation with their customers & staff, this is likely to be three years from the first event & therefore likely to be 2017 The additional benefit of this relationship is that our volunteers & Bagels & Beans have a lot of experience with cooperating in events. And, it would be an administrative & emotional cost to support another charity. We can also offer a package of events to, for e.g integration into a school curriculum to create a pathway so that the younger children can move on to more challenging events as they move into more senior years. The events would be related or themed as far as possible & spaced through out the year. A Deep engagement The best way to engage the community is to engage its members deeply. The CPC is a good example: Three months training & raising sponsorship. Wearing the WWF bamboo t- shirt. Runners who have featured on TV as well as in the senior & junior national Panda magazine. Helping to inspire some of our young supporters to take degrees in environmental studies. Thanking our Supporters It s important that we thank our supporters & make them feel special: Thanks in person & by email. Thanks certificates can also be emailed to all the sponsors to thank them & to show them their contribution, what has been accomplished & reinforce what they are supporting. WWF t-shirts preferably delivered in person as soon as participants are committed as defined by the process for each event. Published photos. Etc. Event Approval To meet our mission & protect the WWF brand, the Expat Team Coordinator approves events. This will include a risk evaluation, their structure & their payback. Event execution will be supervised by the event lead & monitored by the Team Co-ordinator. 7

Linking Events together Linking events together is a very powerful way to maximise the involvement of the community. For example, when presentations are made to school-children, we should utilise their enthusiasm by a calling them to action by inviting them to an event or programme of events such as beach cleaning & sponsored sporting events etc. Development of long term WWF assets Henk & the British Scouts Note 1: 2013 2014 Expats met the scouts at the International Fair followed by awareness presentations Note 2: 2015 2106 Met Henk, sponsored him & corresponded throughout his journey. Dedicated fund raising at the International Fair to him Note3: 2016 British Scouts sponsor ran in the CPC. Win / win as scouts earned keep fit challenge badges. Note 4: 2016 Henk made presentations to scouts & they offered to WWF sponsor him next time. The future: Henk will do further events including presentations. The scouts will further sponsor run & d beach cleaning etc. 8

Partners Partners are non- WWF organisations that support our event programme in different ways by, for e.g., providing facilities, enabling participation in their existing events & sponsoring us. There are three industries that are excluded from any relationship: fossil fuel, firearms & tobacco. Businesses whose core values & identity are associated with animal products will also be scrutinised closely. See the Expat Team s brand guidelines & contact Lloyd Edwards the Expat Team Co-ordinator for further advice. Benefits Other than direct support, we also get other partner benefits such as gaining learning & experience as well as maximising our leverage by using their expertise & resources. They can also help recruit event participants such as runners by their influence within their own organisation or society etc. So that we have the opportunity to repeat an event & enhance our reputation, we should provide our partners with a win-win. Oneway of doing this is to use promotion etc. to increase attendance / customers above normal levels in, for e.g., Bagels & Beans cafe in The Hague for the CPC & the Fiddlers for the pub quiz. Partner risks To minimise risks, changes to partners ways should be made only for good reasons. Some risks will always remain such as: Partners failing to deliver on timing or quality etc. This is another reason for repeating events (see above) where we have gone through the learning curve & have established a working relationship based on trust, mutual understanding & respect. Partners damaging our reputation. We should look to minimise this through careful partner selection & making sure that the event & the partner are well matched. And, that the partner sufficiently & demonstrably shares our values. For instance, we do not have an event in partnership with a traditional circus nor with a marine circus such as a dolphinarium. Before selecting & approaching partners, consult with the Expat Team Coordinator. There are written as well as unwritten criteria. The written ones include H.O. approval to establish corporate relations with companies with more than 200 employees. However, if we already have contacts such as volunteers who work in the organisation, this limit can be flexed such as with presentations given to the OPCW with 500 employees. Also see Expat Team brand Zero cost philosophy It s important we safeguard our supporter s contribution (money, materials & time) & minimise the amount of it spent on an event. So, as much as possible, the Expat Team work to a zero cost philosophy which is also used as a selling point to get support. This also encourages creative thinking & presents opportunities to the community to provide freely their skills & services etc., identifies people who are on our side & will act for us in the future recruiting runners, volunteers & champions etc. & inspires others. N.B. Volunteers have the right to claim expenses in respect of expenditure relating to events etc. management principles. Types of partners Partnerships can be made with a variety of organisations: schools, scouts, and societies such as the American Womens Club & UN organisations such as the OPCW. Schools can elect to become a WWF school meaning that the entire year s fund raising events will be dedicated to the WWF. Members of organisations share culture such as the social & course interests of university students & staff. This knowledge can be used to help design events. In organisations such as care homes & hospitals, residents are often isolated & hence would welcome a WWF event with the potential to generate a lot of goodwill. Some organisations may have staff willing to help us & can also act as suppliers: university lecturers & students associated with environmental courses can give presentations in schools. Partnering With Other Volunteer Organisations To supplement our expertise & contacts, we will consider partnering with other voluntary organisations: partnering with the IVN on a bat spotting evening where IVN provided bat spotting equipment & bat photos; beach cleaning with Kust & Zee & Sea First & canal cleaning with Soul Surfers. 9

More For Less No matter how many people we have in our group we will always have limited resources & skills so we always need to find more for less. Examples of how this can be achieved are: Use of partners Repeatable & replicable events. Standardising our activity modules - project lead, WWF liaison, promotion, communication station, raffles, decoration etc. - by being well tried, developed, & run by experienced volunteers. They can then be pulled off the shelf & clipped together to reduce our event effort. Maximise the development of our skills & network neighbours, friends & work etc. to support our activities Look for redundancies in the system. For example, unused space in public places - libraries, hospitals & schools etc. This often comes with a relatively secure environment, staffing & an audience throughput where we can, for example, organise lectures & exhibits & sell merchandise etc. Exhibits can be manned or unmanned. Taxation & sponsorship including from overseas Dutch sponsorship, donations & taxation There are two sources of donations that we are concerned with: individuals & companies. Individuals: facilitate tax relief on donations made to the WWF by Netherlands residents. There are three ways that donors can donate or sponsor the WWF & claim money back from the tax authorities: WWF sponsorship raised via Justgiving; donations to the WWF website directly; regular gifts. Money (sponsorship etc.) received in other ways bank transfer, cash etc., - is not accepted as eligible by the Dutch tax authorities. Companies: sponsorship by Dutch companies will qualify for tax relief. At say a 50% tax rate, every Euro100 raised will only cost the Euro50 after tax. This is important to recognise when negotiating sponsorship. Overseas sponsorship benefits As we are a global charity, overseas sponsorship & donations are encouraged. Sponsors, & donors may give more generously in supporting the WWF in their home countries such as India, the UK & European countries etc. This can also bring tax benefits: UK residents donating to the WWF UK via Justgiving UK or equivalent or directly donating to the WWF get tax relief - turning each 75 donated into 100 for the WWF. So, for example, it is recommended that sponsorship from UK residents is paid to the WWF UK. To benefit from these donations should be made through Justgiving. com. For donations in relation to other countries please contact Lloyd Edwards. Promotion, Branding, Image & Communication Promotion We need as many ways as possible to promote events: newsletters, posters & leafleting, personal contacts, Internet sites & on line communities, & local media etc. In addition, promotions can be supported by using a database of potential attendees from a number of sources: e-mail details etc. collected at our events; existing WWF s data base; other organisations data-bases such as Dieren Bescherming. (WWF policy on data protection?) Branding We should take opportunities to brand our events by using WWF logos on our props - volunteers t-shirts & caps, as well as flags & banners etc. Seek guidance from the WNF. See also Expat Team brand management principles. Image & Communication To event attendees & non-attendees passing observers etc., we should project the image of a professional organisation: be able to articulate the WWF mission statement; have a few key examples of the WWF s work specific projects - as well as the WWFs work in lobbying governments & other organisations. (This can be found on WWF.org that gives links to the WWF s Global network.) 10

Volunteers & conflicts of interest In the volunteer role, he / she has agreed to act in the sole in the interests of the WWF / WNF. He / she will not normally seek commercial gain. Any potential for commercial gain whether actively sought or not must be declared as soon as it is known before, during or after the activity. The Expat Team can then consider the best way to proceed taking into account the circumstances such as, but not restricted to, potential & actual conflicts of interest & the policies & best practice of the WWF / WNF. Donations of any commercial proceeds to the WWF / WNF will be an active part of this consideration. Conclusion A successful event is how well it delivers on the mission statement & the following attributes that support its achievement: repeatable, replicable, simple, easy, quick, extendable & developmental of our skills & contacts / network. And, events should always deliver as promoted. 11

Appendix 1: Volunteer s responsibilities The volunteers most important responsibility is protecting the WWF brand. By recruiting active volunteers, executing events & building effective relationships with partners, we can build ourselves into a potent & effective team that carry out increasingly ambitious events. Volunteers achieve their mission by: Recruiting other volunteers. Proposing events. Participating in events that are suited to their skills & interests. Proposing ideas for corporate / business partnership & sponsorship. Seek these out in consultation with the team co-ordinator. Committing & communicating to the team your time available & what you want to do. The Expat Team Co-ordinator has all the volunteer s responsibilities plus the following additional responsibilities: Team building; Ensuring events are resourced with volunteers; Event approval. 12

Appendix 2: Volunteers & functions Functions Our purpose is to mobilise the community with high value events & activities to raise funds & awareness. The supporting functions - Marketing, Human Resources etc. - in the diagram are the foundation for this. All volunteers will chose which function they want to work in. Each function determines its own mission & operates to meet it. There will be regular board meetings where a representative from each of the functions will attend. Volunteers can help out other functions. For instance, this may come about if a volunteer in the presentation function has an idea for marketing. Initially, she should contact the other function with her proposal. Events All volunteers will participate in a high proportion of events as an organiser, a helper on the day or as a participant a sponsored runner, a member of the audience at a presentation etc. (Volunteers assigned directly to the event function are concerned with general event strategy & structure etc.) 13

Appendix 3: On-boarding volunteers The Team Co-ordinator will interview new volunteers. In certain cases, this may be delegated. The most important thing is to get volunteers in value added events where they can make a contribution, by using their networks & matching volunteer skills & interests with our portfolio of events. This is their reason for volunteering & the sooner you do this, the better. In conjunction with training, whilst doing events, volunteers will build-up knowledge of the WWF & its structure. 14

Appendix 4: Our target market & the community It s important to build strong links with the community, identify our future champions, and raise awareness. Sponsored events, such as running ones, are a good example of how to achieve this with their high levels of commitment, training, sponsorship, & spectators etc. To help partner with the community, we are open & transparent making it clear what we stand for, what we re offering & how people can help - If we build it they will come. Or, to put it another way, if we provide the opportunity professionally, socially & sports wise etc. where people can apply their skills & interests we can tap into a huge reservoir of willing people. So where do we get these willing people from? Individuals within a community can be segmented by its awareness & attitude to nature & environmental issues & can be used to help target our audience: 1. Volunteers & activists. 2. Know care & want to do something about it. 3. Don t know don t care. Our target group, where we can get most payback in terms of response for our effort, is the know care & want to do something about it. These are community leaders, aware, educated business & government leaders, thought leaders & wealthy etc. who are important in setting the direction of the rest of society including the don t know don t care. They are also a rich source of potential volunteers & WWF (environmental) champions. We present as many opportunities to this group to enable them to channel their concern for the environment into positive actions by participating in our events such as sponsored running. We communicate with & activate our target group through community based institutions scouts, religious groups & educational institutions companies & government as well as individuals. 15

Appendix 5: Different event groups The following are not all strictly market segments but are useful headings to help us analyse key characteristics of our market to give insights into selecting & holding events. Captured Versus Non-Captured Attendees A captured attendee examples of two types: People already attending established events where we come along as a guest act. An example of this is the Fiddler s pub quiz. People already in the venue independently of our presence. For example, key to the success of the OPCW screening of the film The end of the line, was due to volunteers who are employed by the OPCW promoting our event to other employees. A non-captured attendee is one who would not be present without our event. An example of this type of event is beach cleaning. As there is more risk with this type of event that we get low attendance, we need to put more effort into promotion. Dispersed Versus Concentrated Events A bike tour is an example of a dispersed event where participants can be separated by, for example, geography & time. The Fiddler is an example of a concentrated event where participants are not separated. For a dispersed event, we need to find ways of capturing the participants to achieve our mission such as a: Registration procedure at the start. Finish line. Completion certificate / photo shoots. Focus for stages & prizes etc. Choke point. (An example of a choke point is at the entrance / exit in a retail store where we can achieve maximum footfall in support of, for e.g., a national campaign on sustainable fishing.) Outside Versus Inside Events For outside events, we need to take account of the seasons / weather that has the potential to affect the comfort & attendance of volunteers & attendees. Fallbacks should be provided where possible such as shelter & alternatives. Evergreen Events Evergreen events are those that, once set-up, leave a legacy that continues independently of the WWF s presence such as. Children create gardens in the school grounds with wild flowers, fruit trees & bushes, bird houses & feeders, & ladybird & bee shelters. This gives the opportunity for continuous interaction with the children & teachers: bird spotting & feeding, photographs, articles in school magazines, nurturing plants, & picking fruit etc. As an extension, we can have, for e.g., WWF / school fairs selling produce grown etc. & bolt on other activities such as communication stations, merchandising & collection boxes etc. Films can be provided or recommended by the WWF to schools & other organisations with an agreed schedule to enable staff to show them. 16

Appendix 6: Benefits of sponsorship WWF fundraisers get sponsorship to help fund the activities of the WWF from their friends, family & work colleagues. As illustrated below using the example of running events, benefits other than funds are derived from fundraising. These events are targeted as they attract or pull in our committed supporters; know care & want to do something about it. The targeted marketing is reinforced as they use their network, many of whom will share the same environmental concerns Runners create interest among their sponsors by the fact that they are running on behalf of the WWF. Added interest is generated if they are not runners or set themselves time targets etc. In raising sponsorship, fundraisers talk about the WWF & its activities thus raising the awareness of both the sponsors & themselves. A fundraiser is committed as opposed to those who simply pay lip service. This is a good way to select individuals who we can recruit as supporters & volunteers. It s a long term 3 months or so including training - & committed engagement giving greater WWF exposure to the individual in, for example, training, raising sponsorship, & paying for their own event entry; The WWF Fairwear bamboo t-shirt embodies a lot of the environmental issues that we face. (See bamboo leaflet given with every shirt.) Training & at other times wearing the shirt is a constant reminder of our responsibility to protect our environment & nature. It s good team working for the runners & volunteers. Individual running & fundraising is an achievement for which we issue a thanks certificate. Large events such as the CPC, through their scale & public exposure of committed WWF fundraising runners, is great PR & helps open a dialogue with the public. 17

Appendix 7: Dealing with children The main aspect of the WWF volunteer s responsibility to children is their safety. Hence, we should always assess the risks particularly when we are taking them away from their safe environment such as their teacher-supervised classroom. The WWF s guidelines should be consulted prior to any engagement with children. (See also the separate expat document Dealing With Children.) 18

The more we look, the more we learn how the OCEANS NATURAL ASSETS generate enormous value. 19