STRATEGIC OVERVIEW

Ashlee Burt
J une 13, 2012
I. A Snapshot of Utah Mormon Mothers
In developing a marketing strategy focused on Utah women who belong to the Church
of J esus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or the Mormon Church), there are certain unique
characteristics that are important to understand. Understanding these characteristics and
designing a strategy around these characteristics will place a campaign on the strongest
possible footing to bring out the enormous amount of goodwill and energy that exists among
these Utah women and mothers. I briefly summarize some pertinent characteristics here.

First, Mormon congregations abound in Utah (roughly 60% of the states population is
Mormon). Unlike other denominations, Mormon congregations are based on geography,
which means one square mile could contain all the members of a Mormon congregation.
These congregationsor wardsare typically made up of 300-400 people all living in
roughly the same neighborhoods. This dynamic helps focus Utah Mormons primarily on the
micro- community, i.e., the neighborhoods where they live and the congregation in which they
worship.

Second, the Mormon Church has no paid clergy and relies on its membersespecially
the womento meet each congregational members needs. Mormon women thus donate
enormous amounts of time and energy helping the sick, elderly, underprivileged, youth,
children, etc. within their immediate congregations. These women are also active in larger
formal service projects sponsored by an organization in the Mormon Church called the Relief
Society. (The Relief Society is made up of five-and-a-half million Mormon women members
in 170 countries throughout the world and is devoted to meeting the temporal and spiritual
needs of both Mormons and non-Mormons alike.) Formal service projects in the Relief Society
might include activities like assembling school or hygiene kits for third world countries. It is
easy to see that many of these Utah Mormon women are already nearly maxed out with
community service.

Third, family is everything to these women, and they will go to great self-sacrificing
lengths to foster and protect their familys happiness, education, moral growth, etc.
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Fourth, Utah Mormon communities can be (but are not necessarily) somewhat closed
to outsiders. Utah Mormon mothers are cordial and caring but can be skeptical of partnering
with people, businesses, and organizations with which they are unfamiliar and of whom they
might perceive as not sharing similar values. These mothers would be more trusting of and
willing to commit to a campaign that has the backing of trusted sources.

Fifth, Utah Mormon mothers are not likely to be familiar enough with the United
Nations Foundation to differentiate it from the actual United Nations. Given the independent
streak of Mormons in general and the strong conservatism that prevails in much of Utah, there
is an existing distrust among many Utah Mormon women of the United Nations (and any large
governmental entity in general). It would therefore probably be advantageous to emphasize the
Shot at Life name and mission over the United Nations Foundation brand alone.

Sixth, Utah Mormon mothers who live in a two-parent household have not
historically been employed full-time outside the home. The importance of this for present
purposes is two- fold: (1) these women devote themselves to family and what they perceive
as good causes, and (2) these women tend to be very conscious of time and money.
Coupons, good deals, and free giveaways are often very effectives way of attracting
attention to a product or service.

Seventh, Mormons celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday and generally refrain from things
like shopping, attending events, and even sporting activities on Sunday. Monday nights are
also generally set aside for Family Home Evening where Mormon families are encouraged to
spend time together as a family to study scripture, play games, plan for the week, etc. If
possible, a Saturday late morning would be a good day and time for an event. During the
summer, weekdays mid-morning would work as well.

Eighth, active Mormons abstain from alcoholic beverages. Given these unique cultural
characteristics, getting the attention of the Utah Mormon mother with yet another good cause
could pose a real challenge. But I believe the prevailing culture and the wonderful women who
make up the culture present unique and awesome opportunities for harnessing the powerful
talents and energy that exists in this community. Here are a few ideas that I think have great
potential for getting the attention of Utah Mormon mothers and engaging them in the Shot at
Life campaign.

II. Marketing Approach: Whats in it for my family?
How do you grab the attention of women who are already stretched thin with service,
family, and work? Rather than focusing on the traditional whats in it for me strategy, a
strategy that emphasizes whats in it for my family could be very effective in this unique
culture. For example, explaining how vaccinating a child in Uganda affects the Utah moms
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children and the future world in which her children will live is likely to resonate strongly with
the typical Utah Mormon mother. Provide these moms an opportunity to educate their
children and demonstrate acts of service for those most in need across the world. These will
be important tools in any campaign and will help to show how beneficial these causes are for
the strengthening not only of community but also (and more importantly) of the family.

Events or programs that engage children and families in fun, informative activities
provide opportunities for these women to become educated themselves and, in turn, to educate
and enrich their children. The family and the individual benefit, and excitement about Shot at
Life will grow. Drawing parallels between foreign childrens lives and their own childrens
lives will be impactful. There are two UNICEF books entitled Children Just Like Me and A
Life Like Mine that put world cultures on a childs level. Bringing the idea of these books to
life would be a great way to educate the whole family (e.g., children could make a drum, try to
carry the same amount of weight that a child in Africa carries in water for his family, dance to
African music, etc.) All of this should take place in a fun, festive atmosphere where
connectivity and compassion are taught through enjoyment. The more their own children
connect with other children around the world, the more these mothers will. This is true for any
mother but especially is the case of the Utah Mormon mother.

Mormon Utah mothers do a lot of the teaching of their children in the home. Enabling
these mothers with ready-made materials or activities along the lines of the UNICEF books
perhaps Shot at Learning packetscould be a good means of promoting Shot at Life.
Fostering neighborhood level Shot at Playdates events (like the Valentines Day party in
San Francisco featured on Shot at Lifes website under Supporter Stories) would feed
perfectly into a typical Utah Mormon mothers lifestyle.

All of these ideas focus on a whats in it for my family? theme. They allow the Utah
Mormon woman to feel invested in the campaign because she is simultaneously working in a
good cause and teaching and guiding her own children. Among the many competing causes
that are trying to capture attention, focusing on the two-for-one benefit of Shot at Life could
be very impactful for the typical Utah Mormon mom.

III. Possible Locations for a Large Kick-off Event (all Salt Lake City except
where noted)
City Creek Center: brand new, hip, right downtown
Natural History Museum: They host only four free admission days a yearJ uly 9 is
one of them. There will probably be a big crowd that day.)
Hogle Zoo
Discovery Gateway
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Clark Planetarium
The Leonardo
Thanksgiving Pointe (20 minutes south of downtown Salt Lake City)

IV. Potential Partners
Another critical aspect of any campaign in Utah is going to be partnering with well-
known Utah institutions. This component stems, of course, from the somewhat provincial and
distrustful mentality that can exist in this community. Potential excellent partners could
include:

LDS Humanitarian Services: This is a key partner. If the LDS Church gives support
to something, its a green light to the members.
Utah Catholic Diocese: It is important to build a coalition of churches. Even if a
Utahn is not a member of one the particular sponsor faiths, it signals that this is a good
cause with which to be involved, and not just a Mormon thing. Utah Catholic
Diocese is a known local partner with the LDS Church (example: Utah Coalition
Against Pornography).
Primary Childrens Medical Center: immensely respected in Utah and throughout
the Intermountain West.
Utah First Lady Jeanette Herbert would be a good ally to have. She has a
background in childcare, a large family, and is very involved in issues affecting Utah
families. Her participation would be a religiously neutral and very visible political
endorsement.
Brigham Young University: Both BYUs Nursing and Family, Home and Social
Science colleges could be exciting and excellent partnerships. Thousands of female
BYU students have served 18-month church missions all over the world and get very
attached to the people and places where they have served. BYU students tend to be
more globally minded than the regular Utah mother, and in a few years they will
become mothers themselvesmany of them in Utah. They are in a perfect stage of
life to get onboard with Shot at Life. Also, the Mormon Church partners with BYU
every April to sponsor a two-day womens conference focused on issues pertaining to
womanhood, mothering, service, etc. Thousands of Mormon women travel from
across the globe to attend this event.
University of Utah: Because of their fierce rivalry, it sends a unifying message
when both BYU and the U are promoting the same cause. The University has a
well- respected medical school and is a partner with Primary Childrens Medical
Center.
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Local Businesses: Shabby Apple designs stylish womens modest clothing and based
in Utah but nationally recognized. A drawing for Shabby Apple gift certificates or
holding a Shabby Apple fashion show might be fun. If you need a contact, I know one
of the founders. Caf Rio originated in Utah and is very popular. Utahns love this
restaurant chains food. Farrs Ice Cream and Meadow Gold Dairy are popular. V
Chocolates is a well-liked Utah chocolate maker. These are just a few examples.

Unless a celebrity is a well-known national figure or a perhaps a big name Utah athlete,
it is unlikely that Mormon mothers would bring their families or themselves for the sole
purpose of seeing a local celebrity or politician. There is not a large pool of well-known local
celebrities and the ones who are (the Osmonds, Sharlene Wells Hawkes (former Miss
America), retired politicians, etc.) have been showcased many times already. If he were
available, (he is not, unfortunately) David Archuletta would be a good choice. Any of the area
sports team mascots would be a fun addition to large events.

V. Media
Radio: Many families in Utah listen frequently to talk radio, especially the stations
KSL and KNRS. The Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity shows would
be excellent times to promote events.

TV: Utahns tend watch their local evening news (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) more than
East Coast people. ABC Good Things Utah is a local version of the Today show,
and its viewership is largely women. It would be great if they did a segment on Shot at
Life.

Newspaper: It is important to get coverage in Salt Lake City from both the Deseret
News (conservative) and the Salt Lake Tribune (liberal). People usually subscribe to
one or the other of these two newspapers. The Daily Herald is the paper for the
Provo/Orem area and the Standard Examiner is the paper for the Ogden area.

In addition to Shot at Lifes already utilized social media outlets, consideration
should be given to engaging mommy bloggers. Mormon women are prodigious
bloggers. Some popular Utah-based bloggers are http://petitelefant.com/,
utahmomblog.com, http://www.cjanekendrick.com/, http://inevergrewup.net/,
http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/
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