Daniel Green

03/01/10
Prof. McCarthy
J610
Case Study #4: (Product) RED

Already (RED) has created awareness of its mission to eradicate the millions of deaths attributed to
preventable and treatable diseases, HIV and AIDS. Public awareness has grown rapidly, millions of
dollars have been raised, and thousands of lives have been extended. Now, (RED) needs to develop a
plan to extend theJpngevity^ of its mission.^
In order to create a long-term, self-sustaining program with regular, recurring revenue streams
(RED) needs to partner with organizations and corporations that are staples of local and global
communities. (RED) needs to partner with organizations and corporations that are not now, nor
remotely, in jeopardy of collapsing. If (RED) were to partner with a corporation that collapsed it would
be a disaster financially and organizationally for the nonprofit. While it is impossible to predict which
organizations will remain operational in the future, (see: Wall Street, 2008) it is possible to determine
which organizations have the best chance of doing so.
Also, hitching its wagon to a popular fad (TV shows, bands, politicians, celebrities, etc.) would
^ I only serve (RED) in the short-term. If, and more certainly when, the fad were to fade it could reflect
I poorly on the image, and therefore mission, of (RED). Additionally, if the TV show, band, or celebrity
were to have a PR crisis it too could reflect poorly on (RED).
(RED) should partner with the sports and entertainment world in order to further develop its
brand message. However, rather than partnering with individual teams, athletes or celebrities, (RED)
should create the partnership with the industries that make these individuals famous. While a celebrity
may fall from grace and an athlete can lose his/her popularity (see: Tiger Woods), the industry - PGA,
MLB, NFL, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) - as a whole remains viable long after the decline of the
individual. Jr *^*' \
(RED) should have partner days with every major sports industry. Similar to the partnership the
Susan G. Komen foundation has with Major League Baseball; (RED) should create a recurring event
that illustrates the mission of the nonprofit. For one day during each season MLB players wear pink
jerseys and hats, and use pink gloves and bats. This draws attention to the disease and mission for a
cure. Each player on every team in every game does this for one day. A portion of the ticket take from
each game is donated to the Komen foundation. Additionally, a percentage of the merchandise with the
pink themed team logos is donated to komenrThe benefit of this merchandise partnership is that
revenue is generated at the ballpark where fans buy the "new" team gear. Also, fans go online and to
brick & mortar stores to buy the latest addition to their sports memorabilia collection. The genius to
this model is that die-hard fans buy the gear to add to their collection, but so do casual fans who want
to support their team and a cause.
This model should be replicated in every major sports league throughout the world: AFL
(Australian Football League), MLS (Major League Soccer), NBA, NFL, NHL, PGA, UEFA (Union of
European Football Associations), WCL (World Cricket League), etc.
Additionally, (RED) could partner with the movie mdustry through the Screen Actors Guild.
Actors could nsgoJiate that a percentage of their screen fee be sentloTRED). This would do two
things: 1) it would raise the profile of (RED). 2) if publicized effectively, it would raise public
awareness of the actor, the movie and the studio releasing the movie. Actors already do press tours, if
they said something along the lines of, "Oh, by the way, I'm donating a percentage of my salary and
box-office take to (RED), " in each interview, the momentum and popularity would eventually reach
most, if not all, corners of Hollywood. If Hollywood is driven by anything, it's driven by popularity.
Actors, producers, and studios would want to be seen in the (RED) camp. Partnering with (RED)
would become the status quo in Hollywood. Not to be confused with the McCarthy era. : • i-/* € /

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