0
Tag

case study Archives - Syneka Marketing

Feb 24
DM Forum

The DM Forum – Melbourne Events and GE Capital

By Advice for Businesses, News One Comment

The DM Forum is a quarterly event focused on sharing knowledge between professional marketers. This evening’s forum provided an overview of the City of Melbourne’s event management services, with a focus on community experience and engagement. The City of Melbourne works with event organisers to strengthen the participant’s engagement with the Council, providing an opportunity for further interaction and activity. Events form a significant part of the Council’s approach to drawing people into the CBD and surrounds.

The second speaker discussed the new customer focused approach that was initiated through GE Capital’s Marketing Department. This case study provided an example of how marketing can lead to an innovative approach. GE Capital’s strategic marketing approach identified new customer segments, based on changing consumer trends, following the global financial crisis. The result has been a company that better understands its target markets and has been able to position its communication and products around the identified needs.

The DM Forum offered an opportunity for marketers to gain insight from speakers that have direct experience in utilising marketing to deliver tangible outcomes. The sessions are held on a quarterly basis, visit www.dmforum.com.au for further information.

Dec 19

Looking back through 2013

By News 4 Comments

Welcome to our final entry for 2013 and a chance to reflect on the past year. Despite the broader climate of economic uncertainty, we have expanded over the past year to deliver a range of strategic marketing planning and implementation services.

We have worked with a range of businesses and not-for-profit organisations over the course of this year, to deliver innovative and effective marketing solutions. Our strategies have enabled businesses to reach new segments and establish ongoing customer loyalty. The work we have undertaken for not-for-profit organisations has resulted in new opportunities and visions for the future.

In particular, our work was recognised through the Australian Marketing Institute. We were a finalist in the Excellence in Marketing Awards in recognition of the marketing plan and subsequent rebranding that was undertaken by Wimmera Volunteers. The recognition received through the Australian Marketing Institute enabled us to demonstrate the positive impact that can be created through marketing.

The strategy transformed Wimmera Volunteers into Volunteering Western Victoria, enabling new connections and programs. A particular highlight was the Inaugural Volunteer Recognition Awards, which recognised the contributions provided by volunteers within Western Victoria.

We also spoke at a number of conferences and held workshops throughout the year. We are planning to expand our workshop program in 2014, providing courses on marketing, membership and social media.

We will also be launching a series of eBooks in 2014, discussing the fundamentals of marketing, membership retention and recruitment, social media and creative design. We are looking forward to the launch and introducing these eBooks to you.

Our blog and Syneka Snippets continues to be well received and we thank our readers for their thoughts and interests. We have compiled a list of our top ten blog posts to revisit some of the more commonly accessed materials:

  1. Advice when sending invitations via email
  2. Higher education should inspire why doesn’t their advertising?
  3. What is Marketing?
  4. Follow up to the state of higher education
  5. Guide to planning events
  6. Measuring and implementing marketing activities
  7. Activate your community through social media
  8. Ten ideas for welcoming new members to your organisation
  9. Case study turn challenges into opportunities with a marketing plan
  10. How to blog for businesses and organisations

We would like to thank our clients who have grown with us over the course of this year. As a marketing agency we exist to serve your needs. It is a wonderful experience to work with you in achieving your goals.

We wish you well over the festive season and we’re excited about the working with you in 2014!

Feb 13

Case Study: Turn challenges into opportunities with a marketing plan

By Advice, Advice for Not-for-profit Organisations and Charities, News No Comments

Third Sector Magazine is a quarterly publication designed for not-for-profit organisations. The February edition featured content relevant to marketing and communications and we included our recent case study on the rebranding of Wimmera Volunteers into Volunteering Western Victoria.

Syneka Marketing explains how it helped Wimmera Volunteers to identify new opportunities by developing a marketing plan that better positioned the organisation as a regional peak body.

Successful marketing begins with finding the right strategy. A marketing plan sets your organisation up for ongoing success by considering the context of the organisation, identifying goals and suggesting actions to achieve these outcomes.

The former logo of Wimmera Volunteers

The former logo and identity of Wimmera Volunteers

Case Study: Wimmera Volunteers

Wimmera Volunteers is a volunteer resource centre that works with other organisations to promote and recruit volunteers, creating opportunities and social inclusion. Wimmera Volunteers also offers transport services, including programs for learner drivers and mobility for older residents, promoting social inclusion across a diverse region.

The problem

The organisation was at the crossroads. The Federal Government was proposing significant funding changes, which was making the future of volunteer resource centres uncertain.

The organisation aimed to service the entire Wimmera region but its services were heavily concentrated within the town of Horsham and its slogan of ‘helping communities help themselves’ was seen as patronising despite its good intent.

The opportunity

Wimmera Volunteers was rebranded into Volunteering Western Victoria, supported by the tagline Empowering Communities, Supporting Volunteers

Wimmera Volunteers was rebranded into Volunteering Western Victoria, supported by the tagline Empowering Communities, Supporting Volunteers

Rather than cave to challenges, Wimmera Volunteers commissioned Syneka Marketing to work with board members, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders to develop a marketing plan that reflected the needs of the organisation.

One new opportunity related to the region’s distance from Melbourne. Many of the organisations serviced by Wimmera Volunteers indicated that they wanted professional development but were unable to devote the time required for travelling or lacked the resources to deliver their own internal training.

It was important to align the marketing plan with the Government’s national volunteering strategy and ensure that Wimmera Volunteers could demonstrate the ability to implement the priorities outlined by the Federal Government.

There was also the need to better connect across the Wimmera and Mallee regions and to foster relationships with the business community.

The marketing plan identified the need to rebrand Wimmera Volunteers to better position the organisation as a regional peak body and to reflect its commitment across a diverse region. Rebranding workshops identified that Wimmera Volunteers wanted a new name that was functional and retained its commitment to volunteering.

Outcomes

Syneka Marketing successfully rebranded Wimmera Volunteers in just six weeks, coordinating new style guides, logos, design templates, websites and social media. The new brand was successfully unveiled at the organisation’s annual general meeting, resulting in strong attendance from stakeholders and the wider community.

The new name, Volunteering Western Victoria, enabled the organisation to develop comprehensive membership packages, including training and mentoring to other organisations. In addition, the organisation is no longer bound by geography and is able to work with a number of councils and organisations within the Wimmera and Mallee regions.

The new tagline ‘Empowering Communities, Supporting Volunteers’ identifies the purpose of Volunteering Western Victoria through a positive and forward-looking statement, reinforcing its role within communities and encouraging volunteering.

The organisation is now positioned to become a regional peak body, complementing its traditional services with new offerings. In addition, the new name enables Volunteering Western Victoria to implement further actions from the marketing plan, including regional offices, workplace volunteering and the development of comprehensive community advocacy and training services.

Many sectors are experiencing uncertainty over government funding and a marketing plan can provide the vision and actions required to turn these challenges into opportunities.

Third Sector Magazine is released on a quarterly basis. Our article can be seen at www.thirdsectormagazine.com.au.

Aug 23

Third Sector Magazine – Developing a Successful Marketing Plan

By Advice for Not-for-profit Organisations and Charities, News, Presentations No Comments

Third Sector Magazine is a publication designed specifically for Australia’s not-for-profit sector. Syneka Marketing as market leader in providing solutions for the not-for-profit sector has been offered editorial content in the Third Sector Magazine.

This edition we covered the steps required to develop a successful marketing plan, utilising the Rotary Club of Ringwood as a case study, through the formation of its corporate membership program.

An edited version of the article is available from Third Sector Magazine and was included in the August edition of the magazine.

The complete edition of the article Developing a Successful Marketing Plan is available for registered members of the Syneka Marketing website. Registration is free and provides exclusive access to presentations, articles and papers.

Read More

May 02

Marketing Your Strengths – Presenting at Connecting Up 2012

By Advice for Not-for-profit Organisations and Charities, News, Presentations, Resources 4 Comments

I was one of the presenters on the second day of Connecting Up 2012, where I led a session covering marketing and how not-for-profit organisations can develop a marketing plan around their key strengths.

While understanding one’s strengths is important in most contexts, it is particularly important in not-for-profit organisations where there are competing demands and limited resources.

A strength is something an organisation does well and typically does better than others, providing a unique attribute that differentiates the organisation in terms of receiving clients, volunteers, supporters, donations or grants from funding bodies.

Marketing Your Strengths outlined the process required to develop a marketing plan looked at how a not-for-profit organisation can frame its key messages and reach its target market.

It is important to remember that not-for-profit organisations have multiple target markets. The concept of a target market, is broader than clients, but extends to other stakeholders, including volunteers, donors, business partners and Government.

Understanding an organisations’ strengths, enables the ability the form key messages that can be used to reach each of these target markets. While aspects of the message may alter slightly, it is important that there is consistency between the messages and the aims that an organisation wishes to achieve.

Our presentation explored Eastern Volunteers as a case study. Eastern Volunteers is a volunteer resource centre based in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Eastern Volunteers embarked on a building fund to enable the purchase and fit-out of a new building to end a transient history of being relocated from one building to another.

Core strengths of Eastern Volunteers included its strong governance and networks, namely the ability to reach community organisations, volunteers and its clients. Understanding these strengths enabled the formation of partnerships with businesses who could see value in aligning themselves with Eastern Volunteers.

Key messages were identfied, including the benefits of ongoing service delivery and accessibility improvements. Eastern Volunteers was formally located on the first floor of a building, creating accessibility implications. A ground floor location enabled the organisation to become more inclusive and accessible.

Once key messages were identified it is important to consider how to reach the identified target markets.

Every time someone contacts an organisation, the impression they receive is a form of marketing. It is important that all aspects of organisation, from brochures and newsletters, through to telephone and email responses, are consistent and that they reinforce the key messages of an organisation.

It is also important that the right marketing tools are used to reach the identified target markets. For example, the quarterly newsletter was the best method to reach the transport clients of Eastern Volunteers, while social media was effective in reinforcing relationships with businesses.

The broader community was also important and was reached through local and social media. In particular, a media campaign was formed around donating $500 to purchase a piece of Eastern Volunteers future. The jigsaw campaign ensured a significant number of donations that were worth at least $500 and helped generate ongoing media interest.

Measuring progress is an important aspect of marketing and metrics are needed to evaluate performance. The success of the Building Fund was measured through donations and in-kind support, as well as media coverage.

It is critical that success is celebrated, particularly in the not-for-profit sector where policy change or advocacy is a goal. A marketing campaign should have a defined conclusion with an opportunity to celebrate success and to reflect on how the campaign progressed.

I would like to thank the many people who attended our presentation and also the people I met during the conference. I hope you enjoyed your time at Connecting Up 2012.

Read More

May 01

Connecting Up Guest Post – Foundations of a Marketing Campaign

By Advice, Advice for Not-for-profit Organisations and Charities 5 Comments

I will be speaking at the #CU12 Conference where I will be presenting the session Marketing Your Strengths from 1:30pm at North Wharf 1 on Wednesday.

Connecting Up is a not-for-profit organisation that encourages the use and adoption of IT within community organisations, with the conference covering marketing, social media and information technology.

ConnectingUp encouraged presenters to provide a guest blog post and the following article provides an introduction to our Power Session – Marketing Your Strengths:

Need a good example of a successful marketing campaign? Alex Makin from Syneka Marketing shares a case study from Eastern Volunteers

Marketing, like most other activities, works best when you identify your goals. Know what it is you want to achieve and why. This will influence who you will target with your marketing messages, as well as the best methods to reach them.

Know Your Goals

A marketing campaign will not deliver positive results if you have not clearly defined these goals. Once you have identified your goals, you can then determine your target audience. Some campaigns, such as fundraising targets, may have multiple audiences and while there may be differences in the message, there should be a consistent theme.

As a case study, let’s consider a marketing campaign we initiated for Eastern Volunteers, a regional not-for-profit organisation, based in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Eastern Volunteers has established a fundraising target to assist in relocating to the ground floor of a building they have purchased.

Currently, the organisation is located on the first floor, creating accessibility issues for its members and clients. As an organisation that provides community assisted transport and volunteer recruitment, there is a need for an accessible and inclusive environment.

The key marketing message was framed around creating an accessible and inclusive community service, reinforced by the permanency that will be created by moving into this building.

Know Your Audience

Now that we have identified a key message, we need to consider who we will be targeting. Know the best method to reach this target audience and the tools you can use to reinforce this message.

A fundraising campaign like Eastern Volunteers requires a multi-faceted approach. There are several target audiences, such as clients, members of other community organisations, business partners, government and the wider community.

Executing the Campaign

For Eastern Volunteers, clients and members can be reached through the quarterly Eastern Volunteers newsletter. While the newsletter has traditionally included a donation slip, the response rate has been low since there hadn’t been a key message framed around seeking donations. The building fund edition of the newsletter prominently featured the campaign and the call for donations. This resulted in an extremely positive response to the campaign and a significant number of donations.

Other organisations and business partners have been targeted through an official launch of the campaign. Official launches can also assist in reaching local Councillors and Members of Parliament, however sufficient lead-time must be provided for these invitations.

Launches can also assist in encouraging media coverage. It is imperative that media releases are considered as part of your campaign. Media coverage helps raise the profile of your campaign and extend its reach. When planning a marketing campaign, consider how it could be supported through a series media releases. Media outlets will not repeat the same content on an ongoing basis so different hooks are required to encourage ongoing interest.

<h2?Be Consistent

Consistency is the key to undertaking successful marketing campaigns. Your message needs to be consistent across all forms of marketing communication with a clear call to action. The call to action is the desired result you are seeking from someone that sees your marketing message.

In the example of Eastern Volunteers, the call to action is clearly the request for a donation and this is clearly stated across all communication tools.

Generally someone needs to see a marketing message several times before they are prompted to respond to the call to action. It is worthwhile considering a variety of appropriate communication tools that can reach this target audience.

Visit www.connectingup.org/blog/foundations-marketing-campaign to view this guest post at ConnectingUp.

Meet Syneka Marketing at #CU12 in Sydney

Natalia Perera, our Creative Director will be leading our team in Melbourne during my time in Sydney. I will be in Sydney until Thursday and have some remaining time available for meetings and in-depth discussions.