Post by kurtisdement on Oct 6, 2014 18:52:35 GMT -5
UNICEF is one of the most well-known non-profit health organizations in the world. The organization was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. It's purpose is to provide aid and healthcare to children and mothers in underdeveloped countries. The organization is a major player in the social media landscape. They have over 4 million "likes" on Facebook and over 3 million followers on Twitter. In 2013, UNICEF Sweden tried a very blunt social media campaign on Facebook. The campaign was called "Likes don't save lives" it basically was telling followers that liking their page would not help children and mothers that were in need. It told people that they must donate to save lives. According to The Verge.com, UNICEF posted three different Youtube videos to help support this campaign. This campaign spread all over Facebook, it spread to thousands of different countries. UNICEF even released a poster to accompany their campaign slogan. The poster stated that every time UNICEF is "liked" on FB a grand total of ZERO vaccines will be given to children. I think this campaign really shows how important money and donations are to organizations like UNICEF. People can "like" and "follow" pages, but at the end of the day it's their donations that are making the difference.
This campaign was definitely bold and to the point. Many critics loved the risk that UNICEF was taking. According to the Guardian.com, this campaign was successful all over the world. An ad saying "Like us on Facebook, and we will vaccinate zero children against polio" went viral. The four videos were viewed more than 750,000 times from 195 countries, and there were more than 10,500 tweets (8000 internationally) during the campaign period.
This effort showed that social media campaigns can help spread the word but likes can't save lives. Involvement and money can. As a result of the campaign enough money was raised to vaccinate 637,324 children against polio, showing that digital marketing and advertising can definitely promote children's rights.
Also, a survey was conducted in Sweden. The survey results showed that 1 in 7 people thought that "liking" a page was the same as donating.
I think that UNICEF used some great techniques that were highlighted in the Spark Mill Google Hangout. For instance, the UNICEF campaign had a defined purpose. It was blunt and to the point, and by looking at the overall numbers, the campaign was very successful. UNICEF also proved that it's the people that raises the money, not social media. UNICEF proved that people must donate in order to make a difference. It proved that liking or following a page ultimately did nothing for the cause. I think overall UNICEF took a huge risk that paid huge dividends. The company is one of the largest Non-Profit health organizations on social media, and the company also showed that it is also one of the most influential.
Sources:
Toor, Amar. "UNICEF Says Facebook 'likes' Won't save Children's Lives." The Verge. N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
www.theverge.com/2013/5/3/4296194/unicef-facebook-activism-ad-campaign-likes-dont-save-lives
Grummas, Emma. "Likes Don't save Lives – Lessons from a Social Media Campaign." The Guardian. N.p., 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/likes-dont-save-lives-unicef-social-media
This campaign was definitely bold and to the point. Many critics loved the risk that UNICEF was taking. According to the Guardian.com, this campaign was successful all over the world. An ad saying "Like us on Facebook, and we will vaccinate zero children against polio" went viral. The four videos were viewed more than 750,000 times from 195 countries, and there were more than 10,500 tweets (8000 internationally) during the campaign period.
This effort showed that social media campaigns can help spread the word but likes can't save lives. Involvement and money can. As a result of the campaign enough money was raised to vaccinate 637,324 children against polio, showing that digital marketing and advertising can definitely promote children's rights.
Also, a survey was conducted in Sweden. The survey results showed that 1 in 7 people thought that "liking" a page was the same as donating.
I think that UNICEF used some great techniques that were highlighted in the Spark Mill Google Hangout. For instance, the UNICEF campaign had a defined purpose. It was blunt and to the point, and by looking at the overall numbers, the campaign was very successful. UNICEF also proved that it's the people that raises the money, not social media. UNICEF proved that people must donate in order to make a difference. It proved that liking or following a page ultimately did nothing for the cause. I think overall UNICEF took a huge risk that paid huge dividends. The company is one of the largest Non-Profit health organizations on social media, and the company also showed that it is also one of the most influential.
Sources:
Toor, Amar. "UNICEF Says Facebook 'likes' Won't save Children's Lives." The Verge. N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
www.theverge.com/2013/5/3/4296194/unicef-facebook-activism-ad-campaign-likes-dont-save-lives
Grummas, Emma. "Likes Don't save Lives – Lessons from a Social Media Campaign." The Guardian. N.p., 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/likes-dont-save-lives-unicef-social-media