Published before February 2009
After being head hunted by (RED) co-founder and U2 singer Bono, Dormandy, who is currently the managing director of private equity firm Candover and former chief marketing officer at Orange, added another string to his bow with the addition of chairman for (RED) Europe.
With the backing of well known celebrities such as Bono, (RED) has formed partnerships with brands including Converse, Gap, Motorola, Emporio Armani, Apple and American Express to develop and sell (RED)-branded products. Since launch the charity, which raises money to fight aids in Africa, has donated £20 million to the Global Fund and has ambitious plans to sign on additional heavy-weight names and raise brand awareness.
Dormandy explains the challenges engaging supporters and customers with a small marketing spend at a time when money is tight and the charity sector is becoming highly competitive.
How does (RED) market itself in such a competitive sector?
(RED) is a completely different type of business to any other in the sector. It is a business that offers customers the opportunity to contribute to the community we live in at the same time as buying products they desire, not instead of buying what they desire. The model is designed to channel a sustainable flow of private sector money into the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is achieved by licensing partners to produce desirable (RED) branded products, from which a substantial portion of the profits go to the Global Fund. The marketing weight of our partners also raises awareness of the AIDS pandemic in Africa, and engages the power of consumers to make a difference in that fight.
Our partners are some of the most admired global brands; American Express, Apple, Armani, Gap, Motorola and Converse, who all market their own (PRODUCT) RED items in their respective markets through innovative, relevant and exciting marketing campaigns (such as Giselle featuring with a Masaai warrior in Amex’s launch campaign or Converse pop-up shops on a Kanye West and Common tour etc).
We also direct our own above and below the line marketing activities. We are active in working with the press to publicise the products and activities which we support. We also have a continuing media partnership with MySpace – in fact the (RED) profile is the largest across the community at around 630,000 friends - and our online community is supported through our joinred.com site, where we publish blogs and invite supporters of (RED) to submit content about themselves. We recently also launched a Facebook community.
In the UK we have partnered with The Independent, which has been a great supporter of our cause. It ‘turned (RED)’ three times last year in order to discuss the issues around AIDS in Africa. Like all our partners it also donated a portion of its revenue, which was fantastic.
What is the biggest challenge for a not-for-profit organisation like (RED)?
We are a start up business that has grown very quickly. It is a challenge to keep building the momentum, and maintaining (RED) front of mind on a limited budget. All money raised by (RED) products passes directly to the Global Fund, so we don’t have a large marketing budget on which to plan campaigns. We have to keep coming up with clever and innovative ways of engaging our supporters and customers and building momentum from the success we have already enjoyed.
How are you trying to build awareness of the (RED) brand?
(RED) enjoys a virtuous cycle that builds its brand as each new partner comes on board. Each new partner promotes their products and raises awareness of the (RED) brand. This increases the value of the brand and makes it more attractive to new partners. So more new partners sign up and increase the power of the brand even further. As a result, the brand builds and builds through the success of each new product launch.
We also have developed a number of marketing initiatives through media partners. Since we launched last year, The Independent has turned (RED) three times which was phenomenal for awareness, Marie Claire dedicated a whole issue to the AIDS pandemic, Vanity Fair was guest edited by Bono and dedicated an issue to Africa, Google turned (RED) for World AIDS Day, Dazed and Confused and MySpace teamed up with us to dedicate their media space to the World AIDS Day message and encourage people to engage with (RED) through an artistic competition to find “what (RED) means to you”, and we’ve also worked to achieve across the board coverage in the media in Europe and the US.
Our partners have shown their dedicated support in building awareness of (RED) through bespoke fantastic events like Armani’s fashion and music spectacular “One Night Only” that crowned the London Fashion Week and Motorola’s (RED) SQUARE event that turned Trafalgar Square (RED) for the Scissor Sisters concert hosted by Kylie Minogue.
How will you grow (RED) in 2008?
We plan to have series of ‘(RED) moments’ during 2008, which will keep the brand front of mind for consumers. In addition we will be thinking about how to extend the product ranges of our existing partners and what new partners we might want to bring on board.
Do you think having Bono fronting the initiative has helped raised (RED)’s profile?
It certainly helped launch the brand in Davos back in 2006 and continues to be helpful in many ways, as he is obviously such a recognisable figure head. He has also provided the clear direction and vision that any start up needs to be as successful as (RED) has been. The day to day success of the brand is dependent not just on his support, and the support of other celebrity figures, but because of the partners who publicise the (RED) products, the people who work in the Apple stores and the call centres for American Express, the designers at Armani and so on. It is a huge team effort that starts and finishes with medical staff, the patients and the communities on the ground in Africa. Bono leads this team effort, for which we are very grateful.