How your marketing can give a road map to people in need

Five years ago a woman was walking home from work, looked up and saw someone at the top of a bridge about to jump. She immediately began talking to the stranger and tried to convince him it was worth continuing with life. And just as she thought they were making progress, the stranger jumped.

This woman tried to get on with her life, but every time she left work she was reminded of the stranger that jumped to his death and died at her feet. Everything in life became a struggle as she was consumed by thoughts of what more she could have said to prevent this death. She lost her job and her marriage was falling apart when she was referred to Jaki Bent, an employment trainer, to her help get her confidence back so she could find a new job.  Jaki was able to point her in the right direction to join a support group that would understand her unique situation.

But meeting this woman was the last straw for Jaki, who had seen too many cases where people were bounced around the welfare system  and were not given the support they needed early enough, not because the right help isn’t out there, but because people are often unaware it exists.

Jaki resigned from her job and began to think about how she could help people with all types of problems to quickly connect to the solutions and support groups that already exist through the amazing network of charities and non-profits in the UK.

Jaki went on to found If Everyone Cares (IEC), a forward thinking Social Enterprise, that uses the power of online technology to empower and strengthen individuals and communities. And their first project is ODODOW – The Interactive Community Map.

The interactive community map is currently in bata testing phase and it will be soft launched later this year. It will help anyone in the UK find the charities and community support services that are available right at their doorstep.

ODODOW stands for One Deed, One Day, One World. Jaki explains the name by saying, “We needed something that could in time be used in other countries. Yet we also wanted a name that meant something. To us the name means that if enough people work together we really can be the change we want to see in the world.”

ODODOW will work a bit like google maps, but instead of showing hotels, restaurants and businesses it will show charities, non-profits and community support services. Every organisation that offers help or services that benefit society will be able to sign up for free to show their organisation and what they have to offer on the map.

There are almost 200,000 registered charities in the UK, not including non-profits and community projects. IEC aims to get at least 1% of these charities and community service project pin-pointed on their map in the first year. And then through word of mouth and mouse and their marketing efforts they want to significantly increase their reach every year. The quicker that projects get pin-pointed on the map - the more people that can find help when they need it most.

Jaki said, “We know that it will take people coming together to raise awareness - but we have built a good social media platform and you never know perhaps Sir Richard Branson may support us - after all this idea was voted 3rd best, by the public from around the world, in the Virgin Unite challenge to 'Screw Business as Usual'.”

IEC would love your help with creating a marketing strategy to reach out to charities and potential users.
They have a lot of plans, but need a coherent strategy to bring them together and make sure they are not missing out on key areas of their marketing. IEC is building connections with district councils and charity funding organisations throughout the UK to use existing mailing lists to reach as many charities and community groups as possible once the platform is live, but they know they need to do more.

As well as help with their overall marketing strategy, they would like help with refining their key messages and value propositions and creating the basis for their promotional materials. They also need help with their online marketing.

IEC has also been selected as a “Start-up to Watch” and been given a free exhibition stand at Europe’s largest tech event in November. They need marketing support to help craft their message and make an impact at the event to maximise this opportunity to connect with the 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Lend your support to IEC
Please email Anna Mullenneaux ([email protected]), chief match maker at Pimp My Cause, if you are interested in supporting them with your marketing expertise.