Advertising -Account planning and research-

Running Head; EAST AFRICANS FOR SOUTH SUDAN 1

EAST AFRICANS FOR SOUTH SUDAN 4

East Africans for South Sudan

ADV 342

Hojung Lee

Michigan State University

The Red Cross International's ‘East Africans for South Sudan'

Red Cross International has embarked on an advertisement campaign on a program they rolled out in April 2018. The program involves East Africans coming together, contributing food, clothes and monetary donations to the people of South Sudan, an establishing nation, who are hunger stricken. The unfortunate recurring condition is usually as a result of prolonged drought and instability brought about by frequent civil wars. The humanitarian organization has set collection points in the six regional countries with local coordinators to facilitate its collections. Further, Red Cross International is appealing for professional support to bring a permanent solution for the people of South Sudan.

This advertisement campaign for the program is rich in terms of the media channels being used, the packaging of advertising messages, its appeal to the people of the horn of Africa and the elaborateness and transparency associated with the operations under the program.

SWOT Analysis

Analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a course or organization is key to developing an effective strategic plan based on the set goals. Red Cross International's goal in its set out program is to mitigate the adverse effects of the nation-wide hunger in the young country and develop the capacity for sustainable food security.

Red Cross International has three strong points that are facilitating the success of its above-mentioned mission. First, the organization has a good reputation for transparency and has strong appeal to the people of the said region due to its longtime operations in Rwanda, Kenya, and Eritrea. This will ensure that the people contribute promptly to its call. Secondly, the organization is nonpartisan in the internal affairs of an affected country. This has guaranteed the government goodwill in all the areas it has operated in. This style is the reason why the government of South Sudan has guaranteed it escort as it maneuvers in the vast country with some hostile regions. Finally, communications personnel in the humanitarian organization are well versed with the cultures and norms of the region's locals making them develop appealing content in its advertisements. For instance, the advertisement's appeal for cooperation is in line with the socialism aspect of East African community practices.

The humanitarian organization, however, has two major weaknesses that are a great hindrance to develop successful campaigns. Red Cross International does not have operational offices in East Africa. For this reason, it is difficult to reach to individual native communities who have a limited access to any form of mass communication tool that the establishment is using at the moment. Moreover, the organization has not embraced employing locals in its operations. Locals will identify better with information when given by fellow locals and feel more persuaded than when approached by foreigners to embark on a given call of action. This denies the campaign the mass response it would need.

East Africans for South Sudan program has various aspects it can exploit to succeed in its mission. Some areas in the region have established vernacular radio stations that are pervasive enough to reach wider populations for the appeal. Red Cross International can also use community opinion leaders such as established politicians, local artists and other public figures who are influential in the region. The use of celebrities or public figures will be effective with segmentation of the audience with each celeb appealing to a specific segment.

Even with the brilliant mission, the campaign is likely to be faced with two threats which could either impede its operations or even bring it to a close. There is little civilization in the affected area and the food aid could be rejected based on poor perceptions of the locals regarding foreign aid. Again, the sustainability aspect of the campaign could be sabotaged by local politicians.