RONALD

MCDONALD
HOUSE
CHARITIES
CAMPAIGN
Spring 2018
 Table of Contents
Meet the Team 3-4
Situation Analysis 5-8
Board of Directors 9
SWOT 10-17
Insights 18-19
Local Media 20-21
IMC Problem 22
Target Audience 23
Calendar 24-37
Rebranding 38
Goal #1 39
Volunteer your Voice 40
Volunteer Information Fair 41-42
RMHC Social Media Internship 43
Volunteer Brochure 44-45
Goal #2 46
Testimonial Commercials 47
Billboard 48
Daytime Blue Ridge Appearances 49
Social Media 50-52

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 Table of Contents
Goal #3 53
Grow-a-Garden 54
Frosty Fridays 55-56
Pumpkin Palooza 57
Flower Sale 58
4th of July Cookout 59-60
RMH SWVA Toy Drive 61
Downtown Roanoke St. Patty’s Day Parade 62-63
Crisis Management Plan 64
Budget 65
Evaluation Plan 66
Summary 67
References 68

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 Meet the Team
Morgan Nicole Johnson is a senior at Radford
University. She majors in Communication with a
concentration in Public Relations with an
emphasis in Human Resources. Throughout this
campaign Morgan was the co-creative event
planner for Harrington & Berkley alongside Katie
Stevenson. She plans on furthering her education
at Clemson University in hopes to receive a
Masters in Human Resources. Morgan is headed
back to Virginia Beach post graduation.

Maggie Ray Wilbourne is a Senior at Radford

University studying Communication with a
concentration in Public Relations and a minor in
Sport Administration. Throughout this campaign,
Maggie was the organizational director for
Harrington and Berkeley helping with delegating
and organizing the campaign. Maggie plans to go
to graduate school at Ohio State University to
pursue a Masters in Communication. Maggie's
dream job is to work promotions for the Charlotte
Hornets.

Katie Stevenson is a current junior at Radford

University from Annapolis, Maryland. She's majoring
in Communication with a concentration in Public
Relations and minoring in Sports Administration.
While working alongside Morgan Johnson as the
Co-Creative Event Planners, they have assisted
Harrington & Berkley in multiple events throughout
the past year. Katie is interning with Radford
Athletics this summer in their Advanced
Communications department.

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 Isabella Boyd Wade is a fun girl who loves all
things advertising. She is currently pursuing a
degree in Media Studies with a concentration in,
you guessed it, advertising! She loves cheese and
is working on writing a novel, called “Peach Pies
and Beautiful Lies.” She is graduating in May from
Radford University and served as the creative
director for Harrington & Berkley.

Elliott Austin Marcus Barron is the

Collaborative Planner for H&B. He is a Junior
at Radford University double majoring in
Marketing and Communication with a
concentration in Public Relations. Elliot
maintains a summer job at Nordstrom and
he plans on pursuing a Doctorate.

Shyheim Lee is a senior at Radford University

who is receiving his Bachelor’s of Science in
Communication with a concentration in
Public Relations. Shyheim loves anything
and everything to do with social media and
that is why he took the role as Social Media
Specialist at Harrington & Berkley. Upon
graduation this May, he plans to run a social
media campaign for an PR firm.

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 The
Situational
Analysis

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 The Client
The Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia (RMHC-SWVA) is one of 5
houses located in the state of Virginia. This specific Ronald McDonald House is an
English Tudor style building, blending in with the community at 2224 S. Jefferson
Street in Roanoke, Virginia with an operating budget of $500,000 annually.

The Ronald McDonald House on South Jefferson Street opened May 5, 1984. 13
years later, this location became nationally recognized as the Ronald McDonald
House Charities of Southwest Virginia in 1997.

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital partners with the Ronald McDonald House of
Southwest Virginia. Carilion is located a short 2.5 blocks from the Ronald
McDonald House at the corner of 23 and Jefferson Street. A long side this
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program, Carilion also offers a service known as “The Ronald McDonald Family
Room” which opened in September of 2007. The “Family Room” is located on the
14 floor of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The “Family Room” is a respite
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area for adult family members and guests of hospitalized children in a home-like
setting where families can relax without leaving the hospital if they please.

The Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia’s mission statement is as

followed:

“This is the House

Where families meet
To continue their lives,
To eat and sleep,
To find their strengths
And dry their tears,
To look forward with hope
To better years.
This is the House that becomes their home.
This is the House that love built.”

The mission statement encompasses who exactly the Ronald McDonald House is.
They pride themselves in providing a comfortable and supportive “home-away-
from-home” for the families of sick and injured children whom must come to the
Roanoke area for medical treatment.

RMHC-SWVA is only an 18-room facility but still manages to service over 700
families a year. However, the services do not end there. This house consists of 2

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large dining areas, a kitchen, living room, playroom, family room, library, laundry
facilities and an outdoor playground area for children.

Inside each of the 18 rooms are two queen size beds, a private bathroom,
television, telephone and an alarm clock. The House is equipped with Wi-Fi as well
as a computer located in the library for guest use. Every night from 5-6:30PM a
buffet-style dinner is provided to the house guests by volunteers within the House.
However, families are free to make their own meals at their leisure as well.

Ronald McDonald House Charities have local chapters in more than 64 countries
and regions across the globe. There are 365 Ronald McDonald Houses, 236
Ronald McDonald Family Rooms and 50 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles.

The Ronald McDonald Family Rooms also offer their own services. There is a
kitchen area that includes either a stove or microwave, shower facilities, sleeping
rooms, laundry facilities, internet access, reference books, seating area with a
television, as well a quiet area. Research has shown that staying close by allows
parents and guardians to better communicate with their child’s medical team
and improves adherence to complicated treatment plans.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile services their fair share as well. Depending on
the community needs, services can include up to: Primary care, well-child visits
and developmental screening, immunizations, diagnostic, preventive and
restorative dental care, oral hygiene education, asthma treatment and self-
management education, pulmonary function testing, vision, hearing and lead
screening, school and sports physicals, prenatal care for pregnant teens,
childhood health promotion and injury prevention education, nutrition
counseling, pediatric specialty care, such as oncology, cardiology and
otolaryngology, ophthalmology, mental health assessment and referral, blood
collection, social service resource referral, health education and care for special
needs children.

Since 1974, Ronald McDonald Houses throughout the entirety of the globe has
serviced and addressed the everyday needs of families. With the help of 431,174
volunteers and staff members, Ronald McDonald Houses continue to be
reputable.

Connections with medical communities around the world, partnerships with

respected companies and generous donors are who keep this nonprofit
organization running for these families in need.

Donations are very important to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The
website is user-friendly and allows a quick and easy way to donate not only on

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their general website, but to the global chapter, or on the website dedicated to
the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia. On the RMHC-SWVA website,
there are breakdowns of payment summaries which informs each donator
exactly what their money is going to and how it benefits the House.

The Ronald McDonald House newsletter is also a great way to stay in the loop with
what is going on. The newsletters include: inspiring stories from families of the
Ronald McDonald Houses, as well as up-to-date news regarding the facilities, and
allows one another to stay in touch with fellow friends and donors. Signing up for
the newsletters take 2 minutes and is located on the bottom of the website.
Events are held by the Ronald McDonald House every so often and allow great
opportunities to market themselves as well as receive many, great generous
donations. Events are ever changing and range from region to region. Events for
the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia so far in 2018 have consisted
of a “Spaghetti Dinner” on February 14 , which was hosted at Homestead
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Creaming, earning the House $7,500 and also participating in “Roanoke Valley
Gives Day” on March 14 . As well as, “Hearts of Hope” where an individual could
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buy a $1 heart from participating locations and write a Valentine’s message to

be displayed within the community.

Events that took place in 2017 and should be looked for in 2018 are: Tab Top
Week, Rock A Tee, Rock Your Socks, RMHC and Salem Red Sox, Shine a Light,
Share a Night 2017, 2017 Holiday Card and the Gold Tournament.

Fundraising for the House has and will always be very appreciated.

The House is run by a board of directors. Apart from Executive Director Anna
Semonco who receives a salary of $54,931- $58,932 these Board members are
unpaid. Here they are listed.

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 Board of Directors
Stuart Trinkle- President

Alex Brendel- Vice President

Amy Paris- Treasurer

Carla Newton- Secretary

Anna Semonco- Executive Director

Carol Agee

Robert Brailsford

Heather Cullen

Sarah Glenn

Mike Grisetti

Elizabeth Hock

Steven Pardon

Amanda Rucker

Ashlee Webster

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 SWOT
ANALYSIS

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Strengths:

Ronald McDonald House Charities is a unique non-profit 501(c)(3) organization

that provides housing for families that have sick children. They work closely with
Carilion Hospital and have a family room at Carilion hospital where their families
can stay while their children are being treated. They have a good reputation for
using the money for following through with the promise of what their money is
going to. Compared to other non-profit charities, Ronald McDonald House uses
their money as they say they will and people respect them for that.

Something that makes the Ronald McDonald unique compared to other non-
profit charities is that they house families from all across the country who have sick
children. They do not limit housing only to the Roanoke Valley and surrounding
areas. If a family has a sick child and is in need then they can contact the Ronald
McDonald House and have somewhere to stay free of charge. The fact that the
Ronald McDonald House doesn’t charge any of its guests to stay is a major
strength that sets them apart from other charities that do similar work. Also, the
Ronald McDonald House creates a home-like environment for the families to stay
in. This ensures that the guests feel comfortable. The Ronald McDonald house
understands that these families are under enough stress and sadness, so they try
their best to make the living situation as comfortable as possible, so it is one less
thing that these families have to worry about. Not only does the Ronald McDonald
House offer these families a comfortable place to stay, they also provide these
families with transportation services and meals. They have a shuttle that runs to
and from the hospital, so the families have easy access to the hospital at all times.
The Ronald McDonald House is also located close to Carilion hospital, so even if
the families would prefer to drive themselves, they are only about two minutes
from the hospital, so that also makes the experience easier on the parents.

Apart from the generous accommodations that the Ronald McDonald House
offers to its guests, they are also great at building relationships with others. A major
way that the Ronald McDonald obtains donations is through networking. Once
one person has stayed at the Ronald McDonald and has had a positive
experience they tell others, who tell others, and eventually a large network has
been built. Even with families posting things on social media or telling their
colleagues at work, it spreads the word about the Ronald McDonald house which
in the end results in the Ronald McDonald receiving donations.

The guests and the people who donate to the Ronald McDonald House like how
the Ronald McDonald House stays true to where their money goes. They even
made small mailing cards that they sent out that showed where their money went

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including things such as: laundry detergent, meals, and electricity bills. The Ronald
McDonald house holds a good reputation regarding being honest about how
they spend their money. Unlike other charities who hide money away or fail to tell
their donors exactly where their money goes, the Ronald McDonald House has
always been transparent with informing guests and donors about where the
money from the donations goes.

Regarding employees, since this is a non-profit organization, the employees within

this organization wear many hats. They each get an abundant amount of
experience because of the small number of employees that they do have. That
could be a potential strength because if one person is out, there is another person
who knows how to handle that job because everyone helps everyone out and
knows the roles of the organization. From a professional point of view, for
employees, this helps them learn many different skills in many different areas
which is valuable.

Some of the resources that the Ronald McDonald House has at their disposal
include the following: the house itself, donors/sponsors, volunteers, and the room
at the hospital. The house that the guests stay in is owned by Carilion Hospital.
With that in mind, the Ronald McDonald House does not have to pay rent, but
they do have to pay if any kind of damage or emergency happens to the house
as well as the utilities. The fact that they do not have to pay rent saves them a
huge amount of money in the long run.

The donors and sponsors are who keeps the house running on donations, so
having their support is a strength for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald
McDonald House is only about two minutes away from the hospital and has a
shuttle that they offer their guests, so they can get to the hospital at any time
without having to stress about transportation needs.

Regarding volunteers, it is always helpful to have people who want to help

without worrying about compensation. Also, there are different areas that the
volunteers can help in such as the Family room or even preparing meals at the
house for the guests. The help that the Ronald McDonald House receives from
these volunteers helps them from a financial standpoint because that saves them
money on the number of extra employees they have to hire.

Finally, the Ronald McDonald House also has a Family room in Carilion Hospital for
families of the children to spend time in while their child is in the hospital. The
difference in this waiting room and a general waiting room is that the Ronald
McDonald House waiting room provides the following amenities for their guests:
comfortable seating and recliners, complimentary snacks and refreshments, a

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kitchen equipped with refrigerator and microwave, computers and Internet
access. This room is also open seven days a week from 9am-9pm. It is also staffed
by Carilion volunteers just in case any guest needs assistance. This area gives the
families a comfortable place to stay when they cannot go home.

Along with having a good reputation with where the donation money goes to, it
is also easy to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. Their website is easily
accessible and user friendly. Also, there are donation boxes at all of the
McDonalds in the area if you choose to donate that way.

Although their website needs some work regarding how it is designed, it is full of
useful and detailed information. If you go on their website it is easy to find out who
they are and what they do. It also offers testimonial stories, events, and other
services that the Ronald McDonald offers to the community.

As mentioned earlier, the Ronald McDonald House has valuable networking skills.
Not only do they network well with guests, colleagues, and donors or sponsors,
they also network well with local television and radio stations and the local
newspaper.

As much as it is painful to see children sick or suffering, it does happen, and most
likely there will always be time when a child is sick. With that in mind, that means
that there will always be a reason for the Ronald McDonald House to stay open.
They have a consistent customer base due to the fact that there are always
children sick.

The Ronald McDonald House also has had experience with different events over
the years. Most recently they have had a spaghetti dinner that was hosted by
Homestead Creamery that raised $7,800 and coming up they are teaming up
with the Salem Red Sox for a Sock event; they will be launching the socks at the
St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

For the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia specifically the ratings are
good. For example: they have a 4.8/5.0 on Google Reviews. The comments on
the review page were all positive about the Ronald McDonald House of
Southwest Virginia.

Weaknesses:
A major weakness for the Ronald McDonald House is that they have limited funds
to operate efficiently. With the recent flooding at the SWVA House, caused

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unexpected costs, which has forced them to limit how many families can stay at
the House, while still trying to operate. Considering the whole purpose of their
organization is to house families in need this puts them at a major disadvantage.
Another financial issue that they face is that they lack a social media presence
because they cannot afford a staff that can solely focus on those duties. Their
marketing budget is around 6,000 which means that from a marketing standpoint
they don't have very much money at all to promote who they are. The staff
members at this organization all have to do many different jobs which means that
no one can really focus on promoting the organization which is also a major
disadvantage for this organization.

A weakness that the Ronald McDonald struggles with is that they do not have a
strong social media presence. They do have a Facebook page where they
promote their organization and their events, but they do not have any other major
forms of social media such as Twitter or Instagram. Considering that they lack
funds in the marketing budget, having a strong social media presence could be
beneficial for their organization because they could advertise for free.

Another problem that they face is the lack of employees that they have within
their organization. They only have a small amount of employees which means
that each employee has to do a lot of different tasks and wear a lot of different
hats. Now, although, that could be a strength for the employees because they
do get to have different experience in different areas, it does raise the issue of the
employees being spread too thin and tasks not being completed to the best that
they could be if they had more staff members. If they were to have more
employees then they could get more done and accomplish the tasks that they
have with more concern for detail.

A major disadvantage that the Ronald McDonald House has is that they are
associated with McDonald’s. It may seem as though that would be one of the
major advantages for the Ronald McDonald House especially financially, but it is
actually quite the opposite. So, McDonald’s only donates about 4% to the Ronald
McDonald House’s overall yearly budget. The yearly budget for the Ronald
McDonald House’s budget for a year is about 500,000; that money coming from
pure donations. With that in mind, if you do the math, that means that
McDonald’s only contributes about 20,000 dollars each year. That is not a
significant donation considering how much money McDonald’s each year as a
corporation. People may assume that since the “McDonald’s” name is
associated with the Ronald McDonald House that they receive endless donations
and money from McDonald’s. This may turn people away from donating to this
charity because they may think that this charity is already well off and doesn't
need any more financial assistance.

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The website that the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia has currently
has some issues with the design. As an outsider going onto the website, one would
see blurry pictures and design elements that are not up-to-date. The website is a
major resource that they are lacking. Without a well-functioning website, the
Ronald McDonald House limits themselves to being able to effectively
communicate with target audiences.

When thinking of how the Ronald McDonald House budget is only 500,000 dollars,
it is important to realize that they only budget between 6,000-10,000 for their
overall marketing/advertising budget. With that in mind, there is a clear problem
with advertising and promoting the Ronald McDonald House name. Also, with the
lack of employees, they do not have the budget to hire someone solely to focus
on marketing, advertising, and public relations. So, with the lack of financial
resources as well as the lack of expertise, this organization is having major
problems with promoting who they are and what they do to the area. The lack of
promotion for this organization could contribute to lack of donations, volunteers,
and even sponsors.

Looking at the population of Roanoke which is 99,000 as well as considering the

top 10 postal routes of Roanoke we have reason to believe that Roanoke does
not have an affluent population which could contribute to the lack of donations
that the Ronald McDonald House is receiving. Also, after learning that the Ronald
McDonald House receives most of their donations from individuals rather than big
corporations or organizations, it would make sense that the reason there is a
problem with getting significant donations is due to the fact that the population
that surrounds the Ronald McDonald House doesn’t have that much money to
donate. This is a major problem due to the fact that the Ronald McDonald House
solely relies on donations to continue functioning.

Even if the Ronald McDonald House wanted to hire volunteers or branch out with
social media, they have the issue with brand continuity and everyone knowing
the appropriate language to use when talking about the organization or trying to
promote the organization. Also, the Ronald McDonald House is not allowed to use
any part of “Ronald McDonald” in their advertisements. Considering that is who
the organization is named after, this is a major promotional setback.

Opportunities:
Although the Ronald McDonald House lacks a social media presence, it would
be a great opportunity for them to branch out and become more known on sites
such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Snapchat might even be a useful social

15
media tool considering the use of location filters that also have the logos of the
brand attached to them. A primary reason as to why the Ronald McDonald House
has not branched out to other forms of social media is due to the fact that they
do not have a person that can constantly update their social media. If they hired
an intern that could potentially work year round, then that could help with their
social media drought that they are currently in.

A benefit that the Ronald McDonald House has is that there are various other
houses around the country and the world that they can get ideas from. Since they
are all one organization then they can easily use each other’s great ideas. If one
house is doing a fundraiser that is helping them raise a lot of money, then another
house can borrow that idea and see if it works well for them too.

An opportunity that the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia should

take advantage of is rounding up the total amounts at local retail stores or
grocery stores. It makes a difference the small amount of change that could be
donated by just rounded up the total amount of each person’s purchase and
donating the difference to the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald
House currently has donation boxes in local McDonald’s, and from those boxes
they accumulate about $5.46 dollars per day which in the end equals over
$110,000 in donations.

Considering the Ronald McDonald House lacks a significant marketing budget,

setting up information tables at local stores or even athletic facilities could be a
free way to advertise who they are. Not only is this a free way to promote the
Ronald McDonald House, this also gives them the opportunity to network with their
community.

They could potentially try to do more partnering with Carilion hospital considering
this is the hospital that cares for the sick children whose families stay at the Ronald
McDonald House. They could try to do events together that shows the relationship
between the Ronald McDonald House and Carilion. Also, since Carilion is a well-
known name in Roanoke, having the Ronald McDonald House name associated
with them would promote their name even more.

Since their website is outdated and needs new design elements, having a more
updated website that is compelling, more informational, and interactive would
make a significant difference from a branding and promotional perspective.

When thinking of ways to reach out to the community in a cost-effective manner

that is also efficient, setting up mailing routes in surrounding affluent areas of
Roanoke, would be a good way to reach out to the local community while also

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saving some money. With cost effectiveness in mind, Lamar billboards, which are
located throughout Southwest Roanoke and surrounding areas does not charge
for the billboard to be put up, but if you choose to not pay then they could be
taken down at any time for advertisements that are paying to be there.

As mentioned previously, the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia has

valuable networking abilities. The way that information spreads through word of
mouth could easily continue to travel to more friends, families, and colleagues of
the Ronald McDonald guests. This, in the end, would result in more donations.

The Ronald McDonald House is planning on implementing a peer-to-peer

fundraising opportunity on their website that was inspired by the infamous ice-
bucket challenge that took over social media.

The testimonials that they post on their website show real families and their
experience at the House. This gives the Ronald McDonald house a positive image.

University sororities usually always have some type of philanthropy that they
participate in. If the Ronald McDonald House could team up with a sorority it is
highly likely that they would receive many more donations due to the fact that
they are being promoted by another large organization.

Threats:
Other charities in the Roanoke Valley are the biggest threats to this organization
because they are the competition. Also, depending on the economy, not having
enough donations to keep the Ronald McDonald house running would be a
major threat considering they depend on donations to continue functioning as
an organization. There are neighborhood restrictions where the house is located
that restrict big signs to be in front of the house. This could be one of the reasons
why people aren't aware of the Ronald McDonald house in the Roanoke valley
because the house blends in with all of the other houses in the area. With the
current flooding that just took place at the Ronald McDonald house they had to
let some families go because they didn’t have enough rooms to house the
families due to the damage from the flooding. This is a major problem because
the families are the first priority and if they cannot house these families then that
makes the reputation of the house turn negative.

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 Insights
From research conducted and data gathered a collection of insights have been
made about The Ronald McDonald House of SWVA. Using these insights learned
from the data, we have identified the biggest issues that are currently facing The
Ronald McDonald House of SWVA.

Like most nonprofits, The Ronald McDonald House of SWVA has very limited
funding and a strict budget. Each year The House needs to bring in approximately
500,000 dollars in donations to stay afloat and cover the costs of running the
house. Each year The Ronald McDonald House struggles to reach that goal. With
only 4% of their current money coming from McDonalds and most coming from
smaller individual donations The Ronald McDonald House needs to find new ways
to attract potential donors. More importantly very few of the donations come
from organizations or large groups that can donate a substantial amount of
money. Not only does The Ronald McDonald House need to focus on bringing in
donations as a whole but also appealing to larger organizations with bigger
checkbooks to donate to the House.

However, money doesn’t solve everything nor is it always needed. By 2020 the
number of people around the world on social media is expected to hit 2.34 billion.
Social media is a free resource where organizations can interact with people
around the globe giving them updates, getting feedback and running
promotional activities. Something with the ability to have as much reach as social
media does and at a cost of next to nothing you would think it would be an
integral part to every nonprofit in today’s age. However, The Ronald McDonald
House of SW VA only uses Facebook and doesn’t have a dedicated employee or
vaulter to run it. This is where a far more pressing issue was found for The Ronald
McDonald House, lack of labor. Many employees are required to wear “two hats”
or more for the organization with few specialized employees. Director Anna
Semonco explained that even if she were to have social media accounts she
wouldn’t have an employee to run them. In general, when you think of labor you
think that costs money. However, The House is surrounded by a plethora of free
workers many of whom are quite skilled in social media. Students. If the house
were able to attack volunteers and interns from the surrounding university it would
be able to use a free marketing tool, social media, to generate donations, share
stories and overall connect with its publics.

In tandem with using social media as a tool to bring in donations The Ronald
McDonald House needs to raise awareness in the area about the Charity and

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what it does. After the serious water damage done by a sprinkler system
malfunction Executive Director Anna Semonco realized just how few people were
aware the charity was even there. A nice house in a wealthy neighborhood there
are restrictions placed on how much advertising the house can do on its front
lawn. Many people go right past without even realizing the house is anything more
than a house. Over 308,000 people live in the Roanoke valley metropolitan area
all of whom have something to offer weather its money, labor or some other
contribution. More importantly the largest employer of people in the Roanoke
Valley is the Carilion Clinic. It's in their best interest to keep the house running and
brining in families who will be treated at the hospital. As related marketing
becomes more prevalent in today's society, The Ronald McDonald House needs
to take advantage of its current partners as well as find new partners in the area
to help raise overall awareness for the organization

Lastly it may be in the Ronald McDonald House Charities best interest to cut ties
with McDonald’s. As stated earlier McDonalds itself only contributes about 4% of
donations to the house. Many people believe that the house is supported by
McDonalds and therefore does not need their donations. On top of that, the
partnership in itself muddy's the image of the Ronald McDonald House. Ronald
McDonald House Charities is about caring for people and helping sick children
and their families overcome the hardships that face a family when someone in it
is seriously ill. However, at the same time obesity is an epidemic in the country that
leads to incredible health problems especially among children with the obesity
rate having more than tripled since 1970. Fast food is the primary blame with
McDonald’s being at the forefront of that blame with documentaries coming out
such as Supersize me and Fat Head. The inconsistency in one side of this
partnership is supposed to help the sick and the other is a serious cause of sickness
is glaring and off putting. On top of that McDonald's would not want Ronald
McDonald House Charities partnering with competitors for advertising or media
campaigns. If McDonalds continues to monopolize business with the charity and
give little in return, there will always be limitations on the growth the Ronald
McDonald House Charity can have.

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 IMC Problem
Since there are increasing expenses every year, there are not

enough donations coming in to operate efficiently. The

limited staff also creates an issue. With more money to

market, and more volunteers to work with, Ronald McDonald

House Charities would be a drastically more successful

nonprofit.

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 Target Audience
For this campaign we chose our primary target audience to be
collegiate aged individuals and/or students. This would be any
individual ages 18-25. We chose college students for our primary
target audience because as college students we realize that there is
a need for our education to volunteer and do internships. With this
campaign not only are we trying to recruit more volunteers, we are
also introducing internships for college students. Overall, this
audience is a group that is eager to volunteer. There is a need to
volunteer from this group due to professional and educational goals.
Our secondary primary audience will be adults aging from 30-50. This
group of individuals already have established a career, but may
want to volunteer to help out or because they are a part of an
organization that needs to volunteer. Many organizations will
volunteer together to help a non-profit. With this group being our
secondary target audience we will be trying to focus on bigger
organizations that can volunteer.
With the second half of our campaign being designated to
promotional events, the target audience for that is broad ranging
anywhere from 3 years old to as old as 70 years old. These events are
going to be targeted at the Roanoke Valley Community; specifically
families will be a main group for us to target for the events. Also local
elementary schools and preschools will be other major target
markets for these events.

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 Calendar
April 2018- April 2019

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Voice of the
Upload YouTube Volunteers
Commerical
LOCATION:
Radford
TIME: TBA
**(new every 3 months)

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Radford
TIME: TBA

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Radford
TIME: TBA

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Radford
TIME: TBA

29 30
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Radford
TIME: TBA

25
 ◄ April May 2018 June ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Grow-A-
Garden

LOCATION:
Ronald
McDonald
House SWVA
TIME: TBA
13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

26
 ◄ May June 2018 July ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
Frosty Friday

Location: Carilion
Roanoke Memorial
Hospital

Time:
12PM-2PM
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Frosty Friday

Location: Carilion
Roanoke Memorial
Hospital

Time:
12PM-2PM
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Frosty Friday

Location: Carilion
Roanoke Memorial
Hospital

Time:
12PM-2PM
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Frosty Friday

Location: Carilion
Roanoke Memorial
Hospital

Time:
12PM-2PM

24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Frosty Friday

Location: Carilion
Roanoke Memorial
Hospital

Time:
12PM-2PM

27
 ◄ June July 2018 August ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4thof July
UploadYouTube Cookout
Commerical
Location:
Elmwood Park

**(new every 3 months) Time:

6PM-10PM
8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

28
 ◄ July August 2018 September ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4
Potential Bill
Board Showing
LOCATION:
Roanoke

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

29
 ◄ August September 2018 October ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Hollins
TIME: TBA
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Hollins
TIME: TBA
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Voice of the Volunteer
Volunteers Information
Fair
LOCATION:
Hollins LOCATION:
TIME: TBA Outside the
Bonnie
TIME:
11AM-2PM
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Voice of the
Volunteers

LOCATION:
Hollins
TIME: TBA
30

30
 ◄ September October 2018 November ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6
Upload YouTube
Commercial
**(new every 3 months)

Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION: VWCC
TIME: TBA
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION: VWCC
TIME: TBA

14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION: VWCC
TIME: TBA

21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Voice of the Pumpkin
Volunteers Palooza
LOCATION: VWCC
TIME: TBA LOCATION:
Ronald
McDonald
House SWVA
TIME:
5PM-8PM
28 29 30 31
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION: VWCC
TIME: TBA

31
◄ October November 2018 December ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Roanoke
College
TIME: TBA

11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Roanoke
College
TIME: TBA

18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Roanoke
College
TIME: TBA

25 26 27 28 29 30
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Roanoke
College
TIME: TBA

32
 ◄ November December 2018 January ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22
TOY DRIVE TOY DRIVE TOY DRIVE TOY DRIVE TOY DRIVE

LOCATION: LOCATION: LOCATION: LOCATION: LOCATION:

Carilion Carilion Carilion Carilion Carilion
Roanoke Roanoke Roanoke Roanoke Roanoke
Memorial Memorial Memorial Memorial Memorial
Hospital Hospital Hospital Hospital Hospital

**Start Date** **End Date**

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

33
 ◄ December January 2019 February ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5
Upload YouTube
Commercial

**(new every 3 months)

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

34
 ◄ January February 2019 March ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Voice of the Volunteer
Volunteers Information
LOCATION: Fair
NRCC
TIME: TBA LOCATION:
Outside the
Bonnie
TIME:
11AM-2PM
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Voice of the Flower Sale
Volunteers
LOCATION: LOCATION:
NRCC Bonnie
TIME: TBA TIME:
10AM-3PM

17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
NRCC
TIME: TBA

24 25 26 27 28
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
NRCC
TIME: TBA

35
 ◄ February March 2019 April ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Virginia Tech
TIME: TBA

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Voice of the St. Patrick’s
Volunteers Day Parade
LOCATION:
Virginia Tech LOCATION:
TIME: TBA Downtown
Roanoke
TIME: TBA
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Virginia Tech
TIME: TBA

24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Voice of the
Volunteers
LOCATION:
Virginia Tech
TIME: TBA

31

36
 ◄ March April 2019 May ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Grow-A-
Garden

LOCATION:
Ronald
McDonald
House SWVA
TIME: TBA
21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

37
 Rebranding Ideas

Although the current slogan “Keeping Families Close” for Ronald

McDonald House Charities has suited the organization for many
years, we think that there needs to be a slogan that fully
encompasses all that Ronald McDonald House Charities does for the
community.

So, the new slogan we’re proposing is:

“A Helping Hand to Hold”

This new slogan not only goes with the logo, but it provides a more accurate
representation of what Ronald McDonald House Charities do for the community.

38
 Goal #1
Problem: The Ronald McDonald House needs more

volunteers.

Goal: Recruit at least 50 new volunteers within the year.

Tactics:

 Volunteer your Voice

 Volunteer Fair

 Networking to Colleges

39
 Volunteer your Voice

Date: Mondays of every month devoted to a different school each

month.

Location: Local Colleges (Virginia Tech, Radford University, Roanoke

College, Hollins University, Virginia Western Community College, New
River Community College)

Objective: To reach out to our primary target audience by having

our volunteers go to different colleges in the area and talk to the
students about their experiences with volunteering at the Ronald
McDonald House as well as trying to get the students to volunteer
with the Ronald McDonald House.

Tactic(s):
 Gather volunteers from each department who have a
testimonial as to why they volunteer at the Ronald McDonald
House
 Contact local colleges and see when we can come to certain
classes to speak to the students about volunteering
 Bring along flyers and information to each class to give out
after the talk

40
Volunteer Information Fair 2018

Date: September 19, 2018 & February 6, 2019

Location: Outside the Bonnie @ Radford University

Objective: While promoting the Ronald McDonald House of

Southwest Virginia throughout Radford University’s campus, the
volunteer fair will be useful tool in scouting volunteers, while positively
networking

Tactic(s):
 Promoting internships & available volunteer opportunities
through RMHC SWVA
 Handing out flyers to students near the Bonnie during the times
of 11AM-2PM containing information regarding the Ronald
McDonald House & volunteer openings
 Networking with other organizations to gain good relationships
throughout the New River Valley & Roanoke areas
 Members of Harrington & Berkley will be present to present the
information
 For larger audiences (& even greater success) contact other
organizations to be present at the Volunteer Fair

41
 Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia Presents:

Volunteer Fair 2018-2019

2018 2019
When: September 19th When: February 6th
Location: The Bonnie Location: The Bonnie
Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Come visit local volunteers from the Ronald McDonald

House of Southwest Virginia and get informed about the
non-profits purpose, values, and mission.

42
 Ronald McDonald House Social
Media Internship

Date: Ongoing starting Aug 30th

Location:

 Distance work.
 Regular online check-ins
 Event coverage

Objective: Employee at least one local college student as a social

media intern to run the Ronald McDonald House of SW VA’s social
media accounts.

Tactics:

 Direct marketing through university career centers to reach out

to intern applicants as well as using university emails to send
mass emails directly to potential applicants.
 Require college credit to bring in motivated people who need
the internship for school
 Use handshake to make the application process smooth and
simple for both students and the Ronald McDonald House.
 Require experience with social media to ensure limited amount
of training will be required

43
 Brochure
(Front)

44
 Brochure
(Back)

45
 Goal #2
Problem: The RMDH lacks a social media presence and

needs to be promoted more effectively.

Goal: To create multiple social media platforms (Twitter,

Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat), air testimonial

commercials, make appearance on local television news

channels, and put a billboard in the Roanoke Valley area

that will bring more attention to the Ronald McDonald

House.

Tactic(s):

 Testimonial Commercials

 Billboard

 Daytime Blue Ridge Appearances

 Social Media

46
 Testimonial Commercials

Date: Reference the Calendar

Location: YouTube and Local Television Channels
Objective: To reach out to the Virginia Blue Ridge community with
commercials showing our volunteers giving testimonials about their
experience with the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia.
To promote the Ronald McDonald House through commercials that
target consumer’s emotions.
Tactic(s):
 Recruit volunteers who have inspiring testimonial stories about
volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest
Virginia.
 Contact local television stations to talk about airing our
commercial.
 Set up a YouTube channel where we can promote the Ronald
McDonald House through more testimonial commercials.
 Make sure we have a location to film as well as a film and
production crew to produce the commercial.

47
 Billboard

Date: TBA
Location: TBA
Objective: To promote the Ronald McDonald House through visual
representation.
Tactic(s):
 Contact Lamar Billboard’s to learn about pricing and the
potential locations that we can place the billboard.

48
Daytime Blue Ridge Appearances

Date: This would depend on when they would agree to have us on

their show, but we would be hopeful that it would be before our
promotional events.
Location: Daytime Blue Ridge Morning Talk Show on WSLS10 News
Station
Objective: To promote the Ronald McDonald House to the Roanoke
Valley community by appearing on the show to talk about
upcoming Ronald McDonald House events.
Tactic(s):
 Contact WSLS10 and try to get a television spot on Virginia’s
Blue Ridge before our events
 Network to WSLS employees through LinkedIn to try to promote
the Ronald McDonald House
 Send WSLS10 Press Releases of upcoming events
 Make sure to have someone ready at any time to speak on the
show because we never know when we may get that call to
appear on the show

49
 Social Media

Date: This will begin in April 2018

Location: The different social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, and Snapchat)
The handle for our Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat is:

@RMHC_SWVA_Volunteers
Objective: To promote the Ronald McDonald House by using
different forms of social media.
To promote the Ronald McDonald House in a cost effective way that
targets a broader base of individuals.
Tactic(s):
 Create each social media platform
 Constantly keep each updated with content at least three
times a week
 Reach out to other non-profits and individuals by following their
accounts

50
 RMHC Social Media Pages

51
52
 Goal #3
Problem: The Ronald McDonald House needs more

donations

Goal: To raise at least $50,000 within the year through

different promotional events

Tactic(s):

 Grow-a-Garden

 Frosty Fridays

 Pumpkin Palooza

 Flower Sale

 4th of July Cookout

 Ronald McDonald of Southwest Virginia Toy Drive

 Downtown Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade

53
 2018 Grow-A-Garden

Date: May 12, 2018

Location: Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia

Objective: Spread awareness regarding the Ronald McDonald

House Charities of Southwest Virginia, while giving the community
the opportunity to be involved & volunteer with this charity.

Tactic(s):
 Posting everyday via each social media platform (Twitter,
Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook) to raise local awareness
about the “Grow-A-Garden” event & inform the community on
how they can contribute
 Public Relations practitioners will reach out to local radio
station-- K92 & will cover Ronald McDonald promotional events
to help promote our events
 Contact local garden centers and/or florists to see if they are
willing to donate flowers to be planted outside the Ronald
McDonald House of Southwest Virginia.

54
 Frosty Friday’s
June 2018

Date: Friday the 1st, Friday the 8th, Friday the 15th, Friday the 22nd,
Friday the 29th [in the month of June]

Location: Carillion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

Objective: promoting Ronald McDonald House in a positive & helpful

manner while simultaneously bringing joy to the children inside the
hospital

Tactic(s):
 Promoting events every day in the month of June through our
social media platforms
 Contacting ice cream shops in the surrounding area
 Gathering a list of patients well enough to receive ice cream
 5 volunteers who are ready & willing to distribute ice cream
from 12PM-2PM every Friday in the month of June
 Design & distribute t-shirts to children receiving ice cream as
well as promoting the t-shirt via social media for donations

55
 Frosty Friday’s Shirts

*These shirts will be given out to the volunteers to wear

during Frosty Friday’s and placed on our website to be
sold for $10. All proceeds that come from the shirts will
go to donations for the Ronald McDonald House.*

56
 4th of July Cookout

Date: July 4, 2018

Location: Elmwood Park in Downtown Roanoke

Objective: To promote the Ronald McDonald House by hosting an

event for the community that will also provide the opportunity to
raise donations for the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest
Virginia.

Tactic(s):
 Have an area set up to watch the Fireworks that happen at
River’s Edge park
 Contact the YMCA for the usage of their inflatables for the
event
 Buy hotdogs and hamburgers for the event as well as
condiments and refreshments (drinks)
 Make sure to have supplies for the following games:
o Cornhole
o Egg toss
o Water balloon toss
 Contact other local businesses to see if they would like to
donate anything to the event or ever set up a booth at the
event
 Rent an icee machine and a cotton candy machine

57
 4th of July Cookout

58
 Pumpkin Palooza

Date: October 27, 2018

Location: Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia

Objective: endorse the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest

Virginia throughout the area while also finding creative ways to
receive donations

Tactic(s):
 Contact Sinkland Farms and/or any other pumpkin patches in
the surrounding area
 Supply pumpkin-carving tools and any other supplies needed
to successfully create pumpkin designs
 Prepare pot-luck style dinner
o If you bring a dish, you will receive a pumpkin in
exchange
o If a dish isn’t supplied, pumpkins will be $4
 Increase awareness of the event through all social media
platforms

59
 Ronald McDonald House of
Southwest Virginia Toy Drive

Date: December 17, 2018- December 21, 2018

Location: Setting up donations throughout Carilion Roanoke

Memorial Hospital

Objective: To collect toys for the patients that are staying in the
hospital that are also a part of the Ronald McDonald House families.

Tactic(s):
 Get donated collections boxes from Corrugated Container to
place around the Carilion Hospital on different floors
 Get a list of children that are currently sick and a part of the
Ronald McDonald House
 On the 21st of December go around and collect all of the
boxes and begin to organize the toys into groups for the
children
 Once toys are collected go around to each room on
December 24 and deliver the toys to the children

60
 Flower Sale

Date: February 14, 2019

Location: Outside the Bonnie @ Radford University

Objective: To raise money for the Ronald McDonald House of

Southwest Virginia from flower purchases made by students on
Valentine’s Day

Tactic(s):
 Contact local florist to purchase red roses
 Gather volunteers to work the flower table outside of the
Bonnie
 Promote the event using all of Ronald McDonald’s social media
platforms
 Re-sell flowers for $3 to make enough profit to donate to the
Ronald McDonald House

61
 Downtown Roanoke St. Patty’s
Day Parade

Date: March 17, 2019

Location: Downtown Roanoke

Objective: To promote the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest

Virginia through the collaboration of local businesses of Roanoke
through a parade that attracts the community.

Tactic(s):
 Figure out what we want the float to look like for the parade
 Recruit volunteers and other individuals who are associated
with the RMDH of Southwest Virginia who can help with the
float or be on the float
 Promote the float through social media platforms

62
 Parade T-Shirts

63
 Crisis Management Plan

General: A crisis is any event or action that could damage or tarnish

the name of our agency or our affiliates.

Event specific: Throughout the year we plan to run multiple events in

partnership with the Ronald McDonald House of SW VA to help spread
awareness and bring in volunteers as well as donations. However, we
realize in running events there is always possibility of cancelation. In the
event of a cancelation we have the following guidelines:

1. Post on social media ASAP as much information as we can give on

why the event was cancelled.

2. Follow up contacting local media explaining the situation.

Contacts:

3. Look for possible reschedules (if the event cannot be rescheduled for
that month the event will be cancelled all together)

4. Work with event partners

5. Reach out again on social media reiterating in more detail the

reasons for the cancellation of the event and any new information on
upcoming events.

64
 Budget

65
 Evaluation Plan
The main way that we will evaluate the success of this

campaign is to look at our goals and see if we have

achieved them by the end of the campaign. We would

want to see if we have gained at least 50 volunteers as well

as raising $10,000 in donations by the end of the campaign.

We would also look at whether or not anyone was

interested in doing an internship with us through our new

internship program. Lastly, we would look at social media to

see if we gained a significant amount of followers

throughout this campaign.

66
 Summary
Throughout this campaign, Harrington & Berkley, chose to

make realistic, achievable goals for Ronald McDonald

House of Southwest Virginia. By promoting ourselves through

9 brand-new events created & produced by the members

of our corporation, we firmly believe we will be able to

gather at least 50 new volunteers as well as raising an

efficient amount of money to donate to the Ronald

McDonald House of Southwest Virginia. The money donated

& raised throughout these events will give the Ronald

McDonald House spare money to help the families staying

in their facility even more. We are hopeful this campaign

remains successful for the history of the Ronald McDonald

House Charities.

67
 References
Ronald McDonald House Charities. (2018). RMHC. Retrieved from:

https://www.rmhc.org/

Ronald McDonald House Charities Southwest Virginia. (2018). Ronald

McDonald House Charities Southwest Virginia. Retrieved from:

https://www.rmhc-swva.org/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018, January).

Obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-

schools/obesity/facts.html

68
Thank you,

69