Promotional strategies for recruiting volunteers for the 2012 London Olympics

¶ … Highest Performing Promotional Tools and Strategies in the Marketing Communications Mix for Attracting Volunteers for the 2012 Olympic Games

Guideline For Length Of Words Breakdown In Dissertation Content

The recruitment and retention of a volunteer organization for the London 2012 Olympics is the single greatest influence on the experience the visitors enjoy from around the world when they attend the many venues and locations throughout the United Kingdom (UK). Attracting, training and retaining the best volunteer base for the many eclectic and varied events is highly dependent on getting the best possible volunteers with the most effective skill sets needed. The volunteers really are the face of the Olympics; they are the brand experience that visitors globally will experience when they attend events, travel to venues, and sightsee through the many historical landmarks of the UK. Given the fact that the volunteers will dictate the customer experience, there is even greater responsibility and that is to ensure that the millions of moments-of-truth when they are called upon to serve the Olympics' guests go positively, exceeding the guests' expectations.

This is the very essence of why recruiting, training and retaining the best possible volunteers is so crucial to satisfy the need for providing Olympic visitors with a memorable experience that will reflect well on the host city and country. This analysis aims to define the optimal series of promotional tools and strategies for attracting the highest quality and most qualified volunteers for the London 2012 Olympics. Implicit in the analysis is the need for also defining how the most effective promotional tools and strategies are included as part of the broader integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategies promoting the London 2012 Olympics. The tools and strategies need to be highly relevant and trusted by the target audience of the entire base of volunteers that are going to be recruited (Stern, 2010). For example, as many of the prospective volunteers nowadays rely primarily on social networks and social media to interact with one another, follow their interests (as is the case with Facebook fan pages) and also follow entertainment and sports celebrities, these platforms need to be used extensively as part of any recruitment campaigns.

As the point has been made before, these promotional strategies must also be tightly coordinated and synchronized with a broader IMC strategy to ensure the highest level of effectiveness possible is attained (Sirgy, 1998) (Falk, Hammerschmidt, Schepers, 2010).. All of these strategies and tools, from the use of promotionally-based social networks and volunteer recruitment programs to the use of Integrated Marketing Communciaitons (IMC) strategies interlinked to these programs (to the high levels of consistency to IMC strategies (what does this mean?) that guide London 2012 Olympics marketing, analytics need to be used in order to track their effectiveness. This analysis also includes an assessment of which key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics or measures of performance need to be used to evaluate if the promotional tools and strategies are in fact working. This is a critically important part of this analysis, as digital marketing makes it possible to measure, in real-time, the effectiveness of promotional and marketing strategies. What begins to emerge is an ecosystem of marketing strategies and initiatives where promotion drives the upper funnel of activity, followed by the use of IMC campaigns and strategies to move volunteers through the recruitment process to eventually signing them up for service.

In many respects, the series of promotional tools and strategies that are defined in this analysis are equivalent to how a company would seek to attract, sell and serve customers. The concept of the sales funnel, with the promotional tools and strategies aimed at capturing interest and prompting customers to action is allegorically the same as those of attracting prospects as well (Gilpin, Palazzolo, Brody, 2010). The same lower-funnel sales activities of motivating prospects to initially try a product and become loyal to its purchase is also akin to having a volunteer willing to go through a screening process and eventually become part of the crops of services providers for the London 2012 Olympics.

1.0

Introduction

The Olympic Games have always been fascinating people around the world, as this event brings together the best athletes in the world in their given sports. The rejuvenation of the modern Olympics in the late 19th century was perfectly timed to coincide this event every four years with more economic, social and technological change the world had seen previously. Each Olympics has reflected the current state of the world while also displaying humankinds' relentless pursuit of ever-greater athletic performance. This is very inspiring to the audience as it shows that no matter what the distraction occurring in society, athletes have the focus and the intensity to keep moving forward to their goals. They are relentless in their pursuit of their goals. This is worth stopping to take notice of. It shows that the ancient Greeks realized that competition prizing the greatest athletic talents could keep a society moving forward, with achievement as a prized value or attribute (Swaddling, 2000). These are the reasons why the Olympics fascinate me and so many others around the globe.

Given the magnitude of the London 2012 Olympics Games the need for volunteers has never been greater. Attracting these volunteers, training them and creating a unique and valuable customer experience for the visitors globally requires greater levels of coordination and cooperation than ever before. Choosing the right promotional strategies, supported by the best possible tools and techniques, is therefore also critically important.

To put the current Olympics into context, the ancient Olympics and its underlying concepts must be kept in mind (Why? I don't think this is really relevant to be honest!). The historical significance of the ancient Olympics set the foundation for how competitions are organized, orchestrated across countries, and the unique customs the ancient Greeks had defined that still exist today. The ancient Olympics concentrated on competitions between city-states, and also forbid wars or conflicts during the time of the Olympics so every citizen could enjoy the competitive events. As with all major events in the ancient Greek culture, the gods of the Hellenic culture beliefs played a major role in the development of the Olympics as well. Legend has it that Zeus came up with the idea of the Olympics as a means to test his son Hercules' strength. Hercules defined the time between each Olympic event as four years. Given the popularity of this god in Greek culture, the events that surrounded the Olympics became nearly religious in significance. The growth of the Olympic games reached their apex in the 7th century, so much so that the rulers of the time perceived them as a threat and had them discounted until their rejuvenation in the late 19th century. What fascinates me personally about this progression of events of the ancient Greek Olympics is how the competition completely re-ordered the structure and culture of the society over time (Reference to the ancient Olympics) (I don't think it's a good idea to talk about your personal feelings -- keep it professional and academic at all times - OK).

Most fascinating however is how the Olympic Games have the potential to keep what is positive, affirming and strengthening to a society in focus. Despite the last century's very turbulent economic, social, technological and political changes, the Olympics and the performance of athletes have continued to progress and gain greater accuracy, speed and strength. It is inspiring that despite how much society has changed in the last 130 years since the Olympics began, there is still a continual commitment to improve and find peace between nations through this event (Saddling, 2000). That is why the Olympics are so important to me and why I chose this specific area to study (I think you need a better reason than this! It needs to be something connected to your field of interest - a professional reason for choosing it; not a personal one). (NOTE: As I do not know you, you will have to write a paragraph on your own here -- I have no idea why you chose the Olympics and the promotional strategies to attract volunteers.

1.1 Aims and Objectives

At the intersection of the philanthropic segments that are defined through psychographics, and the use of promotional tools and strategies is the need for defining best practices in recruitment and retention of volunteers. Implicit in any strategy to attract and retain volunteers is the need for connecting and communicating with them. That is the role of promotional strategies in the context of any successful marketing communications strategy (Clow, Baack, 2002).

The ability to attract, train and retain volunteers for the many eclectic London 2012 Olympics activities, events, venue staffing and support requirements is critical for meeting and exceeding the expectations of visitors from across the globe. The success of the London 2012 Olympics is directly dependent on the attitudes, behavior, and results achieved through the efforts of volunteers. The need to create effective promotional programs and strategies that attract the most qualified candidates while at the same time preserving their willingness and motivation to volunteer is critical. The effectiveness of promotional strategies is highly dependent on their ability to resonate and be relevant to the target audiences over time (Reference). This is the basis of the research being undertaken; to determine which promotional tools and strategies are the most effective in attracting, training and retaining the most talented and motivated volunteers for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The following are the aims and objectives of this analysis. The primary objective of this study is to determine which promotional tools are the most effective in recruiting and retaining volunteers. In support of this objective, the following goals are defined:

a. To understand and segment the volunteer population in westernized nations including the UK, and determine the characteristics of these markets as they relate to volunteering for events.

b. To determine the psychographic attributes of each group as they relate to propensity to participate, contribute and assist in keeping recruitment efforts moving forward.

c. To determine how the recruitment of volunteers correlates to the sales process, specifically the managing of upper and lower funnel customer recruitment, conversion and retention.

d. To analyze how the Integrated Marketing Campaigns (IMCs) of each Olympics contributed or detracted to the growth of volunteer bases over time.

e. Through primary research, to understand what the primary Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are for the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics.

In determining which promotional tools and strategies are the most effective for recruiting volunteers, the recruitment funnel needs to be first considered. The funnel is actually comprised of a series of strategies that when used in conjunction with each other lead to additional volunteers being recruited who have the qualifications of interest. Although in some ways this is similar to attracting customers to a business, the motivations for volunteers differ drastically from consumers and this is also a critical point of this analysis. The continued growth of volunteering globally can be attributed to the shift in attitudes and beliefs regarding the need to give back and be part of the global community, the need to be altruistic, pay back society, and the need to give out of a spiritual need to provide for others. Studies of volunteers globally indicate that there are several large psychographic segments that dominate volunteering. These seven segments include Communitarians (26%), The Devout (21%), The Investor (15%), The Socialite (11%), The Altruist (9%), The Repayer (10%), and the Dynast (8%) (Yavas, Riecken, Parameswaran, 1980) (Strategic Directions, 2010).

These psychographic segments form the basis of the model used by researchers to understand the trade-offs and decisions volunteers make in donating their time, funds and resources to one cause relative to another. (Yavas, Riecken, Parameswaran, 1980). These segments are discussed in detail throughout the literature review. Core concepts of this dissertation that relate to the intersection of volunteers' segmentation models and criteria for participating (Yavas, Riecken, Parameswaran, 1980) with the extensive array of promotional strategies, tactics and programs form the foundation of this dissertation's core focus and direction (Tellis, 2004) . Emanating from these connections between concepts is the need to create a high level of task ownership with the volunteers (why? You didn't mention anything about ownership before. Why is it important for people who volunteer. You should mention this above maybe when you first mention psychographics etc.). The goal needs to specifically be focused on providing them with the opportunity to attain autonomy, mastery and purpose (Yavas, Riecken, Parameswaran, 1980) so they will have strong ownership of their roles and jobs. (Again, I would put this next to the psychographics stuff above It is now in this location per this comment The combining of autonomy, mastery and purpose can be nurtured and achieved over time, and the structure of the training programs for the London 2012 Olympics needs to specifically focus on these needs of volunteers over the long-term.

(I think you need to be clearer about your aims here because you don't really state them directly. Be direct and simple. Basically what do you want to find out with your research (aims) and how can you find it out (objectives)? For example, you could say:

'The aim of this research is to gain an understanding of the most effective tools and strategies with which to recruit and retain Olympic volunteers. To achieve this aim, several objectives have been laid out for the study:

(a) To define the motivations of volunteers and map these onto the recruitment funnel

(b) To relate psychographic segmentation studies of volunteers to Olympic recruitment practices and possibilities.

(I don't know if these are OK. I just used your ideas from above. I think you should choose a couple more if possible. Basically, aim is what you want to find out and objectives are how you will find that out step-by-step)

1.2 Overview of this Analysis

The selection of which promotional strategies will be the most effective needs to begin with an appreciation of the approaches, strategies and platforms that the intended (Zyman, Brott,2002) base of volunteers most often relies on. For the majority of them, social networking is the preferred method of communicating and gaining updates on programs of interest (Bernoff, Li, 2008). The use of Facebook and Twitter specifically are among the most popular forms of collaboration between members of the target audience. There is also the extensive use of smartphones for staying connected to these applications, which for many people, form the foundation of how they manage their social lives (Bernoff, Li, 2008).

1.3 Concepts, Frameworks and Relationships Between Concepts

It has been proven through much of the social media research completed that the preferences and needs of consumers change over time (Bernoff, Li, 2008) (O'Reilly, 2004). This is a critically important point in this dissertation and an outcome of the research completed. The traditional means of managing promotion in print media and through static means of traditional marketing has given way to a more fluid and agile model, which is able to respond to how those targeted by the communication choose to learn and be communicated with. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in social media and the exceptionally rapid adoption of Facebook, Twitter, and many other social media platforms (Bardhi, Rohm, Sultan, 2010). It is the intent of this dissertation to analyze how best to use these evolving platforms in the context of attracting, training and retaining key contributors and volunteers (Zhang, Watts, 2008). The literature review seeks to explore both the need for greater knowledge of volunteerism on the one hand, and the need for appreciating just how quickly the promotional tools relied on by potential volunteers are changing and gaining critical mass in society on the other.

1.4 Conclusion

The velocity of change is increasing drastically and for any marketer the challenges can be daunting for how best to keep up and capitalize on them. Given the finite amount of time that the London 2012 Olympic Committee has for recruiting, training and retaining volunteers, this puts significant pressure and importance on the decisions of which promotional strategies to use. This is further made more difficult by the sheer number of options available. There are literally hundreds of potential promotional strategies and programs, which can be used over time. The question is which to use and in what sequence. This dissertation looks to answer those challenging questions and provide insights into how best to use current promotional platforms most effectively.

2.0

Literature Review

2.1

Introduction

The development and fine-tuning of any promotional strategy aimed at the recruitment and retention of volunteers must take into account their innate needs for volunteering in the first place, how their shared needs create psychographic or group-based segments, and how best to reach them with promotional programs. The intent of this chapter of the dissertation is to discuss and analyze existing research ideas in these areas.

2.2

Motivations for Volunteering

Motivations vary significantly across age groups and psychographic profiles as to why people choose to volunteer (Zyman, Brott,2002). Conventional wisdom states that the opportunity to learn more about a given subject and gain valuable skills is why younger volunteers choose to provide their time. This however is not as prevalent as the motivation many volunteers have for creating a social network that they can rely on and be strengthened by over time (Bernoff, Li, 2008). Motivations of volunteers are very complex, much more than just relatively quick judgments of their needs and wants by demographic stage of their lives (Sirgy, 1998) (Fernsler, 1997) (no link between this and the previous point) There now is What is needed is more of a focus on how the psychological needs are enablers or greater motivation overall. The misconception that the needs and motivations for volunteering are driven by demographic needs alone is one fraught with potential errors in recruitment strategy (Fernsler, 1997). The first part of this literature review specifically shows why this is the case. The second half shows how upper and lower funnel analysis can be used as a concept for managing volunteers, which is an extension of the concept that is predominately used for sales and marketing functions. (what social media? You mentioned it so much above and now suddenly it's not going to be in the literature review?

Weird!) I edited out the mention of social media.

2.2.1

Segmenting Volunteers by Psychographic Attributes

The foundation of any successful recruitment strategy for volunteers needs to have a very clear, well-defined market segmentation strategy as its focus. Just as with companies who are penetrating new markets, the need for having exceptionally clear and focused ideas of what the needs, preferences and wants are of volunteers (or customers) is critically important (Fernsler, 1997).

To gain greater insights into the psychographics of volunteers, several studies were analyzed. Immediately apparent from analyzing them was the fact that the majority of volunteers are more driven by shared responsibility and sense of shared duty to do good and less on the more inward or self-centered values of gaining experience. Just as was suspected during this analysis, purely demographically driven needs for contributing and volunteering to an organization are often overshadowed by the shared psychological ones (Fernsler, 1997) (Zyman, Brott,2002).

(which studies? A literature review needs to say where you got these ideas from. That's essential). Studies of Internet-based contributions and donations were analyzed as well. It appears that the majority of donors are younger and of lower incomes, and most importantly, have a shared sense of responsibility for bettering lif. As studies indicate that donors who most frequently give over the Internet are in the 18- to 34-year-old segment and give an average of $71 per donation versus $309 by the 35 to 54 age group, the implications of effective psychographic segmentation are significant. Younger donors have lower incomes yet are much more likely to donate online compared to the 35 to 54 age group or older segments (Why is this psychographic then if it talks about age and income?

). There are also the segmentation criteria of psychographics, or how the Groups define themselves by their shared values (Yavas, Riecken, Parameswaran, 1980). The book, The Seven Faces of Philanthropy provides numerous insights (Fernsler, 1997) including the definitions of segments provided in this analysis make this point very clearly. (doesn't make any sense at all) The role of demographics therefore, in defining how promotional strategies will be used for attracting volunteers, is fundamentally flawed. (A stupid point because it has not been proven at all by the points above it. Very simplistic thinking) The need for creating a more robust segmentation that reaches beyond demographics is therefore needed.

2.2.2

Segmentation Criteria Needs To Get Beyond Demographics

It is not enough to just segment volunteers on their age or income, as there are more powerful determinants of why people donate their time (what has donating go to do with it?

Your topic is volunteering, not donating!!) than these two demographic factors. Understanding why people give and their expectations are far more powerful than reducing the segmentation to age or income (Sirinek, 1996). The seven segments that were defined originally in the book (Fernsler, 1997) include Communitarians (26%), The Devout (21%), The Investor (15%), The Socialite (11%), The Altruist (9%), The Repayer (10%), and the Dynast (8%) (Fernsler, 1997).

In comparing the dynamics of what motivates small vs. large donors an entirely different set of expectations emerge. Volunteers expect to see how their contributions are making a significant impact on the organizations they have chosen to donate their time and efforts to (Seifert, Morris, Bartkus, 2003). Both groups and segments of volunteers also expect to have a much more collaborative level of feedback with the organizations they donate time as well (Morozov, 2009). This latter dynamic is now called Philanthropy 2.0, named after Web 2.0 technologies and approaches to getting customers involved more with organizations through social networking technologies (Heath, 2005). The use of Web 2.0 technologies is going to be critical for the success of the recruitment strategies for the 2012 London Olympics. (This is strange -- it goes on about donating, and then suddenly switches back to recruitment. You need to cut all the donating stuff -- volunteering and donating are not the same at all)

2.2.3

Defining Volunteer Segments through Psychographics

In defining segments, the psychographic profiles are more critical as they define motivation, followed by activity or how often the segment have participated in philanthropic activities. The propensity of a donor to give time is proportional to their willingness to give regularly (Fernsler, 1997).

Psychographic

Profile

Activity Hours

Age Range

Education

Communitarians

Very High

18 -- 34; 35 -- 54

Undergrad & Graduate

The Investor

Very High

35 -- 54; 55+

Undergrad & Graduate

The Altruist

High

35 -- 54; 55+

Graduate

The Devout

Medium -- High

35 -- 54; 55+

Undergrad & Graduate

The Socialite

Medium

35 -- 54; 55+

Undergrad & Graduate

The Repayer

Medium

35 -- 54; 55+

Graduate

Dynast

Medium

35 -- 54; 55+

Undergrad & Graduate

This segmentation model assumes that younger volunteers who have higher education levels and corresponding higher incomes are more likely to seek causes and opportunities to give where they can see an impact. This also shows that their psychographic profile is one of the highest concentrations of donors who feel socially responsible for the environment. They have a very high level of commitment to making their communities and the world a more positive place. Lastly, this segment also is the best attuned to the social networking dynamics that Olympic volunteer marketers can maximise. (But what about the other types of volunteers in the chart? They weren't mentioned at all. Why only talk about the younger age group?) Based on the analysis of volunteers and their motivations for charitable giving, the following segmentation analysis was completed using an analysis of Fensler (1997). Table 1, Philanthropic Segmentation Analysis: Personality Alignment to Imagery and Messaging shows how each philanthropic psychographic segment defines itself by its values and the imagery each considers positive. These are critical insights to build an effective IMC strategy on, including the definition of promotional appeals and programs. Analysis of the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympics later in this literature review indicate how promotional strategies were successfully targeted to specific philanthropic segments defined by their affiliations (which is the basis of psychographics) which has consistently shown to be the most effective approach overall to gaining volunteers and donors.

Table 1:

Philanthropic Segmentation Analysis:

Personality Alignment to Imagery and Messaging

Sources: (Fernsler, 1997) (Seifert, Morris, Bartkus, 2003)

How all of these factors relate to the recruitment of volunteers for the London 2012 is as follows. First, a clear understanding of the segmentation of the volunteer base in the UK from a psychographic standpoint will have a much greater impact on the performance of promotional strategies. Second, it is imperative to understand how the structure of the volunteer segments determines the prioritization of which causes get the most time and attention. Understanding that the majority of volunteers in the UK for example are Communitarians (26%) leads to the conclusion that stressing the need for volunteers to strengthen and accentuate the positive aspects of their communities is critically important for the London 2012 Olympics as well. Looking for the win/win scenarios of having UK volunteers see the value of contributing their time and attention to the London 2012 Olympics needs to start by stressing the need for putting each community hosting them into a positive context (Heath, 2005).

This appeal to having their local communities be world-class in their hospitality, accuracy and thoroughness of support, and flawless execution of the Olympics events they are responsible for is a powerful motivator -- and most likely one of the most relevant ones to these volunteers. This insight and others like them are why it is critically important to understanding the volunteer segments first, before planning the integrated marketing communications (IMC) and the role of promotions within them (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, Li, 2004).

2.3

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Strategy Best Practices

To put promotional strategies in the right context every organization relies on the creation, development and execution of integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies. This is especially evident in the marketing, promotion and partnership strategies of the Olympic Committee as it relates to Beijing 2004 and Athens 2004. Of these two previous Olympics, Beijing 2008 relied heavily on social networking, including Facebook Fan pages for each specific sport. Individual teams followed this example and created their own Facebook pages for their individual countries and for teams within each country. This became exceptionally strong as part of the U.S.A.'s promotional strategies for their snowboarders participating in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The center of the IMC strategies for attracting volunteers and fans has increasingly become social networking-based (Bernoff, Li, 2008). Of all the social networking platforms in use today, Facebook has emerged as the most dominant. This literature review provides an analysis of Facebook and its implications as a promotional strategy for the 2012 London Olympic Games' volunteer recruitment efforts. In addition, the promotional strategies of the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympics will be analyzed later in this literature review. In this section however the foundational elements of IMC strategies and the role of promotional strategies are defined.

2.3.1

IMC Components and Interrelationships

Integrating Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and Relationship Marketing (RM) serve to create customer-centric messaging and calls to action with both existing customers and new prospects. Creating a reciprocal relationship with customers and reinforcing them with credibility increases the potential for product trial (Kotler, 1999, 2004) or in the case of the Olympics, a willingness to volunteer and place trust and credibility in the messages sent for purposes of recruitment (Heath, 2005). In fact the assumption is that having a trial offered though a single communication channel rarely is effective in an IMC strategy, yet succeeds when there is a consistency of branding and messaging across both offline and online channels (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, Wong, 2002).

Additional benefits of IMC strategies are the development of higher levels of credibility through reinforcing of messaging through a consistent use of imagery, branding and unique value proposition statements. The byproduct of a well-coordinated IMC campaign is the development of higher levels of credibility than would have otherwise been the case in single-channel-based communications strategies according to Ogden, J.R. (1998) and (Schultz, Tannenbaum, Lauterborn 1993).

2.4.1

Introduction to Promotional Techniques

The promotional techniques the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympics relied on varied significantly. The Beijing 2008 Olympics relied more extensively on electronic media, while the Athens 2004 Olympics leant more towards print media promotions. Figure 3, Comparing the Effectiveness of Promotional Plans, illustrates the shift in promotional tools, strategies and programs from traditional media to more socially-based forms. The use of Web-based promotional strategies and social networks is the greatest differentiating factor in this regard between the Beijing and Athens Olympic games.

2.4.2

Overview of Promotional Techniques, Tools and Strategies by Olympics

During the planning and implementation phase of the Athens 2004 Olympics, there was a fundamental shift occurring in the use of media for initiating and managing promotional strategies. From the traditional media of newspapers and television to the Web and social networking, the study of the use of promotional strategies across previous Olympics makes it clear that a fundamental shift in effectiveness was occurring during this time. Figure 3, Comparing the Effectiveness of Promotional Plans, bears this out. The dominance of television, radio, print, and the relative lack of metrics and traceability during the Athens 2004 Olympics gave way to a much more metrically driven series of strategies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The following graphic is drawn from a base of research completed for this literature review. This progression to more measurable results from PR strategies was also driven by the need for greater accountability and focus on how budgets were being spent to recruit volunteers and manage the entire Olympics communications mix over time.

Figure 3: Comparing the Effectiveness of Promotional Plans

Source: Based on analysis of (Broekhuizen, Alsem 2002) (Schultz, Tannenbaum, Lauterborn 1993).

2.4.3

Timeline and Project Management of Promotional Strategies

A key aspect of the differences between how the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics also was the focus on how to make the entire workflow more coordinated to PR strategies for attracting volunteers. Figure 4, a timeline of PR Activities for the Olympics, illustrates this point. The timing of the promotional activities for the Olympics overall began 18 months ahead of the opening day ceremonies. This translated into the 2004 Athens games planning sessions being in 2002, a time period when Web-based promotional strategies were still evolving and not as measurable as they were for example in the 2006 timeframes when the Beijing Olympics were just beginning This translates into a significantly different focus on how to use promotional strategies to gain volunteers as well . The variation in timing on these two Olympics also opened up the opportunity to use social networking (Bernoff, Li, 2008) as the basis of the outreach and PR campaigns for the Beijing 2008 Olympics as well.

Figure 4: Timeline of PR Activities for the Olympics -- A General Overview

(Bernoff, Li, 2008)

2.5

Using Social Media as a Catalyst for Promotional Strategies

Social networking combined the benefits of a Web-based strategy and the outreach potential of a highly collaborative platform, all with PR strategies that could be tracked and measured digitally. Figure 5, Web 2.0 Meme Map, illustrates how the design objectives for next-generation Web and Internet applications influenced and actually served as the catalyst for the development of social networking applications. Figure 5 shows the Meme Map for Web 2.0 technologies.

(I don't think this graphic is very useful. I personally would leave it out, as well as any comments about it you included above) -- Gone!

These tools had a sizeable influence on the development of entirely new types of platforms and applications that made promotional strategies much more effective and measurable. The impact of Web 2.0 technologies then on the Beijing 2008 Olympics is very significant. The fact that the Beijing Games relied on Facebook as a platform for recruitment of volunteers and managing training is a case in point.

2.5.1

The Facebook Effect and How It Affected the Beijing 2008 Olympics

The 2008 Beijing Olympics learned that Facebook could be very effective as a platform for promoting volunteerism and measuring the results of their strategies. Presented here are the major lessons learned. The first major technological trend Facebook was used for was capitalizing on the move to video-based broadcasting and the capture of video content so that their recruitment sites have rich content for the long-term. YouTube is growing at a rate where every minute approximately 24 hours of content are uploaded globally (Wireless Business Forecast, et.al.). Video content is the future of social networking according to leading industry analysts and experts as well (Bernoff, Li, 2008) (O'Reilly, et.al). The move by Apple to create the iPad and iPhone 4 to allow for instant video conferencing is another data point that supports the fact that video content will eventually dominate social networking globally. This is a trend that future Olympics volunteer organizers will have to capitalize on in order to gain volunteers. There are also over 200 telecommunication providers of mobile products in 60 nations working to create and launch Facebook-compatible products and services as of September 2010. Clearly, Facebook has emerged as more than just a networking site; it is today a platform, which leads to the third technological factor that is included in this analysis.

A second major technological factor that the 2008 Beijing Olympics realized is that the rapid growth of the Facebook development community globally could fuel exceptional levels of participation and volunteerism in a very short period of time. This high rate of speed and growth is attributable to the huge audience and the number of developers creating applications and extensions to Facebook in 180 countries today. There is also a very high usage of platform-based applications as well, with 70% of users relying on these types of applications over the core set of apps delivered with Facebook itself. There are currently 550,000 applications developed on Facebook today and 250,000 sites integrated into the Facebook platform.

The next major trend affecting the Beijing 2008 Olympics was the global and community reach of the Facebook platform. This is an area of analysis for the company that is yielding fascinating insights into how best to grow the company over time. This dynamic of students staying connected after graduating is also reflected in the latest analysis from market researcher iStrategy Labs, who completed the analysis shown in Table 1, Global Facebook Demographics as of 2010. What this meant for Beijing 2008 Olympic organizers is that once a core group of volunteers from a given school or university were recruited they could often recruit their entire groups of friends as well.

This dynamic on a broader level also led to the development of a far greater reach for the Facebook platform as well. Based on their research, the U.S. user base grew at a 144% growth rate between 2008 and 2009, from 42 million to 103 million. The research completed by iStrategy Labs also indicates that the 35+ and over demographic is now more than 30% of the entire customer base, and 55+ age group participation in social networking grew 922% in 2009.

Figure 6

Global Facebook Demographics 2010

Source: iStrategy Labs

Facebook has also benefited from the political, legal and socio-cultural trends of greater collaboration and communication while also forcing greater levels of accountability and transparency into organizations as well. The many scandals that led to the subprime mortgage meltdown, including the use of government funds to finance very expensive vacations for AIG executives, has made trust more valuable than ever before. Trust is in fact the new currency of social networks, and Facebook has had several difficult lessons in this area as a result of their tendency to focus more on what made sense not necessarily for users, but for the monetization of their business models and the development of more efficiently managed privacy settings from a company standpoint. The combination of political, legal and socio-cultural trends has forced a very high level of accountability and authenticity on Facebook. The scrutiny on their trustworthiness has never been higher, and their recent gaffes in this area are another challenge in their growth. (I don't think this section is relevant at all).

3.0

Methodology

3.1

Introduction

This chapter outlines the research approach and methods which were used to attempt to ascertain the required understanding of this study's central focus. Namely, determining the most effective promotional tools and strategies for attracting, training and retaining volunteers for the London 2012 Olympics. In order to ascertain the best possible promotional tools, technologies and strategies, an analysis of the best practices from Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 were undertaken through secondary research. Based on this analysis it was ascertained that during the period of time between Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, web-based promotional technologies and strategies accelerated rapidly, with social networking being a primary catalyst of that growth. As a result, the comparison of Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 shows a significantly different result when integrated marketing campaign (IMC) and promotional campaigns are analyzed.

3.1

Research Purpose

The research purpose of this study is to evaluate through both primary and secondary data how the marketing and promotional teams at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics used promotional strategies to target the best possible volunteers for these very large, complex events. Inherent in this analysis is a thorough understanding of the psychographics and motivations of volunteers. It has been seen from the literature review that a communitization aspect of their service (Shye, 2010) most often motivates volunteers. The literature review also ascertained that there are seven dominant psychographic segments of volunteers (Fernsler, 1997). These include the following along with the relative percentage of the total base of volunteers they represent: Communitarians (26%); The Devout (21%); The Investor (15%); The Socialite (11%); The Altruist (9%); The Repayer (10%) and the Dynast (8%) (Fernsler, 1997). Given the diverse nature of these segments, it is necessary to consider simple random and stratified random sampling techniques. The definition of the most appropriate sampling technique and research design needs to take into account the relative proportions of the overall population of interest and their relative hierarchy or orthogonal distance from each other (Saunders, 2009). By taking into account the orthogonality of these groups the research design will focus on their attitudinal perceptions each has of the Olympics in general and the London 2012 Olympics specifically (RLautman, Pauwels, 2009). The research design will also include interviews with marketing and promotions managers for the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics to validate or refute the assumptions and hypotheses defined as a result of the secondary research completed. (did you really do this research? I doubt you did. But will you be able to bulls**t about it?

) Only what is available and that is very sparse. The strategy has been to take the little information available on the Athens 2004 Olympics and Beijing 2008 Olympics and apply promotional strategy and IMC research to them

With this backgound in mind, the following specific research purposes are defined for this study: (I think there is some confusion here about research purposes and research methods. This should be about methods and then you can say which purposes you wanted to achieve for each method. For example, 'questionnaires were chosen in order to get first-hand information from a wide range of respondents about the factors behind their motivations for volunteering and their attitudes towards the Games themselves')

A. To determine the critical decision factors for each of the seven psychographic groups of volunteers as it relates to participating in the London 2012 Olympic Games. This will specifically focus on the factors involved in satisfaction vs. achievement, as has been noted in previous studies of motivation in the field of volunteering (Shye, 2010). (OK)

B. Using attitudinal survey data and multidimensional scaling techniques (Saunders, 2009) a factor analysis will be used to determine relative interest by psychographic group in specific sports events for purposes of volunteering for them. This will use discriminant analysis and factor analysis, two techniques defined by Saunders (2009) to create a perceptual map of each groups' perceptions of the Olympics overall and which sport venues are of most and least interest. (OK)

C. To create a volunteer interest by sport inventory and define which aspects of volunteering for each sport has the greatest significance to each of the psychographic groups. Using factor analysis and correlation matrices, preferences of respondents can be indexed to groups while preserving orthogonality of the data (Saunders, 2009). (OK)

D. The effects of web marketing and social networking as statistically significant in their contributions to the success of the Beijing 2008 Olympics relative to the Athens 2004 Olympics will be looked at. This can be attributed to social networking becoming a catalyst of more effective communication and collaboration over the long-term. (this doesn't say anything about the research methods used).

E. Social networks are effective catalysts of communication and collaboration, and in the target demographic of volunteers, Facebook and Twitter are the preferred means to get updates on volunteer training and status of specific events. (this doesn't say anything about the research methods used).

3.2 Hypothesis

The study will be guided by the following hypotheses:

H1:

Critical decision factors for each psychographic segment identified will be significantly different and support the orthogonal structure of these social groups, warranting their segmentation throughout the analysis.

B1:

There will be no statistically significant differences between psychographic segments based on their critical decision factors, and no orthogonal differences.

H1:

The attitudinal analysis and multidimensional scaling will prove to a statistically significant level that there are significant differences in how each psychographic group views each sport and venue, leading to a preference ranking by psychographic group that will guide recruitment efforts.

N1:

There is no statistical difference between psychographic groups and the preferences by sports venue will not vary; all sports venues will be seen as equal and therefore there will be no preferences defined by sport across the psychographic groups.

H1:

Based on secondary data analysis of the Athens 2004 Olympics promotional strategies, their Beijing 2008 counterpart's promotional strategies and interviews with actual volunteers for the London 2012 Olympics, the role of web-based promotional campaigns including social networking will be found to have a statistically significant effect on volunteers' initial application and continued commitment to the program. The adoption of social networking will be statistically significant across all demographic groups.

N1:

There will be no statistical significance to the use of web-based promotional campaigns or social networking-based applications on volunteer's decision to join any of the Olympic promotional campaigns studied in this analysis. Further, it will be shown that the use of social networking websites will vary significantly across demographic groups, and this will lead to a balkanization of the volunteer base.

(All these hypotheses are very statistically-based. Will you actually have the statistics to comment on them? Remember that statistics have to be accurate and well-explained) COMMENT: That is the intention and the reason why the primary research MUST be done of the organizers of the Athens 2004 Olympics and the Beijing 2008 Olympics! No, that research has not been done, that is what you are PROPOSING to do.

3.3

Research Design

The research design will be comprised of three phases. The first phase will concentrate on the qualitative research including reviews of online databases including ABI Inform, ERIC Educational and Psychological Studies database, EBSCO Host, Emerald Insight, Lexus/Nexus, Sorkins Online, and others. This first phase of the research specifically will focus on creating a solid foundation of insights and intelligence into the orthogonal nature of the psychographic groups, and to determine any previous research as to their preferences for each specific area of sport. The secondary research will also concentrate on determining the extent of empirically derived research on the effectiveness and performance of promotional programs at the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and what is in progress for the London 2012 Olympics. The combined effects of these studies will determine how best to structure the primary research studies. In devising a research design, the use of secondary data to define the characteristics of the target market is critically important, as it provides a theoretical foundation for future research (Saunders, 2009).

The second phase of the research design will be the creation of attitudinal surveys that will be given out to volunteers of the London 2012 Olympic Games. This respondent base is specifically chosen as they will most likely to have Internet access as the survey will be Web-based (why are they most likely to have web access?) at home -- the majority of the UK is wired and nearly everyone has an e-mail address, in fact they ask volunteers for e-mail addresses when they sign up . They will also most likely be the most reachable as the Athens, Beijing volunteers have dispersed, and it may be difficult to contact them. The use of attitudinal surveys is critically important for the completing of multidimensional scaling and factor analysis, leading to perceptual maps and analysis of preference points (Saunders, 2009).

The third phase of the research study will concentrate on the Athens, Beijing and London marketing and volunteer recruitment managers, interviewing them with open-ended questions to understand how they were and are using promotional strategies and programs to recruit volunteers. Open-ended questions, qualitative by nature, serve as a viable means of gaining valuable data and perspective on the subjects of research interest (Saunders, 2009).

3.3.3

Methods and Techniques

The following methods and techniques will be used for completing the research and analysis. The software programs Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used for analyzing the data and presenting it in the study itself.

3.3.3.1

Sampling

Sampling strategies will vary depending on the specific phase of the study that is underway.

Phase 1 of Primary Research:

Interviews with Volunteers for the London 2012 Olympics will be concentrated on gaining the cooperation of the Olympic Committee to partner with them, and have them send the e-mails and control access to the data. This is due to the fact that to gain access to the volunteers, the London Olympic Organizing Committee will need to have complete control of this aspect of the study. An e-mail survey will be produced and the Committee will be given the link to send out in their periodic e-mail messages to volunteers. The sampling strategy will be stratified by demographic attributes the London 2012 Olympic Committee has available. In addition, these demographic factors will be used for determining statistical significance across each demographic group. (This doesn't really say anything about the sampling strategy. You need to mention something here to link it to this).

Phase 2 of Primary Research: Interviews with marketing and planning teams for the Athens, Beijing and London Olympics will be done via telephone interviews. These interviews will be open-ended and focus on learning what the managers found to be the most and least effective in recruiting volunteers. Sampling for this specific phase of the research will concentrate on sampling only marketing managers for each of the Olympics events of interest. This sampling strategy will concentrate on the entire universe of marketing managers, as it is estimated that there are nearly one hundred by event. With the entire universe treated as a sample, greater statistical reliability and representative value of the data will be attained. (again, nothing about sampling -- this is all just about methods used, but not sampling exactly).

3.3.3.2

Questionnaires

The questionnaire for Phase 1 of the primary research will have three specific goals. First, with Likert-scale-based questions, the goal of defining which psychographic group the respondent is from will be assessed. Likert-based scaling and the use of attitude scaling provide ratio-level data which can be used for multidimensional scaling and factor analysis of segments (RLautman, Pauwels, 2009). The first survey will also specifically concentrate on aided and unaided recall of promotional programs as well. Using aided and unaided recall designs it is possible to create a forced-choice model that creates interval-level data sets (Saunders, 2009). With the data being at the interval and ratio level, it will then be possible to apply advanced statistical analysis techniques including those supported in the SPSS software that will be used for analyzing the results. The second primary research study, concentrating on open-ended interviews and questions, will be focused on how best to create a knowledge base from which meaningful analysis can be completed of the data sets.

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Glossary

Application -- A computer program that is designed for a specific purpose. In the context of this analysis, an application is a social networking application or website, such as Facebook for example, where friends and often classmates meet online to collaborate on projects.

Blog -- Digital diaries where anyone can author a series of entries, upload images and videos, and share information. There are well over 16 million blogs on the Internet as of 2010. (Ashraf, 2009).

Podcast -- A verbal or audio equivalent of a blog where instead of information being written, it is spoken and recorded. The recording is shared on the Internet, and considered a podcast when made publicly available.

Social networking -- the collection of applications and technologies that are based on an egalitarian approach to communication, collaboration and information sharing. Web 2.0 technologies are often cited as the basis of social networking development and design efforts.

Taxonomies -- Organizations of data that are defined according to the roles and inherent interests of students, and often used for managing training and learning-based scaffolding strategies.

Videolog -- The video equivalent of a blog or podcast, this is the fastest growing area of user-generated content today as YouTube gets 24 hours of video every 2 minutes.

Web 2.0 -- A series of applications and design objectives originally defined by Tim O'Reilly and published as a set of design objectives. Social networking applications rely on these design objectives to create community-based content and information sharing applications.