Friends of the Earth Malta : an integrated marketing communications plan

Abstract

This plan presents a comprehensive study of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Friends of the Earth Malta (FoEM), and the Not-for-Profit Industry (NPI) within the Maltese Islands. FoEM is the Maltese subsidiary of an international network of grassroots organisations. Each organisation within the network is devoted to creating solutions that promote social and environmental welfare. The plan will commence with a situation analysis. The Maltese NPI will be discussed, which represents FoEMs internal and external environments. A detailed examination of the organisation itself will also be presented, along with its promotional and marketing programs as well as internal and external audiences. The second section of this plan bears the methodology used for the qualitative study, conducted so as to gain further insight into Maltese environmental NGOs and, specifically, their marketing communications. The results obtained from six in-depth interviews are illustrated and analysed, and discussions are subsequently presented. Based on these preceding sections, a set of objectives and a strategy are constructed; these will serve as the foundation of the IMC plan designed for FoEM, along with the budget. The IMC plan is presented in Section Five, followed by a table for implementation and the measurement efforts needed to calculate its effectiveness. In order to give clarity to this whole report, it is considered necessary to define and specify the key terms that will be used throughout. According to the Voluntary Organisations Act (VOA) of 2007, a volunteer is a person who offers unpaid services through or for a voluntary organisation. Consequently, voluntary activity is carried out by an individual without regard to financial gain (GHK, 2011). A donor, on the other hand, is an individual who makes voluntary donations of money or assets to NGOs (Chetcuti Cauchi, 2010). The VOA of 2007 also describes an NGO as one that is founded on the grounds of any lawful purpose and as a non-profit making establishment (Chetcuti Cauchi, 2010). Throughout the entire report, the terms Not-for-Profit Organisations (NPOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), voluntary organisations and charities will be used to refer to the same class of organisation, as described above, and will therefore be used interchangeably. Similarly, the terms Not-for-Profit Industry (NPI) and voluntary sector will also be used to refer to one and the same industry and will also be used interchangeably throughout the paper. Finally, reference will occasionally be made to the Maltese Islands and often just Malta. Each of these terms will include reference to both Malta and Gozo, as all aspects of Maltese NPI are also applicable to the island of Gozo.