Unicast

As soon as the string of earthquakes hit Haiti, I ran to my computer to learn more about how I could help and where I should go to donate money, food or clothing. To my surprise, googling was not getting me very far. My search results were full of sketchy websites that I wasn’t comfortable with plugging my credit card information into. In addition, I tried donating money through the American Red Cross website and the pages were not loading correctly or storing my information. As a typical Generation Y’er I immediately became frustrated. After all, I was at work with a million things to do and had already wasted twenty minutes of my morning. I desperately wanted to help but I needed a way that was quick, easy and seemed relatively safe. This is when a colleague of mine told me about Wyclef Jean’s Yele foundation which had set up a text messaging service for the earthquake relief effort. It allows people to donate $5.00 by simply texting the word “Yele” to the number 501501. I did it immediately and ten seconds later I received a notification confirming my donation. Shortly after, I learned I could donate $10 to the American Red Cross by texting "HAITI" to 90999. I was delighted and donated to the Red Cross as well. It took me less than a minute to make a difference! I immediately went on facebook to update my status with my recent discovery to encourage all of my friends, networks and colleagues to donate and it worked. My friends were ecstatic to learn there was such a quick and easy way to help.

As part of generation Y this is how I live, work and communicate. Texting and facebook have become the easiest and fastest way to share things with my friends without pausing my day for more than 15 to 30 seconds. On the other hand, as a marketing professional I can’t help but to look at the world around me in awe. I’m amazed by the way we have all united and taken advantage of the technologies at our disposal to help Haiti during such a difficult time. According to “Mobile Ad Campaigns Unite for Haiti Relief” written by Mark Walsh, the American Red Cross has raised about 30 million dollars through their text messaging campaign. Through a similar initiative the Yele foundation was able to raise close to two million dollars in a matter of two days. It is inevitable to recognize the power of marketing via these mediums but only if it is done right.

Mobile and Social Network Marketing are powerful but only if the users want to share the information that is being placed in their hands. This is important for all marketers to keep in mind. Your campaign must connect with the user in some way. Your brands logo and slogan are not enought to make the cut. The message must touch the user in a way that they will feel compelled to act or share content - and what does generation Y want to share? We want to share things that make us laugh, help make our lives easier, allow us to voice our opinions and enable us to help anyone around the world without a lot of fuss. Most importantly, it has to be quick and easy because our time is precious and wasting it is not an option.