This document summarizes research conducted for a marketing campaign for the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. Interviews and surveys were used to understand attitudes towards volunteering. Key findings included low brand awareness, confusion with similar organizations, and concerns about time commitments. Personas were developed for target segments: college students, young professionals, homemakers/retirees, and women of ethnicity. Recommendations focused on increasing flexibility, differentiating the brand, utilizing social media and partnerships with local groups to recruit volunteers from each segment.

1. EMERSON
COLLEGE
MK618 • IMC
SPRING 2012
Final Project:
Big Sister Association of
Greater Boston
Cara • Elin • Francine • Haley •
Jamie • Rich • Vicky • Walid

2. METHODOLOGY
 Personal Interview
• 16 One-to-One Personal Interviews
• 4 Potential Target Markets: College Students, Young Professionals,
Homemakers/Retirees, Women of Ethnicity
• Convenience Method
• Format = Volunteering Attitudes, Personal Experiences, Big Sisters of Boston,
Specific Target Market
 Questionnaire
• 32 Questions
• 49 respondents
• Close-ended, Multiple Choice, Scales
• Goal to uncover what elements/reasons influence women to volunteer

3. SECONDARY RESEARCH - SWOT
INTERNAL
 Strengths
• Long history of exclusively serving girls
• Well-established programs
• Serves large number of girls and communities
• Connection with many companies and organizations
 Weaknesses
• Low brand awareness and visibility
• One year commitment requirement
• Low rate of driving cars
• Weekly meeting requirement difficult for most working professionals
• Don’t fully utilize social media

4. SECONDARY RESEARCH - SWOT
EXTERNAL
 Opportunities
• Work with College Volunteer fair and Young Professional Association
• Establish community-based program visible to local community
• Social media channels available
• Telephone or video call enables time flexibility
 Threats
• Similar volunteer organizations – Big Brother Big Sisters of Boston, Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Low brand awareness to differentiate itself
• High competition for volunteering

5. PRIMARY RESEARCH – Key Findings
 Questionnaire
• Women strongly agreed people should give back to community
• Challenges: Travel distance, low participation in lunch time
• Volunteering best if aligned with one’s personal interests
• Most likely to join educational, school-based programs for children
• Unaware of Big Sisters of Boston as a separate entity
 Personal Interviews
• Low brand recognition
• Confusion about relationship between Big Sisters and Big Brother Associations
• Major volunteer concerns: time commitment, transportation and activity type
• More comfortable situation if meetings held in a neutral location
• Not comfortable in role model position

6. PERSONAS – College Students
 Laurel, 21 years old, Boston University, from California
• Single
• Has siblings
• Full-Time student with part-time job
• Willing to sacrifice time to help others in community
• Passionate and caring
• Strives towards excellence, Outgoing personality
• Great at multitasking, Good time management skills

7. PERSONAS – Young Professionals
 Leslie, 28 years old, Northeastern Grad, Lives in Medford
• Single
• Lives with two roommates
• Works as Advertising Account Executive in Boston
• Enjoys meeting people of different backgrounds
• Spends weekends doing outdoor activities or social events
• Frequently uses smartphone/tablet device for information

8. PERSONAS – Homemakers/Retirees
 Roberta, 30+ years old, lives in Greater Boston area
• Married
• Recognizes need to volunteer
• Has volunteered in the past
• Owns a car
• Stable home situation
• Has had many life experiences
• Considers networking and relationship building as important
• Understands emotional benefit to Little and Big Sister
• Flexible schedule

9. PERSONAS – Women of Ethnicity
 Andrea, 18-25 years old, BC student, lives in Brighton
• Single
• Part-time employment
• Has siblings
• Enjoys volunteering wherever she lives, sees it as an enriching opportunity
• Has patience with children
• Flexible schedule
• Religious
• Enjoys different cultural experiences
• Loves to dance, cook at home and listen to music

10. RECOMMENDATIONS
 The College Students Segment
• Big sister has to work on Differentiation to avoid confusion with similar associations.
• More time flexibility or new formulas to attract students (the 1 year commitment).
• Avoid the car ownership requirement --- ZipCar should be alternative to support students.
• Professional networking opportunities should be provided for prospective volunteers.
• A guidebook should be created for college students.
• Run TV, Radio and Printed Media advertisements, and go outdoors!
• Go Social!
• Partnering with local colleges to reach incoming students; and visit campuses to talk
about the association.

11. RECOMMENDATIONS
 The Homemakers / Retiree Segment
• Reach out to the wives of the Boston Red Sox to become “Big League
Sisters” for a Day at Fenway.
• Partner with Greater Boston school districts to recruit homemakers to
become “Lunchtime Big Sisters” at their neighborhood school.
• Partner with local Parent Teacher Organizations to help spread the
word to mothers on the need for Big Sisters in their own school
system.

12. RECOMMENDATIONS
 The Young Professional Segment
• Contacting little sisters via video call for time flexibility
• Building an online community for asking questions and sharing ideas
• Utilizing geo-location based services
• Locating print ads at public places to expose the brand
• Changing perceptions of one-to-one mentoring and the one-year
commitment via PR
• Role-model endorsement

13. RECOMMENDATIONS
 The Ethnic Group Segment
Hispanic Group
• Publishing a guidebook written in Spanish
• Organizing promotion sessions at religious organizations
• Print ads targeting college students’ multicultural associations
Asian Group
• Print ads targeting Asian students during the orientation session at the beginning of
semester
• Sponsorship or flyers to local Asian festivals

14. Questions?
THANK YOU!