Marketing for NPOs: to suceed you need a strategy - Greenpeace as an example

More and more organizations rely on social media to attract attention, such as the NPO (non profit organization) Greenpeace as already mentioned.

The organization targets a corporation that is not acting the way it should (Nestlé in the past, now BP) and goes against the corporation's work with activities in different media.

Also in its latest campaign against the company BP, Greenpeace connects social media very effectively with real actions - mainly guerrilla actions.

Greenpeace currently has graphic designers and other creative people rebrand the previous BP logo - in a competition on their webseite. The logo of the company is to be redesigned to match the dirty business of the BP-group. The previously submitted logos are all very creative.
So BP (British Petroleum) is changed into beelzebub profits, broken pipe, pollution business, big profit - it's never enough, best practices, big problem, best pest, poison black, yellow fever, british predator, big pollute, or peng bum. Slogans were changed as well, for example "BP - we oil the world", "SBP - silent but deadly", "not so slick actually - BP", "BP - burn our planet", "BP - PB - planet breakup", "children could run it better - probably "," RIPBP "," BP - we united drill. It's definitely worth taking a look at the picture gallery of submitted work! Should BP ever think of a rebranding, it would be easy for them to draw from the pool of logos of Greenpeace. However, whether these logos are good for BP's image is rather questionable.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace activists attached a flag with BP's new logo (BP - British Polluters) at the BP headquarters in London. Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyEWwsm7wfQ

A few days ago, Greenpeace activists were arrested in the US, because they painted oily messages on a ship loaded with oil. At least, this gets the organization in the headlines and focuses attention on the real problem - the oil spill.

Greenpeace is doing its best to draw attention on what BP is doing. At the same time, the organization also makes the public aware of the real problems of the oil spill. Greenpeace is currently taking water samples and documenting the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico - with employees, scientists and volunteers.

Behind all these efforts by Greenpeace lies a well-developed strategy. However, just like many other NPOs, Greenpeace has to respond quickly to emerging problems. That means, there is a risk that even though a strategy has been worked out, you have to improvise.

Therefore, NPOs have to develop a basic strategy in order to be able to react quickly. The strategy should include many (different) media: guerilla actions, documented and distributed through the Internet and social media, as well as hands-on activities, which can also be distributed online. Then, of course, the organization should also ensure that the cooperation between employees and volunteers goes smoothly.