The Harvard Business Review recently published an interesting article on the earthquake in Haiti and how charities were able to raise $560 Million dollars in only 17 days. HBR makes the claim that hundreds of thousands of people day everyday, due to disease, wars and other horrific circumstances, yet charities fighting against these problems make nowhere near as much as Haiti. The main point HBR emphasized in the article was that “The reason people are giving so much money to Haiti is simple: They are hearing about it.” He goes on to say that the media is publicizing the disaster so much that it would cost ” many tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars” in marketing funds.
My initial reaction to the story was shock, in finding out how successful varying facets of marketing can be in a short period of time. From the celebrity endorsements to 24 hour news coverage, the combination of effective media influences created an overwhelming response and incredible humanitarian effort.
As for the author, Dan Polatta, and his belief in the importance of awareness for Non-Profits, I completely agree. Polatta emphasized that if we replicate the response for Haiti in marketing and advertising for all human tragedies, we’ll see impeccable growth in the non-profit sector. After a recent interview on MTV about the aftermath of Haiti, Rapper Lil Wayne said “It’s amazing what’s been done for Haiti, but it’s amazing what hasn’t been done for New Orleans.” This made me question the theme of Polatta’s article and whether Wayne was referring to the lack of media coverage and it’s effect on the rebuilding of New Orleans. It’s hard to compare the two natural disasters since one took out a whole country and another a U.S. city. But I do think the correlation between media coverage and government assistance exists and was made poignantly in Wayne’s comment.
In regards to the overall Haiti relief effort, it’s pretty amazing how far we’ve come in terms of donating money and the technologies available to us. The fact that organizations such as Red Cross and Wyclef’s YELE Haiti Foundation allowed individuals to text their donations was huge. Hopefully this trend continues and we’re able to give even more back to the organizations that need it.
One Comment
I was amazed as well at the generosity of everyone in this time of need. The components of it being so easy to text a donation from your phone – plus the amounts of $10 or $5 was set just right where people were willing to give that up. Great article!