Help with KONY 2012 speech?

[Sophie]

For my marketing class at university, we have to write a 10 minute speech (in a group, so i only have to do about 600 words) about a 'marketing highlight' of something recent in social media and we chose the kony 2012 campaign. I am aware it was all bullish*t and a scam and what not but we are ignoring that and focusing on how amazingly the video spread around social media so quickly and vastly. Can anyone help me as to where I can start? I need to focus on the Placement of the marketing highlight (on the internet/youtube), the product itself (the actual video campaign) and the promotion of it (again on the internet, and promoting the cover the night thing and selling the packages etc) Im just stuck on where to start, Im doing the middle part of the speech and I don't know what to start on please any help!?

[Rachael]

Hi there!

Here are some great links to understand the "Kony 2012" campaign from a marketing aspect:

"Why your non-profit won't make another KONY 2012:" http://communicopia.com/insights/why-you...-kony-2012

"KONY 2012: See How Invisible Network Helped a Campaign Capture the World's Attention:" http://blog.socialflow.com/post/71202449...-attention

What you can see is that the movement did not originate in big cities, instead it coincided with Invisible Children's 14th international tour in which they send out teams of full-time volunteers (including Ugandan advocates who have experienced the effects of the war firsthand) to cities across the U.S. and Canada to share the story of the war in schools, universities, and places of worship. Cities like Birmingham, Dayton, and Oklahoma City, where the "roadies" (full-time volunteers) were presenting the story, were the cities where the campaign really began to gain momentum.

I'd urge you to take a closer look at both the organization and the campaign before writing it off as "all bullsh*t and a scam" because not only was it the most viral campaign in history, but Invisible Children is a respectable organization in how they spend their money and their programs on the ground in the LRA affected regions.

See Charity Navigator's response to the misinformation spread about Invisible Children and their financials: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cf...&cpid=1359


While you may not agree with how the campaign was carried out, I'd be willing to bet that you were unaware of who Joseph Kony and the LRA were prior to the release of the video. This campaign not only permeated culture and reached a vast demographic, but influenced legislative policy and brought worldwide attention to the conflict that it had never received before.

Because of the "Kony 2012" campaign, 7 pieces of LRA-focused legislation were introduced to the U.S. Congress, the African Union announced they would spearhead the mission to dismantle the LRA and arrest Joseph Kony and his top commanders, the European Union announced its support to stop the LRA, President Obama announced the re-committment of the U.S. advisors to capture Kony and his top commanders, Jacob (from Kony 2012) testified at the U.S. Senate's Africa Subcommittee about his experience with the LRA, among many other things. As you can see, it was never just about selling bracelets or action kits, they were just one of the MANY means that Invisible Children used to bring attention to Kony and the conflict.

For more about the effects of the campaign, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW0urVPgL...plpp_video