The Alzheimer’s Association has chosen Rapp Collins Worldwide to handle the direct marketing for a re-branding effort rolling out early next year. The budget for the program is $20 million, with $15 million of that devoted to direct marketing.
Rapp Collins, an Omnicom Group company, will work with sister Omnicom divisions Porter Novelli International, which will handle public relations, and Changing Our World, which will provide fundraising support.
The direct marketing had been handled by Thompson Habib Denison, an agency that specializes in fundraising for voluntary health organizations such as Alzheimer’s. “They are very good at that,” said Kathryn Kane, senior vice president, brand management and marketing at the association. “We just went to a different model.”
The re-branding model is centered on delivering more than raising money. The message will be that with proper funding, Alzheimer’s can be cured in 10 or 20 years, Kane said.
“People should not be afraid of this disease,” she said. “They should seek a diagnosis, there’s help available, there’s a lot of reason to hope. We can conquer this disease.”
The Alzheimer’s Association main focus is to raise money for research. “We want to get out the word that we are the ones to turn to for research,” Kane added.
Direct mail is the 33-year-old group’s biggest communication channel, sending out 40 million pieces a year. The new effort “is an integrated campaign being driven by a common position and strategy,” she said.
Plans call for Rapp Collins’ analytics, strategy and segmentation capabilities to be applied to expanding the donor base and increasing the average dollar amount generated.
“We want to do something more innovative and adapt state of the art direct marketing capabilities,” Kane said. “We believe it’s going to really improve our revenue generation.”
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