Oxfam
Campaign message: "Generation Why. Do what you love doing. Just change the world while you're doing it" and "Oxjam: make music, raise money, end poverty"
Aim: To inspire 16-25 year olds to get involved in Oxfam's activities - as volunteers, fundraisers and campaigners.
Launched: January 2005
Online activity: Oxfam set up the Generation Why website to tap into the link between young people and their passions, including music and fashion. "Generation Why aims to encourage young people who are passionate about important issues to work on a whole range of Oxfam projects, including campaigning and stewarding at festivals". It's not designed solely for recruiting volunteers.
To drive young people to the site, Oxfam send out emails about Generation Why to their email/ contacts list. Oxfam campaigns at festivals and band tours, and then communicates with supporters afterwards. To promote the site, Oxfam also advertises space in music festival programme (such as the V Festival). They use social networks such as MySpace and Facebook to engage young people in campaigns and volunteering issues.
Oxjam is a music festival with a difference. Across the UK in October, volunteers put on Oxjam music events to raise money for Oxfam.
PR work: For the Generation Why campaign, Oxfam has done some PR in student magazines, student newspapers, New Consumer, other student media outlets and various student guides.
Outside agencies involved: Poke for web design. Naked for branding.
Results: The Generation Why website gets 30,000 visitors per month. Their scheme involving volunteer stewards at festivals is always over subscribed with "good quality, enthusiastic volunteers".
Contact: Ben Beaumont www.oxfam.org.uk
