Marketing Plan for the Platelet Division of the Mid-Michigan American Red Cross

Summer 2012-Spring 2013

Submitted by: Chelsea Beck, Achala Gopal, Jamie Hardy, Jang Moo Lee, and I Rang Yim Submitted to: Maureen Sharp and Monica Stoneking, American Red Cross April 24, 2012

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 Situation Analysis ........................................................................................................... 3 Marketing Planning ........................................................................................................ 6 Implementation and Control ......................................................................................... 10 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 12 References ................................................................................................................... 14

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Executive Summary
In this marketing plan, we discuss the main problems facing the Red Cross platelet donation centers in Lansing and Flint, Michigan. The biggest challenge the Red Cross faces in this segment is getting first-time donors through the door (and keeping those donors coming back). In order to overcome this challenge, we propose three objectives for the Red Cross marketing department to carry out. Below, the three objectives are listed with a quick overview of how to implement each goal. 1. Reduce platelet volunteer attrition rate in the Lansing and Flint area by 10% over the next year. The Red Cross can do two things to reduce its volunteer attrition rate. First, it can continue to build strong partnerships with local businesses. By focusing on partnerships with companies that meet donor interests, it will increase the likelihood of donors coming back. Second, the Red Cross can develop an app for smart phones that will answer any questions donors might have. All the information a donor could want will be at their fingertips. Additionally, they will be able to keep a running tally of when they last donated and when they can donate again. Keeping a personal schedule will make donors less likely to forget to come back. 2. Increase platelet donation awareness in the Michigan State University Greek community to 100% over the 2012-2013 school year. To implement this objective, we suggest partnering with the Greek community at MSU. Each sorority and fraternity can spread awareness through events designed to teach their peers about platelets. Additionally, new pledges can elect to donate platelets as part of their volunteer duties. Using the Red Crosss strong brand image will be a big help in getting students to pay attention to platelets; according to Hankinson, strong brands can help strengthen awareness amongst target audiences (Stride and Lee 2007). 3. Increase platelet donations from MSU students, as a whole, from practically 0% to 1% over the 2012-2013 school year. The Greek communitys support will be key in accomplishing this objective. We hope to have a different sorority or fraternity sponsor the Red Cross platelet division each month. Members of the sponsoring organization will encourage its members and general students to donate platelets by advertising the benefits most sought after by college students (e.g., free sandwiches, movies, and rides to the donation center). Because "the act of giving to a non-profit organisation tends to be more social than economic in nature," using peers to advertise platelet donation will be the most effective (Voeth and Herbst 2008). If platelet donation is presented as an attractive thing to do, college students will be apt to donate if only to be able to tell their friends they did it.

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Introduction
The American Red Cross is non-profit and nationwide network of organizations devoted to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. With 650 chapters and 36 blood services regions, it is the largest national blood suppliers; it services more than 3,000 hospitals nationally in addition to providing aid to victims of disasters and conflicts worldwide (Red Cross 2010). Its mission is to help provide relief for victims of disasters along with helping individuals prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The biomedical services divisions mission is to provide American people the safest, most reliable and cost-effective blood services through voluntary donations and employee work. In this marketing plan, we first provide a situation analysis of the American Red Cross, which includes key strategic challenges, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the platelet divisions located in Lansing and Flint, MI. Based on the situation analysis, we set up the marketing plan through the marketing objectives, target markets, and marketing mix (a combination of product, promotion, price, and place) to achieve the Red Crosss goals. Next, we designate three objectives to be completed in the 2012-2013 school year: to reduce the platelet volunteer attrition rate in the Lansing and Flint area by 10%, to raise awareness about platelets within the Greek community at Michigan State University, and to introduce platelet donation as a new cause for the Greek community the 2012-2013. Finally, we suggest methods for implementing and controlling our three objectives. Its our hope that, with this marketing plan, the platelet division of the mid-Michigan American Red Cross will be able to attract more donors to its doors. Donors that will help save lives and increase the standard of living for patients who need platelet infusions.

Situation Analysis
Key Strategic Challenge Our focus is on platelet donation in the Lansing and Flint areas. The biggest challenge the Red Cross faces in this segment is getting first-time donors through the door (and keeping those donors coming back). This problem is complicated by the fact that Michigan Blood, Red Crosss local competitor, is able to offer more incentives to community members because of their operational budget. Porters Five Forces Threat of Substitutes is low. There are not any viable alternatives to platelets. The platelets contribute to helping the clotting mechanism of the body, and no other substance can function in the same manner. However, there are many other biological substances that people can choose to donate such as plasma or bone marrow. Plasma centers usually pay donors between $10 to $20 per donation. This monetary incentive usually brings in many of the low-income citizens of the area.

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Bone marrow donations are very different in the fact that they take several weeks and offer no incentive. Buyer Power is high. This is because the switching costs are low for hospitals; many of the hospitals in the Lansing and surrounding area are switching to Michigan Blood for their bio-medical needs. Supplier Power is low. The suppliers of the Red Cross would be the donors for the platelet program. Currently, most of the repeat donors are the retired and elderly who continue donating regularly for a personal reason. There are not many new firsttime or younger donorsa market that will be targeted in the implementation section. Threat of New Entrants is low. It is very difficult to get into the non-profit sector of platelet and blood donations. There are a lot of initial starting costs, capital needed for facilities, and several licensing and government regulations to adhere to. Michigan Blood is the sole competitor for Red Cross in the Michigan area. Rivalry Among Competitors is high. There is a very strong competition between Red Cross and Michigan Blood for donors. Both have large centers in Michigan and try to recruit platelet donors in the area.

Environmental & Industry Analysis The blood and organ industry has been steadily growing and is expected to continue rising until 2016. The demand for blood and blood products (platelets) is increasing due to transfusions, transplants, and other blood/blood product intensive procedures (Snyder 2011). There is currently not enough supply and a very high demand of these products, making the products indispensible. The amount of donations given each year fluctuates with the economy, and the recession in 2009 proved that people didnt want to donate in a bad economy. The reliance on the occurrence of natural disasters to bring in large amounts of donations to groups such as the Red Cross should be taken into account as well. Some keys statistics and facts are below (Snyder 2011). The industry brought in $10.5 bn in 2011 for revenue. The annual growth has been around 4%, however this is projected to increase to 7%. There are around 300 businesses currently operating in the blood and organ industry. There is heavy regulation of the industry, but low barriers to market. The American Red Cross had a market share of 22% in 2011. Overall, this industry is in its growth stage, and has a lot of opportunities to expand due to technological changes. The need for blood and blood products will never cease, so the organizations should work towards capitalizing on this and figuring out ways to bring in new donors and monetary donations. Strengths Personal stories. Presentations from patients personally affected are usually incredibly moving and well received by the public. Local sponsors. Sponsorships by churches are the main source of donations. They also foster a lot of community support.

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Local partners. Partnerships with local businesses (e.g., Meijer and Best Buy) are one of few ways Red Cross can provide incentives for donation. Repeat donors. Most donations come from repeat donors who are Caucasian and 30 years and older. Rebranding. Nationally, the Red Cross has rebranded itself and changed its logo in order to reconnect with the Red Crosss original purpose. Historical brand equity. The Red Cross is at an advantage because they are the biggest and oldest nonprofit of its kind. Additionally, they have the capability to provide services nationwide making sure care is given wherever its needed.

Weaknesses Donor hotline. The Red Cross offers a free service to find out more information about the company and donation policies. Unfortunately, no one knows about it. Lack of campaign to target 18-25 demographic. College students are not as aware of Red Cross platelets services as other services provided by the Red Cross. Lack of mobility. The machines needed for platelet donation cannot be moved out of the Lansing or Flint locations, so donors have to go to the Red Cross. Opportunities Minority donations. Minorities tend to have the highest percentage of O-type blood (which is what the Red Cross needs), but they have the lowest rate of donation. New marketing techniques. Flint especially, but also Lansing, has few large businesses. Traditionally, the Red Cross has targeted large businesses for partnerships, but they will have to find a new way to market in these areas. Partnerships with MSU. The Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) offers resources and is willing to form mutually-beneficial partnerships with local nonprofits like the Red Cross. Additionally, the Greek community at MSU donates more than 500,000 hours of community service each year, and each chapter sponsors a specific cause (Greek Life 2012). Demand increases. Most recipients of blood products are over 50 years old. In the coming years, this age segment will be increasing therefore the need for blood products will also increase (Snyder 2011). Social Media. Social media is a tool that the Red Cross has not really harnessed. Aside from local Twitter accounts, other social media outlets are unable to be utilized per Nationals guidelines. However, an app with useful information could be a great way to increase traffic. Threats Competitors. Michigan Blood (Red Crosss biggest competitor in Michigan) has fewer regulations on their business, making competition unfair. Also, independent plasma donation centers offer monetary incentives; The Red Cross cannot do this because of its nonprofit status. Advertising. Highly-regulated standards for advertising and monetary donations make it almost impossible for the Red Cross to advertise. Health laws. HIPAA laws make it difficult to connect with patients for marketing purposes.

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Losing customers. Hospitals are leaving Red Cross for Michigan Blood because they think Michigan Blood keeps its blood donations local and the Red Cross does not. This perception is actually false; 95% of the blood collected in Michigan by the Red Cross stays in Michigan. But, as part of a national blood agency, if the blood is needed in other Regions, the Great Lakes Region of the Red Cross will supply those Regions with blood products.

Marketing Planning
Marketing Objectives 1. Reduce platelet volunteer attrition rate in the Lansing and Flint area by 10% over the next year. As Merchant et al. states, reducing volunteer attrition rates by just 10% can increase the total value of donations by 200% over a donors lifetime (2010). 2. Increase platelet donation awareness in the Michigan State University Greek community to 100% over the 2012-2013 school year. We aim to introduce the idea of platelet donation to the MSU Greek community and ask that the board make it an official cause for the upcoming school year. We think that increasing awareness in the Greek community will act as a catalyst for increased awareness in the MSU community as a whole. Its a good way to get our foot in the door. 3. Through our connection in the Greek community, increase platelet donations from MSU students, as a whole, from practically 0% to 1% over the 2012-2013 school year. Increasing donations by 1% annually will bring in just under 500 new donors, which is a significant amount for the Lansing area Red Cross. Target Markets Due to the nature of the Red Crosss business, we consider the donors to be our customer focus. Though the Red Cross sells its blood products to hospitals, we want to focus on donor relations for this marketing plan. The Red Cross in Michigan has identified three specific target markets. 1. Pre-existing donors. The Red Cross has built a small core of loyal platelet donors. Generally, these donors have been affected, directly or indirectly, by a blood disease and therefore have a personal reason for proactively donating platelets. These donors are usually middle-aged to senior citizens, Caucasian, retired, and middle class. A community exists among these donors; they seem to band together inside and outside of the Red Cross at religious institutions, namely churches. 2. Adults ages 25 to 50. Almost all of the platelet donors come from the target market mentioned above. In order to expand platelet donations, the Red Cross needs to find donors in varied age sets. Customers in this target market have not been personally affected by platelets, so if they chose to donate, they would be seeking benefits such as personal fulfillment rather than familial obligation. 3. MSU undergraduate and graduate students. We cannot overlook the large student population in Lansing as a possible source for donors. This target market is constantly replenishing itself as students graduate and enter MSU. Students

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are looking for volunteer opportunities through their school and extracurricular activities; the Red Cross can provide for them volunteer hours to fulfill their commitments. Marketing Mix Product Platelets are a part of human blood that acts as surface-adhesion molecules. Activated by injury of a vessel wall, they signal other molecules to come heal the surface of the wall. Platelets are incredibly intelligent cells that even hold the potential to replicate. The implications of the healing power of these platelets have not been fully realized; higher donation rates will improve the scientific possibility of the platelets. Platelets are extracted from donors through a process called apheresis in which the donor blood is taken out of their body then funneled through a machine. The machine sorts out the red blood cells and platelets, preserves the platelets in a separate container, and returns the red blood cells to the donor. Platelets are collected with some plasma; without plasma the platelets would die (Leslie 2010; Boyanova et al. 2012). Unfortunately, platelets only survive a period of five days but are needed constantly for patients with cancer, arthritis, heart attacks, and strokes. Platelets competitive advantage is that they are able to adhere to damaged tissue and communicate with different cells in the body. Although platelets stand out as a product that is able to help many injured individuals and those with serious diseases, the Red Cross is confronted with difficulties in capturing more volunteer donors. Promotion Platelet donation promotions should vary based on the audience. Our marketing objectives have two clear audiences: college students and adults aged 25-50. Promotions for college students will be mostly based on word-of-mouth. Relying on members of the sororities and fraternities to spread information about platelet donation will be both inexpensive and effective. Members of the Greek community are already a part of campus; being students themselves, they know what motivates their peers. We believe hearing a message about donation from a friend or classmate will have a lot bigger effect than hearing about a blood drive on the local news. Additionally, using the Greek community as spokespeople will not cost the Red Cross anything. All sororities and fraternities have to do a certain amount of volunteer work each year, so its a winwin proposition. Possible ad campaigns could make use of the Red Crosss existing mottos and slogans while adding an MSU Spartan twist. Instead of Sleeves Up, Arms Open, All in, we could use, Sleeves Up, Arms Open, Spartans in. Promotions for 25-50 year old adults in Lansing and Flint should be completely separate from promotional efforts on campus. In the past, the Red Cross has seen the best results when it finds personal connections to a community. If some of the communitys members have been affected by diseases that require platelet infusions, that community

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is much more likely to produce consistent platelet donors. But what about the people who dont have personal connections to the Red Cross? Its those individuals that we believe need to be targeted the most. Increasing awareness about the need for platelets should be the priority here. By posting informational ads in community newspapers and magazines, partnering with local news stations, and possibly even posting signs in community centers or local hang outs, the Red Cross will begin to educate the public about platelets (what they are, how theyre used, why theyre needed, etc.). In order to differentiate platelet donations from whole blood, the Red Cross could use some sort of catchy slogan (e.g., Keep your blood, well just take the platelets!). DistributionGetting Donors in the Door We believe a key to getting new donors in the door is publicizing the shuttle to the Red Cross. While most college students dont have cars, they usually do have 2-3 hours to kill on any given weekday. Students dont lack the time needed to donate platelets, they just lack a mode of transportation. Making it very clear that the Red Cross will come pick you up will act as an incentive of its own to get new donors in the door. Price (Compensation) Another selling point for new donors, especially MSU students, is the compensation a person receives for donating platelets. A free sandwich and a movie might not seem like a lot, but college students have been known to respond very positively to free food. The same goes for adults in Flint and Lansing; if someone needed to give up a lunch break to donate platelets, the complementary sandwich might just make the time worth it. Strategic Alternatives In order to solve our three marketing objectives, we have come up with alternative solutions for each objective. Objective 1: Reduce platelet volunteer attrition rate in the Lansing and Flint area by 10% over the next year. Maintain existing relationships with local businesses, and partner with new businesses that meet the interests of donors. o PROS: Increased community involvement; shows donors how much their time means to the Red Cross. o CONS: Tricky to keep up relationships while staying within Red Cross donation guidelines; labor hours it takes to form these relationships. Create a mobile app that answers questions about all Red Cross services. o PROS: Higher exposure (especially with younger crowd); immediate answers to questions; schedule will keep donors on track; makes it easy to find donation locations. o CONS: High cost. Purchase ads on Facebook to target specific potential donors. o PROS: Targets younger generation with social media. o CONS: May not be well received; results based on number of fans; costly. Create a donor loyalty card; offer incentives with local businesses (e.g., Donate platelets ten times and receive a free latte at Biggby Coffee).

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o PROS: Brings in repeat donors. o CONS: Problems offering incentives (due to budget and getting businesses to donate). Objective 2: Increase platelet donation awareness in the Michigan State University Greek community to 100% over the 2012-2013 school year. Participate in battle of the bands and bar night to increase exposure in the Greek community. o PROS: Exposure to MSU community in natural setting. o CONS: Time and volunteer hours needed. Take part in events such as Relay for Life and other health-related events on campus. o PROS: Many people who enjoy volunteering will be there. o CONS: Might get overshadowed by the events already taking place. Create awareness events on campus, where students share personal stories. o PROS: Huge level of outreach; students can connect to other students better than the Red Cross employees can. o CONS: Students might be uncomfortable sharing stories; difficult to find students. Partner with sororities and fraternities; require new pledges to donate platelets. o PROS: Getting name out in large well-established community. o CONS: Chapters might not be interested (if they already have committed time to other causes). Team up with the Association of Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) for a blood drive. As students are waiting to donate blood, give them the option to take a shuttle to the Lansing Red Cross to donate platelets. o PROS: Student government has access to over 35,000 students on campus. o CONS: Might be hard to schedule; organization is completely student run (problems with level of authority). Objective 3: Through our connection in the Greek community, increase platelet donations from MSU students, as a whole, from practically 0% to 1% over the 20122013 school year. Assign a different sorority or fraternity each month to have the Red Cross platelet division as their official philanthropic cause. o PROS: automatic donors. o CONS: Not all Greek chapters are equal (such as membership size, level of commitment, level of outreach). Center advertising around college-specific interests (e.g., Jimmy Johns sandwiches, free transportation, and movies). o PROS: Really get into college students heads and make them feel connected/important. o CONS: Alienating rest of East Lansing; barriers to entry (such as rules about advertising on campus).

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Request that one member from each sorority and fraternity become the Red Cross platelet donation evangelist; the evangelist will spread information about platelet donation through word-of-mouth and social media. o PROS: Always have a set of people rooting for you; someone is always promoting your message. o CONS: Might seem too aggressive. Enlist a few volunteers from the Greek community to use guerilla tactics (e.g., chalking sidewalks, QR codes, posting ambiguous flyers, etc.) to advertise platelet donation. This will pique the interest of MSU students and increase donation rates. o PROS: Getting the word out on campus in ways students are most likely to respond to. o CONS: Not enough interested and committed volunteers; the message might be too vague.

Course Selected There are several different ways the Red Cross can secure more platelet donations. The following ideas, described in the implementation section below, represent what we believe to be the best course of action. We chose these alternatives with the Red Crosss limited funds in mind. We wanted to make sure that all our objectives could be achieved for the least cost possible, while still being effective.

Implementation and Control

Objective 1 In order to reduce the platelet volunteer attrition rate in the Lansing and Flint area by 10% over the next year, there are several steps to take. First, the Red Cross needs to keep its bonds with sponsors strong. The partnerships with Best Buy and Meijer have been a great help in the past incentivizing drives. If the Red Cross can get sponsored by companies that meet its donors interests, (e.g., movie theaters, cafes, and restaurants), it will be that much easier to keep donors. In order to gain these sponsorships, the Red Cross can promote the social responsibility aspect of donating to a charity. The Red Cross has a large amount of brand equity making partnerships a win-win strategy for local businesses. Second, the Red Cross could benefit from an app designed to educate people about platelets and platelet donation. In addition to the basic facts about platelets, this app could have an interactive question and answer function to help people understand the process of donating and if they are eligible. Potential donors could download the app to their smart phones, tablets, or computer and type in questions about platelets (e.g., Are there any weight restrictions for platelet donors? Is there a donation center nearby? Can I make an appointment to donate? Where will my platelets go?). The app will be programmed not only to respond to the questions but also to learn from the user. That way, users can ask questions specific to themselves (e.g., When was the last time I donated platelets? When can I donate again? How do I get to the donation center from here?). Further, users will be able to link their Twitter and Facebook accounts to the app. Every time they donate, they can keep track of it on the app and make posts about
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their experience directly to their social media networks, which will create greater exposure for platelet donation. In order to create this app, we suggest either hiring a local mobile web developer such as Gravity Works (www.gravityworksdesign.com). Gravity Works has created apps for non-profits with similar needs to the Red Cross platelet division, such as their administrative app for the MHSAA (http://www.gravityworksdesign.com/portfolio/mhsaa), so we believe they would be a good choice for the platelet app. Creating this app will likely take three to six months; we would need to schedule a meeting with Gravity Works to really nail down a time period and price, though. Success will be measured by first recording the platelet donor attrition rate before the new sponsors and app are rolled out and then taking another snapshot one year after the program has been implemented. If the attrition rate has been decreased by 10%, the program will be considered moderately successful, but we are hoping that the number of regular donors will have increased. The attrition rate should continue to be monitored into the future in order to make sure the Red Cross isnt losing donors. Since our next two marketing objectives are related to increasing the number of college-aged donors, we suggest measuring the Flint attrition rates in order to get the most accurate picture. Objective 2 To raise awareness within the Greek community, the Red Cross would like to partner with them for events each month. Some fraternities and sororities take part in events such as Relay for Life and other health-related community events. The Red Cross should start a similar partnership seeking out students in the Greek community who are willing to share their personal stories about blood and platelet-related diseases. By having awareness events each month surrounding a different story of MSU students as well as having the Greek community promote themselves, this partnership would be mutually beneficial. The Greek community could implement a program where they require new pledges to either donate platelets or help the Red Cross through volunteering. It would be a bonding experience for the new pledges to donate together because of their mutual interest in community service. Additionally, it would raise awareness for the process of platelet donation and the importance of platelets in saving lives. The Red Cross marketing department can recruit interested members from the Greek community to spearhead this program. Ten volunteers can work on a rotational basis, planning events and coordinating programs. Members from the MSU Red Cross Club can be recruited as well to help put on the awareness events throughout campus. The goal is to create a self-sustaining program on Michigan States campus that actively involves students in the platelet donation process. Two team leaders will be selected from the student volunteers to take care of scheduling and event planning throughout campus. Requesting partnerships with other student organizations such as the Associated Students of MSU or the American Medical Student Association will also be part of their duties. They will aim to put on one to two events per month on campus

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during the academic year involving different Greek chapters. This program can be implemented starting in September 2012, with the recruiting completed in July and August. Available volunteer positions can be communicated to health-related student clubs and organizations, posted in the Lyman Briggs college, as well as on myspartancareer.comthe MSU Career website. Objective 3 There are 55 fraternities and sororities on Michigan States campus, and that number is growing every year. Each of the chapters has a different philanthropic mission, and we would like to introduce platelet donation as a new cause for the 2012-2013 academic year. The Greek community at MSU is very large and influential in the student body. Using them to spread awareness about the program will help bring college students eager to fulfill their philanthropic duty through the door. We would like to have different fraternities or sororities each month take on Red Cross as their community service project. They would have a responsibility to bring in 50 donors to the Red CrossBiomedical Services (Lansing) center for the platelet donation process. If 12 Greek chapters bring in 50 students each, then the result will be 600 new donors. Advertising the platelet donation so it appeals to college students will be a challenge. Appealing to their senses will include heavy promoting of the free Jimmy Johns sub sandwiches as well as their choice of a movie. Having a Netflix or Hulu subscription might be a small step that Red Cross could take in order to have a wider selection of television shows and movies for donors to pick from. Also promoting the free shuttle service from the MSU campus to and from the Lansing center will be essential to those students who do not have cars or do not want to drive after the donation process. The Red Cross advertising department will be charge of creating the flyers, updating the Facebook and Twitter statuses, and putting together a short video about what platelet donation is and how it helps people. The Advertising department can talk to the graphic designers in the MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences for fresh and innovative new ad campaigns. The students can be contacted through the Communication Listserv, the advisors of the college, or representatives making short announcements at the beginning of the design classes. This process can start at the end of April 2012 and students who are interested can start working on the process over the summer. The ad campaign can be launched in August 2012. The number of students who come to events and sign up to donate platelets will be the way to measure success or failure. A minimum of 30 new donors each month is the goal for the 2012-2013 academic year. Each year, the minimum number of donors per month should be raised by at least 10%.

Summary
The American Red Cross Mid-Michigan Platelet division is a non-profit group that needs more volunteers and activists to ensure the growth and prosperity of this organization. Our three main objectives moving forward will be to reduce the attrition rate of volunteers in Lansing and Flint, increase awareness in the Greek community, and

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increase the number of donors from MSU. To do this the Red Cross will have to focus on how to compete with other organizations and how to attract donors. Michigan Blood and similar competition are preventing the growth of this organization by misguiding users with false statements and using materials similar to those used by the Red Cross to promote their business while hindering the help that the Red Cross can provide. Along with this immediate competition in Michigan, many groups of individuals, like minority groups and college students, are not donating platelets at all. The large community surrounding the Lansing area in particular, in part due to MSUs large campus, should be coming in to help save the lives of people in their community and around the nation. The more knowledge and gratification the Red Cross provides to their donors, the higher the likelihood is that they will continue to return. Maureen Sharp, head of marketing for apheresis in Lansing, believes that finding more donors that feel a connection to what theyre trying to accomplish will result in more donations and more lives being saved. Moving forward the Red Cross platelet division will have to focus on creative ways to intrigue more donors to come through their doors. Donations will increase in the Lansing and Flint communities through the use of social media, implementation of an application for smart devices, and the efforts of MSUs Greek community. We believe promoting the organization and focusing on the benefits platelets give, not only to cancer patients but patients with any number of diseases, will attract more donors and loyal partners to the Red Cross.

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References
American Red Cross (2010), American Red Cross Biomedical Services: A Leader in Providing Lifesaving Blood and Blood Products to the Nation, report, American Red Cross, Washington D.C. Boyanova, Desislava, Santosh Nilla, Ingvild Birschmann, Thomas Dandekar and Marcus Dittrich (2012), "PlateletWeb: a systems biologic analysis of signaling networks in human platelets," Science, 14 (March). Greek Life (2012), "Service," (accessed April 17, 2012), [available at http://www.msugreeklife.org/service]. Leslie, Mitch (2010), "Cell Biology Beyond Clotting: The Powers of Platelets" Science, 30 (April), 562-564. Merchant, Altaf, John B. Ford, and Adrian Sargeant (2010), "'Don't forget to say thank you': The effect of an acknowledgement on donor relationships," Journal Of Marketing Management, 26 (no. 7/8), 593-611. Snyder, Sophia (2011), Blood & Organ Banks in the US, November 2011, IBISWorld Industry Report 62199. Stride, Helen, and Stephen Lee (2007), "No Logo? No Way. Branding in the Non-Profit Sector," Journal Of Marketing Management, 23 (no. 1/2), 107-122. Voeth, Markus and Uta Herbst (2008), "The Concept of Brand Personality as an Instrument for Advanced Non-Profit Branding--An Empirical Analysis," Journal Of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 19 (no. 1), 71-97.

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