BUS 9553
Communication Blog # 3
The group is looking to pursue an anti-smoking campaign to discourage consumers from adopting a smoking habit and encourage those who already smoke to quit. The social entrepreneur project will attempt to improve overall public health. Research has shown that smoking causes harm to every organ in the body. Furthermore, quitting smoking immediately improves short term and long term health. We believe that the current anti-smoking campaigns do not understand what motivates consumers to smoke. We believe that it is more effective to discourage consumers from smoking using a more tangible approach, by making smokers pay more for cigarettes.
Prior studies have been performed on the price elasticity of cigarettes. However, none of these studies have been able to significantly change the price of cigarettes. Our pitch to investors will be simple. We believe that by increasing the current price of cigarettes slightly, many consumers will decrease smoking and even more will be reluctant to begin. We will need funding to conduct the necessary research to conduct a survey to validate the results of prior research. We also will need funding to lobby lawmakers to increase the taxes incurred upon purchasing a normal pack of cigarettes.
We can help our nation have a better future.
Our group is looking to pitch Echoing Green with a charity called Dress for Success. This organization will provide women from underserved and underprivileged communities with professional clothing and job interviewing preparation to maximize these women’s chances of gaining employment. The underlying benefit of this charity is that it helps people help themselves out of poverty.
The goal of Dress for Success is to assist women break the poverty cycle and remove underlying obstacles that prevent overcoming the inability of obtaining jobs and careers. We will create this charity to eventually be self sustaining through a feedback loop from successful clients who provide donations back to the organization. This will be coupled with partnerships with the Empire State Development Corporation, NYC Dept. of Labor, and corporate sponsors such as JC Penney, Macy’s and Talbots.
The charity itself will be established in the South Bronx. This will place it near our target clientele, and also within easy commuting distance to Manhattan where many job placement and municipal services are located. It will also provide easy opportunities to be found in the more wealthy areas of NYC for both our clientele and our outreach fund raising operations.
This project has natural benefits to the local economy, and the women themselves. In addition, this will benefit the greater New York economy by providing a more substantial work force, reducing the dependence on social welfare programs, and increasing the over tax base.