Have you ever seen something marketed exactly the same way as something else from a different company?
This past summer, I went volunteering overseas in Australia with International Student Volunteers, Inc. I first heard of this program when a guy with an Australian accent ran into my French 222 class last September, gave a quick spiel about volunteering abroad, and passed out sign up sheets and fliers with the details of where info sessions would be held. Though I thought there was a good chance that this was a scam, I was curious enough to actually attend an info session, and even bring a friend with me.
After that info session, both my friend and I were sold on the trip. We both paid a registration deposit fee on the spot, and a week later, we paid our non-refundable program deposit fee. Thinking about it, the marketing strategy is pretty ingenious. Past ISV volunteers can sign up to be representatives (like me this year!) and start promoting the program as soon as classes start. Campus recruiters are flown in from some of the countries where you can volunteer at to do classroom announcements and host info sessions. Worried about how expensive it’ll be? They have free packages with letters for you to send out for sponsors. And you can earn academic credit, too. It’s no wonder why I signed up so quickly.
It didn’t take long for other organizations to take notice of how successful ISV’s marketing strategy was. About a month ago, ISV sent out emails to all alumni warning us of a new organization called VESA. Apparently, VESA completely ripped off ISV’s methodology, and even had info sessions that were word for word the same as those of ISV. There were lawsuits involved, and VESA even had a temporary restraining order to stop campus promotion.
Honestly, I don’t understand why VESA is doing this since it puts them at a disadvantage. Ignoring the legal implications, copying ISV’s marketing strategy means that ISV would always be one step ahead. As well, starting an organization with a marketing strategy developed for an established organization would also mean that there would be abnormally high costs involved. For example, flying campus recruiters to universities is not cheap. Instead of copying ISV, VESA should have improved upon any shortfalls of the marketing strategy and adapted it to fit their needs.