Lost in Kollel » Oorah Marketing

Oorah Advice: Just Do It

aaron — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:41:01 +0000

In 2008, one of the questions posed by Oorah in the Auction Booklet was as follows:

“We get lots of requests from other organizations to share with them some of the fundraising methods employed by Oorah which have been successful. Should we refrain from sharing this information with others, or should we do whatever we can to help tzedaka organizations succeed?”

To the best of my knowledge, Oorah did not disclose the results of the responses to this question. I doubt Oorah would listen either way, as they maintain a very tight lid over their operations. (Many employees were forced to leave after they refused to sign a NDA with them.)

I would venture to say that the ultimate success that Oorah has seen in their fundraising activities is not due to any “secret” methods that they employ, or any trick of the trade that they have up their sleve. Their success lies in that they follow up their plans with actions. They don’t sit back and hope things will fall into place. Instead, they move. Plans are thought up, drawn up, and they are carried out with precision and diligence.

I would also venture to guess that even if they did share their methods with other organizations, none of them would get similar results. Why not? Because most of them, after hearing the great ideas, would just go back to their regular routine, without taking serious and meaningful action on any of their suggestions.

Cali Lewis is a highly successful gadget blogger, who creates video podcasts about the latest gadgets almost daily. She has a very devoted following of thousands. When asked by other wanna be bloggers on how to become successful, she responds, “Just get started! I can’t tell you how many times I gave advice to people, and when I meet them two months later they told me how they haven’t even done one thing I told them.”

Oorah’s success lies in their willingness to test new ideas, slightly uncomfortable productions, ceding control to their donors, and possibly many other factors. But ultimately, their true success lies in their ability to carry out their plans with alacrity and zeal, something most other organizations will never copy.

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Power to the People: Oorah Lets their Donors Decide

aaron — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:33:05 +0000

Oorah Success Strategy: Cede control to the customer, and the customer will return the favor.

In their auction booklet, Oorah features a section in which they declare: “Let Our Donors Decide” on issues that matter to them. There were questions put forth on hot button subjects such as, “Would you agree to have kiruv children in your child’s school?” “Should we feature women in our booklets and other promotional materials?” and “Do you feel that spending money on marketing and events are not effective uses of a tzedaka’s money?”

Ceding control is critical in today’s age. The internet allows anyone with a computer to publicize their opinion of your organization – for better or for worse. If customers feel they are being unfairly treated by a company, they will let others know, and the ax will fall hard on that company. Take the famous story of the person who wrote a post on his blog how terrible Dell customer service was. Eventually that post spread until it reached a point that sales tumbled and the company’s stock was cut in half.

Do Oorah’s donors actually run the organization? No, of course not! They don’t even follow the election tallies. Do they send kiruv children to regular schools? Of course. Do they spend LOTS of money on promotional materials and events? Certainly. Do they share their expertise with other organizations who seek their assistance in fundraising? Not a chance. (Ask any of their employees and they’ll tell you they have to sign a non-compete agreement in order to work there.)

Nevertheless, an organization that gives the chance for their customers’ voice to be heard gives their customers an element of control. That keeps them satisfied customers, which makes them willing to support and recommend them to others.

If you are starting your own business, follow their lead. Be sure you give the customer the perception that they are in control. That will build a strong following of devoted customers who will sing your praises to others. In the frum world especially, this is the best form of advertising you can possibly get.

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Oorah Marketing 101: Upset Some (but not all) People

aaron — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:50:36 +0000

Another vital lesson that we all can learn from Oorah is to push the limits of what most people consider acceptable. They promote themselves in ways that makes many frum yeshivishe people uncomfortable. For example, they (gasp!) feature women in their CDs. They use Lipa to create a wild and rocky performance for kids all over the world to see and emulate. They give away entertainment systems as prizes. They are all over the internet. [I have heard that a certain Rosh Yeshiva commented that he is appalled by the ugly nature of the Oorah CD - and how does he know? Because he took the time to watch it!]

However, the bottom line of everything is – Oorah is unbelievably successful at what they do. And precisely the fact that makes some people angry is what makes them so appealing to others. They stir the pot, causing people to take sides – and when people have to take sides many will choose their side, and support them even more enthusiastically than before.

In business, you will never make everyone happy. But you can make some people very happy with your performance. Do something daring, edgy, even slightly reckless – you will make enemies, but you will also make ardent supporters. Boring, safe people – they don’t become the talk of the town. Be remarkable – that is one sure way to succeed.

There are things you can do for yourself that you don’t allow yourself to do because you are scared of doing them. Its time to reconsider. One can no longer afford to be boring. Get noticed by being remarkable. And the few people that will get stirred up about you – they will be your biggest asset.

I once heard from the Yeshiva World Editor that his biggest day will come when the Rabbonim get together to ban his site. Ask anyone who’s books have been banned – as soon as the bans went into effect the author gets the most attention.

Seth writes about being remarkable on his blog. And the book that tells you how can be purchased here.

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At Oorah’s Auction, Everyone is Honored

aaron — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:23:29 +0000

What are lessons to be learned from Oorah’s Auction – and how do they apply to us?

We all know that Oorah, ever since its been run by Eliyahu Mintz, has developed into a full scale marketing powerhouse, capable of bringing in tens of millions of dollars from all their operations. But what is it they do that we allow them to convince us to send them so much of our beloved money?

There are many lessons to learn from their operation – and we’ll cover them in later posts. Here’s the one that is the focus of this post:

At Oorah, we are the honorees. There are no speeches glorifying the rich and famous, rather there are countless expressions of gratefulness for the $5 per entry. There are no fancy parties to attend, no long speeches about nothing, no obligations, no one is forced or pressured to do anything. Deep at heart, we would rather spend our money where we prefer to spend our money, not where someone else pressures us to spend it.

Where would you rather give your money – to honor someone else, or to honor yourself? At Oorah’s auction, the money you give is honoring yourself, for there is always that minute chance of actually winning something, plus there is the good feeling that comes along with giving money on your own terms.

The lesson to be learned is quite obvious – when going out into the business world, make sure the person giving you the money feels like giving you the money. Don’t go get a job by a place where the “guy is doing you a favor”. That money is hard to come by. Make yourself valuable, where your services are requested. Hopefully, you can build up your reputation so that people are throwing money at you like an Oorahthon.

It is totally within your abilities to attain that desirability. If you are sincere, dedicated, and truly seek to help those who you are providing services for, you will get there. If you don’t, your income will be entirely at the mercy of the people who feel compelled into paying you – and that doesn’t put you in a safe situation at all. Ask any yeshiva administrator how secure they are feeling during this recession. And Oorah – why they sail right through this economy without skipping a beat. Why? Because money that people want to spend doesn’t stop during a recession.

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Random Thoughts from the Oorahton

aaron — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:27:35 +0000

As Oorah was carrying on their annual show in which grown men act silly for the purpose of raising money for a worthy cause, I made some observations, which I present to my wonderful readers for their feedback.

According to some rough calculations, Oorah raised at the very least $500,000 in the 4 hours from 10 PM – 2 AM, in addition to the many millions of dollars raised throughout the year from their auction, their various businesses, and other fundraising activities.

Its hard to place a solid figure on the actual numbers, but it definitely is substantial enough that Aaron Kotler of BMG only wishes he could get his hands on.

When you stop and take a moment to think about it (does anybody do this anymore?), you may wonder what is so special about Oorah that they are able to raise so much money? Now granted, Kiruv Rechokim is a very worthy cause, and I am not taking that away from them. But we are talking about sums of money that are unimaginable anywhere else – even Chai Lifeline, which does tremendous work for children with cancer, can’t match their fundraising capabilities.

The answer is simple – Oorah’s marketing works. When the Oorah Auction booklets hit your mailboxes in December, you marvel at all the creativity and talent – and then you proceed to enter the drawing. When the notices go up about the early bird deadline, the same thing happens again. And when the Great Big Oorahthon Event takes place, you turn on the radio – just for a moment – and get sucked in again with all the hoopla and the frenzy. Their marketing creates a sense of urgency, which makes you feel compelled to join in the action.

Is Oorah the most worthy organization for our tzedaka money? There is no easy answer to that. But one thing is clear – their marketing works.

Are you wondering – how does Oorah’s marketing help me as I try to leave kollel? There are numerous lessons to be learned, and we will explore them in future posts.

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