Case Studies
One of the most effective ways of demonstrating best practice is through the experiences of others.
Listed below you will find case studies captured from companies who have responded to emergencies using practical and successful methods.
Sky Case Study
Sky staff worked with colleagues at the Media Trust and the Community Channel to make use of the new interactive giving facility which had recently been developed for the Community Channel with funding and support from Sky. This facility enabled viewers to use the interactive ‘red’ button to donate to DEC. Sky also filmed its own appeal to broadcast.
The appeal appeared as a rolling item on all their news output throughout the day, and for the following weeks. This was the first time a news channel had agreed to promote an emergency appeal by interactive technology and it was up and running by 29 December, just three days after the first news of the Tsunami.
Every 10 minutes Sky News viewers were prompted to press the red button & donate, either by the rolling news ‘ticker’ along the bottom of the screen, or big ‘breaking news’ straps appearing onscreen or indeed with the constant verbal calls-to-action by the news presenters themselves. In addition work was done by Sky and The Community Channel to allow interactive donations to be available from third party broadcasters on the Sky Digital platform, including C4, Discovery and the BBC.
The appeal gave access to 7 million households with a Sky Box. Total donations were more than £600,000 and over 200,000 people used the facility.
Within two days of the disaster BSkyB made a corporate donation of £30,000. A decision was made to double existing match funding arrangements from £300 to £600; this was communicated to staff using a global email. Employee’s fundraising - both at work and home – was also encouraged and supported. Once the scale of the disaster became apparent, BSkyB made additional donations of £70,000, taking their total cash donation to £100,000.
Sky News used the on-screen ticker to pass information between people in the disaster area and their families. Sky Sports bid for the rights to screen the DEC cricket matches and, while these were being broadcast, Sky Sports also made use of the red button.
GlaxoSmithKline Case Study
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has a well-established programme of donating medicines for community healthcare and disaster relief. The Company works with charity partners that operate across the globe, who provide specialist expertise delivering appropriate medicines when disaster occurs. GSK’s planned donations enable these non-profit organisations to hold a range of medicines in their warehouses so they can establish strategic plans and respond promptly to emergency situations.
When the Tsunami happened in December 2004 GSK’s response was led by a standing emergency team, led by a senior manager from the corporate executive team, who kept the Chief Executive fully briefed and included representatives from across the company. The response was also influenced by advice from the area director.
In the first few days more than two million doses of antibiotics were shipped to all the affected areas. GSK believes that companies should focus on what they do best and what is most practical for them. The Company also believes that donations should only be made when people with local expertise have confirmed that they will be useful. The supply of medicine, especially antibiotics, is one of the most critical components in disaster response because they can directly help save lives and support the recovery effort.
Employees were keen to help and they were fully briefed about the GSK’s actions via the intranet and a dedicated web-page was created. This system worked well and more than 80,000 hits were recorded on the site. Not only did this help to reassure employees and make them aware of GSK’s significant contribution, it also meant that the Community Partnerships team was able to focus on managing the ongoing response.
GSK is a member of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) an alliance of donating pharmaceutical companies and humanitarian agencies who work together to encourage the timely delivery of medicines to people in need and ensure best practice.