home

__MAC Aids Fund__

The MAC Aids Fund, established in 1994, is a campaign provided by MAC Cosmetics that is dedicated to supporting women and men of all ages and races who are living with HIV/AIDS, specifically in communities or countries that are typically neglected. For every MAC Viva Glam Lipstick - retailed at $14.50 - that is sold, 100% of the profits go directly to the campaign fund, which subsequently supplies a remarkable variety of resources for those infected. Some examples of the funding include 1 month of public transportation for women to visit a doctor, 14 blood glucose monitoring strips, 1 pair of shoes for a child orphaned by aids, 1 rapid oral HIV test, counseling, daycare and much more.

** 1. What is the issue or cause this organization or individual is targeting? ** The MAC Aids Fund focuses on providing support and resources to the victims of HIV/Aids, specifically those living in certain areas of the world that people don't generally want to go.
 * 2. What methods are being used by the organization or individual to promote this cause (Facebook, twitter, etc.)? Be specific.**

As far as social media goes, the MAC Aids fund seems to have applied very little to their campaign. They have a great website that gives a lot of information on their platform, mission, press, and application process, however, they do not have an official Facebook page or Twitter account. With that being said there ARE Facebook pages, but none of them linked directly to the program. There is a MAC Aids fund page with 127 likes at the moment, a full description of what they stand for, unfortunately that is as good as it gets. It is still lacking a main photo, and most importantly has no “wall” available for fans to interact. As for Twitter, again there is no official account, BUT they have Lady Gaga as their spokesperson. This is major considering that she has more people following her on Twitter than the president of the United States. With 14,9420,331 followers at the moment she can get a lot of recognition for the MAC Aids fund all through a simple mention. Despite the lack of effort to exist on social media platforms, the fund has garnered a strong following on twitter in the form of mentions. There is currently no popular hashtag, but brand knowledge very much exists.
 * 3. What has been the result so far of this effort?**

Although aids research receives millions of dollars in funding annually, the fatal disease still remains prevalent in our culture. The subject of Aids and HIV is delicate amongst our society, however the creation of thousands of foundations have been established to hopefully find a cure in the near future. Mac Aids Fund have launched multiple programs not only in America, but in other countries as well to create self awareness and the issues that coincide with sex.

The topic of aids is delicate and it doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. However, our society has developed an increasing awareness of the magnitude of the problem we’re faced with. Despite millions of dollars in annual federal funding towards research, the disease still lacks a cure. This has propelled the establishment of many foundations to take strides towards finding a solution. The Mac Aids Fund has launched multiple programs in America and outside countries in order to raise self-awareness in regards to issues coinciding with sex. In North America, they aim for harm reduction and issue community grants. Internationally, the foundation focuses on the prevention of the aids and HIV epidemic in South Africa and the Caribbean. Their special programs include the integration of kids helping kids as well as a women’s initiative to increase knowledge. Mac Aid’s Fund goal is to go places and communities that don’t have the necessary essentials to be healthy.

Mac Aids Fund is led by famous pop star Lady Gaga who is destined to encourage the growth of the foundation. Obviously, a woman of great popularity has grabbed the attention of not only thousands of her fans, victims, supporters but other celebrities as well. The campaigns social media is undeveloped, although has reached the news such as the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, POZ Magizine, and even the television show Good Morning America. Lady Gaga’s efforts have been greatly valued by the world where Wall Street Journal who quoted her as “the perfect model for self-advocacy.” The Mac Aids Fund understands the fundamental importance of health promotion and has taken the responsibility of working towards the comfort and cure of those affected. **4. Evaluate the effort overall. Is this effort creating a positive brand for the organization or individual? Is there there a chance this effort might backfire? Does it appear that the organization or individual really cares about the cause, or are they doing it for publicity? Covering the history of the issue, the current impact and future challenges as appropriate.** The MAC AIDS fund creates an incredibly positive brand for both MAC cosmetics and for the people living with HIV/AIDS that it supports. Although the campaign has increased the number of consumers who purchase from MAC, it is obvious that they are not doing it just for publicity. The fact that 100% of profits go toward the cause proves that they really do care about the issue. This creates the only potential backfire: that they could lose money from the effort and be forced to shut it down. However, the cause has been ongoing successfully since 1994 and has only grown. The line began with a single red lipstick and now includes 6 different shades of lipstick and lipglass. To date, the campaign has collected over $224 million and donated $2.6 million to other HIV/AIDS campaigns, including the International Leadership Awards, MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, and TeachAIDS. In addition to that, they have donated $500,000 simply to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in Asia and Africa. The money that the MAC AIDS Fund raises and uses itself goes to a variety of uses. The money from one lipstick can provide: 254 male condoms 24 female condoms 32 safe sex kits 2 nights of shelter for a homeless person with HIV/AIDS 1 rapid oral HIV test 8 meals for an infected person that cannot cook for themselves transportation to medical appointments 4 HIV tests for newborns medicine to prevent infant to mother transmission for 5 babies 14 HIV tests for pregnant women 1 counseling session for someone with AIDS, an addiction, and who is homeless a year of clean syringes for an injection drug user, OR 3 meals for 3 HIV/AIDS children in South Africa The only challenges the MAC AIDS Fund could potentially face is if they end up losing money on the campaign. They could be forced to end it if that happens. Another challenge they could face is if they stop receiving celebrity endorsements. With each new lipstick shade that comes out, MAC gets a celebrity to endorse it and be the spokesperson for it. If no celebrity was willing to become the spokesperson, they could face some challenges. Other than that, the only challenge they may face would be a beneficial one: if there were to be a cure for AIDS. Even then, they would most likely alter their campaign to raise funds to bring the cure to those who can’t afford it. Overall, the MAC AIDS Fund has been incredibly successful at giving back to the community. The entirely nonprofit campaign has done wonders for the HIV/AIDS community. _ It is evident that the MAC Aids fund has done a great job raising awareness and money for thousands of men and woman living with HIV/AIDS. A huge component of this success is the fact that they donate 100% of the profits made. One thing that would really improve this campaign would be to add more social media. Through tools such as Twitter and Facebook customers can interact with MAC, learn more about this great cause, and most importantly get involved. It would be a successful way to advertise and sell even more Viva Glam Lipstick. Another idea that could really add a kick to this campaign would be to set up a Youtube video showing live footage of the people living in these rural areas, that way the potential customer can experience a taste of what these people are going through day to day and physically see how their MAC donation can help. If MAC stays on task with using big name celebs (such as Lady Gaga) to help advertise and encorporates some more social media into the campaign, success can only go up! I would like to thank MAC for educating the new generation on HIV/AIDS and how we can help.