Nothing But Nets and "The Dragonfly Effect"

So, I am not currently very actively involved in any organization other than my sorority, Sigma Kappa, and our philanthropies for Alzheimer's and Inherit the Earth. However, in the past I have always made sure to make small contributions whenever I have felt particularly compelled. But what drove this compulsion?

One organization I was immediately attracted is NothingButNets.net, a non-profit campaign dedicated to the treatment and prevention of malaria. I’m really not sure how I initially stumbled upon it, only that I was instantly intrigued and donated $10 on a complete whim. Now, looking back, I want to apply the business model from the book The Dragonfly Effect by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith to figure out why I felt so moved to help this cause. I will use the concepts to analyze the effectiveness of this non-profit organization as well as examine social media’s role in the overall set up of Nothing But Nets.

What exactly is Nothing But Nets?

First of all, Nothing But Nets is located at http://www.nothingbutnets.net. They are aligned with and backed by UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Their aim is simple: “Send a net, save a life.” This slogan appears as the byline to the main headline on the site, and clearly states the intent of the organization. It is simplistic and effective. Another slogan seen around the website is “Malaria kills. Nets save lives.” The premise is obviously to help prevent and simultaneously cure those who have malaria.  For just $10, you can send a net to someone who really needs it. 

You don't even need to look past Google to get the gist.

Before you can access the site, a pop-up occurs urging to donate.

Focus: The Goal

In The Dragonfly Effect, Aaker and Smith outline main points of focus to be used as an evaluative model. The first step in establishing a good business model is having a clear, “laser-like focus” (20).  Nothing But Nets does this very effectively in their “About Us” tab on the website. Their mission is clearly established and is outlined on the website, easily conveying the simplicity of their goal in one short paragraph:

Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to raise awareness and funding to fight malaria, a leading cause of death among children in Africa. Nothing But Nets provides everyone – students to CEOs, bishops to basketball players – the opportunity to join the fight against malaria by giving $10 to send a net and save a life. (Nothing but Nets, About Us page)

No further explanation needed. Maybe further convincing, but no explanation.

Extending the idea of  “laser-like focus” further, you can address the macro and micro goals of the organization. Aaker and Smith define a macro goal as “a long-term goal that identifies the problem you intend to close” and a micro goal as “a short term goal that is small, actionable, and measurable” (27). The macro goal is, essentially, “to cover Africa with life-saving bed nets.” However, the micro goal runs parallel, as a $10 donation to buy a net. They go hand and hand and are essentially the same. I think this is part of what makes Nothing But Nets so successful – it is not hard to articulate the goals, and the macro goal is attained directly through the micro goal. Simply spreading the word and making a small donation will help. In this world of high-speed Internet and ADHD-addled children, it is hard to hold the consumer’s attention for more than a minute. Luckily for them, Nothing But Nets is so clear and steadfast in their goal that a concise slogan is actually enough to describe the entirety of the organization.

Grabbing Attention

The next step that is necessary in forming a successful non-profit, according to The Dragonfly Effect, is to tackle is the need to grab the attention of the viewer while simultaneously keeping it. Aaker and Smith explain when “you turn and look when someone calls your name. Why? Messages that metaphorically call out your name cultivate feelings of personal relevance” (55). Businesses grab attention by getting personal. Nothing but Nets has to forge a personal connection, or play to the sympathies of the average American consumer.

The homepage of Nothing But Nets.

The slogan, the website name, and the pictures on the homepage satisfy organization’s goals. The front page is emblazoned with large photos of sweet, smiling, often slightly emaciated, African children that take up almost the entire web page. These large pictures are clearly meant to tug at the heartstrings of the viewer and make them feel personally connected to this child, who might look just like their own beaming toddler. It really isn’t even necessary to click on the “About Us” tab to realize what the aim of the organization is, or to feel a sense of inspiration. They outline their call to action in bright orange font, next to the main headline. There is a “LEARN” tab with the sub header “Malaria kills. Nets save lives.” Next to it, there is an “ACT” tab with the sub header “Spread the word.” Finally, and this tab is highlighted in bright orange in an obvious ruse to attract the viewer’s attention, it says “GIVE” with “Send a net. Save a life” emblazoned below it. How much more straightforward can you get? Nothing But Nets does not even require one extra click before the viewer knows exactly what is needed to contribute. There's even a "NET-O-METER" at the bottom of the page, giving a total count of nets donated thus far. Not only that, but there also interactive games meant to pique the interest of the reader and get them involved in a nonchalant manner.

Interactive map on the site.

However, many people do like to learn more before they move to take action. The “LEARN” tab effectively covers those bases in concise paragraphs littered with statistics. These facts are listed in bullet point form for quick perusal. Nothing But Nets dedicates a page each to “What is Malaria,” “How Malaria Affects Communities,” “Where We Send Nets,” “How to Help: Send a Net,” and finally, “Become a Netvocate.” Step-by-step, each page forges a connection to the cause for the viewer, from sympathizing with those plagued by malaria, to vast figures that show the widespread affect malaria has on communities, to a final call to action. By this point, the viewer feels so compelled to help that it feels very nearly impossible to ignore helping out.

Engage & Take Action

While browsing through the Nothing but Nets website, you can’t help but feel inspired to get involved. As described above, Nothing But Nets does an excellent job empowering readers by the mere aesthetics of their webpage – from the language used to the overall, picture laden, bright orange layout of the website. It becomes clear that Nothing But Nets also applies numerous techniques articulated in The Dragonfly Effect to engage and call the reader to action.

One aspect that sticks out to me the most is the convenience and selection an interested user has in taking action. Wing 4 of The Dragonfly Effect (otherwise known as “Take Action”) allots an entire design principle to this concept. In the book, Aaker and Smith claim that the best non-profits “make it easy” for people to get involved.  In particular, they believe that valuing people’s time leads to success because “when you ask for time, your product or cause can become more alluring and better liked.” (120) Nothing But Nets does this expertly, with a bright orange tab at the top of the page that takes you directly to a simple donation page. It’s like the creators of Nothing But Nets are following Aaker and Smith’s model to a T!

Nothing But Nets calling YOU to action!

In this respect, the non-profit accomplishes yet another aspect of the social media for social change business model presented in The Dragonfly Effect. Aaker and Smith advise readers “no person is too high on the social, economic, or political scale to approach for your cause.” (118) For those less ambitious viewers, Nothing But Nets merely calls on you to become a “Netvocate” and “spread the buzz.” All they ask for is to “bringing the Nothing But Nets message to new audiences, including decision-makers on Capitol Hill with NETvocacy.” Just by talking about it with others, the cause is publicized. For others, you can simply donate $10. Broke?  You can send a letter to Members of Congress today and tell them to support funding to end malaria. There is a short form – with a pre-written letter attached – to send directly to members of our Congress. Can’t get much easier than that.

Nothing but Nets is extremely savvy in their call to action. They have many options available to help out, all of which are extremely easy. If you feel immensely inspired, you can also become a NETraiser. This is described as a “fun, team-oriented fundraising tool. If you like recruiting friends, family, neighbors, or classmates to donate for a cause, NETraisers is for you.” By becoming a NETraiser you have the ability to create your own team, set a goal, and encourage your team members to reach the goal. Set up a $1,000 goal, get 10 friends to give $10 each and you send 100 nets. There is a consumer-friendly website especially for NETraisers, and you can sign up and get started in under a minute. To further motivate interested volunteers, there is also a “CHAMPIONS” page that highlights the successes of a few extraordinarily motivated NETraisers.

Further, Nothing But Nets does an excellent job of fulfilling Wing 3 (“Engage”), design principle 4 – “Match the Media” (97). When you scroll down on the very homepage, there is a section called "Nothing But Nets on the Net" that aggregates all of Nothing But Nets social media outlets in one spot. On the “Get Involved” page, each method of involvement has it’s own little blurb, outlined with concise headlines. This is especially important and probably the easiest of all – with three large icons, they have clickable links to their Facebook page, Twitter page, and YouTube page. These are also easily accessible on the homepage on the bottom left. By imploring readers to simply “Like,” “Share,” “Follow,” or “Watch” they are effectively “spreading the buzz” with just two clicks of a mouse. Lastly, Nothing But Nets even corners the merchandise market, with a Nothing But Nets apparel page. Here to, the organization applies a call to action by not only spreading the buzz via the walking advertisement of the shirt-wearer, but also by guaranteeing that $10 of each purchase “will send a net and save a life of a child in Africa. Some people wear their heart on their sleeves. Why not wear your cause on yours?” How can you not buy a t-shirt after that?!

Overall

No wonder I donated to this organization way back when! I strongly believe that Nothing But Nets is an exemplary model for applying social media for social change. They do everything they can to implement the most effective strategies to reach out to all audiences in every way they can, as well as making sure to have numerous “Take Action” options available to viewers. It’s very hard to go to their web page and leave without having done something to help out when the action is so very simple. Perhaps simplicity is indeed the key to social change.