JMS+375+Group+6

On the Edge of Glory with Gaga: Lady Gaga and Cause Marketing Lady Gaga: Source Flickr.com Creative Commons By: kindofadraag [|Link]

JMS 375 - Group 6 Joseph Knox – Cristina Nathan – Drew Inabinet – Whitney Ashley

Introduction - Joseph Knox Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is an extremely popular singer, songwriter, and entertainer. Whether it is wearing a dress completely crafted of raw animal meat, hatching herself from an egg on the red carpet, or feeding her “monsters” appetites with repeated top hits such as “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” and “Edge of Glory,” Germanotta is currently sitting atop the world. Better identified by her stage name, Lady Gaga, she has taken advantage of her fame and influence over her fans in a largely positive way.

With well over eleven million followers on Twitter [|Link], more than thirty-nine million fans on Facebook [|Link], and her own YouTube page [|Link], Lady Gaga has contributed to global efforts concerning issues such as HIV and AIDS awareness, the devastation in Haiti, and the defense of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide. It was, however, her use of digital and social media during the aftermath of the dreadful earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March that had even //The Economist// comparing her leadership strength to that of Mother Teresa’s [|Link]. Lady Gaga poster in Harajuku: Source Flickr.com Creative Commons By: Martin Howard [|Link]

Targeted Cause: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief - Joseph Knox In mid-March of this year, the country of Japan was struck with a devastating and ruinous earthquake and tsunami. The nearly 9.0 magnitude earthquake was the strongest ever in Japan’s history, and left entire cities destroyed and left families in search of their loved ones, many of whom turned out to have been victims of the disaster. “Thousands of homes were destroyed, many roads were impassable, trains and buses were not running, and power and cellphones remained down” (Fackler, 2011).

With the expected death toll to reach 10,000 and with over 430,000 people left without homes, according to CBS News, Japan needed aid. When any natural disaster strikes, more often than not, the country that was hit needs an enormous amount of funds in order to even begin considering the rebuilding process.

Commercials and advertisements flooded televisions and the Internet in the hope to receive donations from the United States and its citizens. People around the U.S. did whatever they could to help, including even sending text messages to donate. President Obama stated, “…that the main U.S. assistance to Japan for now would probably be ‘lift capacity’ in the form of heavy equipment to help clean up damaged infrastructure” (CNN Wire Staff, 2011).

One main difference between when Japan was struck by the natural disaster from when counties in the past have been struck is that we live in a fundamentally global world dominated by digital devices and social media. This allowed for Lady Gaga to take action in the best way she knew how: spread the word as fast as possible to as many people as possible. Earthquake and tsunami destruction: Source Flickr.com Creative Commons By: yisris [|Link]

How She is Doing It: Methods Used by Lady Gaga - Joseph Knox Lady Gaga is a prime example of how an individual can make a significant difference concerning a global campaign in today’s universal environment. She realized that a country was in need of great aid and support and wanted to be of as much assistance as she could. The top methods used by Lady Gaga included Twitter, Facebook, and her own website.

Being that she has such a huge following on Twitter and Facebook, Lady Gaga turned to these outlets to promote the cause most often. Her Twitter page consisted of tweets such as, “I Designed a Japan Prayer Bracelet. Buy It/Donate here and ALL proceeds will go to Tsunami Relief Efforts,” and “Monsters: in just 48 hrs you’ve raised a quarter of a million dollars for Japan Relief. It’s important we help.” Similarly her Facebook included statuses like, “Flash Fundraiser! Help Zynga raise money for Save The Children’s Japan relief effort,” and the more recent, “The Japanese Birkin T-shirt I designed for VOGUE JAPAN on sale 6/25 at UNIQLO worldwide. $ goes to Tsunami Relief.” By providing pictures and links, both Lady Gaga’s Twitter and Facebook page made it simple for her to promote the cause, as well as made it painless for her huge audience to also lend support.

Lady Gaga also used her own website as a method to further the encouragement of the cause. As previously illustrated in one of her tweets and Facebook statuses, Lady Gaga created a bracelet and t-shirt specifically for Japan, and donated all of the money raised to the relief effort for the country. Her website has an official store with a link titled “Japan Earthquake Relief” where you can buy her products, which is where she sold and distributed her extremely popular bracelets and t-shirts. Many other celebrities and organizations helped much in the aid process with donations of their own and by asking fans for support, but Lady Gaga went the extra mile. By creating products of her own and using social media and other technological outlets to promote the merchandise, Lady Gaga did more than even she could have imagined in terms of helping Japan. Social Media: Source Flickr.com Creative Commons By: smemon87, Sean MacEntee [|Link]

The Results - Cristina Nathan This effort has been a successful means to raise money for the victims of the recent tragedy in Japan. By being a huge name in the popular music business, Lady Gaga has been able to amass over 11 million fans and followers on Twitter. Using this social networking site as a way to communicate with her fans, Lady Gaga has been advertising and selling bracelets to her fans that say “We Pray for Japan,” in both Japanese and English, for $5 a bracelet. In doing so, over $250,000 for relief efforts were donated in just two days (Hughes, 2011). The total amount of money raised for the people of Japan is currently around 3 million dollars, according to people in Lady Gaga’s camp (AFP, 2011) which is phenomenal considering this tragedy happened four months ago. Japan Relief: Source Flickr.com Creative Commons By: jchong, Jennifer Chong [|Link]

Evaluation - Cristina Nathan Initially this effort created a very positive image for Lady Gaga as she is seen as a huge global philanthropist. However, Gaga’s effort have backfired as just recently, a lawsuit was filed against her, alleging she overcharged on shipping costs for each bracelet, keeping the excess money and thus making her own profit on top of the money donated to Japan. Unfortunately, what started as a great idea—which has greatly helped out the tsunami relief efforts—has been clouded by these recent accusations and bad publicity. Gaga is denying these claims, however this lawsuit will surely tarnish the reputation of the singer’s charitable image.Nevertheless, there is still evidence that the pop superstar is passionate about this cause. Lady Gaga has become a well-known philanthropist and activist for LGBT rights, having donated $20,000 a night to homeless-LBGT organizations (AFP, 2011). While her style, fashion sense, and on-stage behavior may appear to be for public attention, her efforts to raise money for the victims of the Japan tragedies come from her heart. Lady Gaga has also responded via her representative that the lawsuit is without merit, and continues to stick with her original claim that all money raised will be given in support of the relief efforts (Perpetua, 2011).

Conclusion - Drew Inabinet Lady Gaga is known for her charity efforts. However Lady Gaga’s efforts seem to be backfiring. The singer is now part of a controversy (ABC News, 2011). She is being sued for “misrepresenting charitable donations from wristbands sold to benefit tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan.” (ABC News, 2011) The singer has been selling bracelets for five dollars each to raise money for Japan victims, but now a Michigan court is claiming that Lady Gaga as well as her music label did not donate all the proceeds to the earthquake victims (ABC News, 2011). Gaga is denying these claims, however this lawsuit will surely tarnish the reputation of the singer’s charitable image. Reports claim that Gaga has raised at least 3 million dollars in her efforts, but the controversy surrounding her efforts may make people think twice about Lady Gaga. The case is not settled yet and is still continues to be under review.

References ABC News. (2011, March 15). Lady Gaga fans raise $250,000 for Japan disaster relief efforts. //ABC Local News//. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from [|Link]

AFP. (2011, 28 June). Law suit over Lady Gaga Japan relief efforts. //AFP//. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from [|Link]

CBS News. (2011, March 16). Japan death toll climbs; Half a million homeless. //CBS News World//. Retrieved June 22, 2011, from [|Link]

CNN Wire Staff. (2011, March 11). U.S. offers condolences, assistance to Japan. //CNN: Politics//. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from [|Link] Fackler, M. (2011, March 11). Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan. //The New York Times//. Retrieved June 22, 2011, from [|Link]

Gaga, Lady. (2011). //Facebook//. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from [|Link]

Gaga, Lady. (2011). //Lady Gaga Official Store//. Retrieved June 22, 2011, from [|Link]

Gaga, Lady. (2011). //Twitter//. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from [|Link]

Gaga, Lady. (2011). //YouTube//. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from [|Link] Hughes, S. (2011, June 29). Lady Gaga responds to Japan charity wristband lawsuit. //The Washington Post//. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from [|Link]

Perpetua, M. (2011, June 28). Music: Lady Gaga Sued Over Japan Relief Bracelets. //Rolling Stone//. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from [|Link]

Schumpeter. (2011, June 2). The angel and the monster. //The Economist.// Retrieved June 20, 2011, from [|Link]