M&Ms campaign: Phase two - The proposed action plan

Click here for the Chip In Page

Edit: Note on paypal.

I do not have a paypal account. When I tried setting one up, it was nothing but one problem after another coming up. I got frustrated and called my best friend for help. He offered to step up, offered his paypal account, and said he would write me a check based off the donations. It was an offer too good to pass up. It saved my sanity. When your best friend offers you a lifeline, you take it.

Declaration of purpose: We're trying to show BioWare that the Retake/HTL community is still here. We are upset with the current ending as it stands, but we are still behind them and won't give up on them. We are passionate Mass Effect fans and we know how much great talent the writers of BioWare have. This campaign is designed to remind them of that.

Date the fundraising will begin: 4-23-2012. Some flexibility is requested for this date (up to one day), as the coordinator of this campaign has never set up a Chip-In account before.

Estimated date the first order will be given: 4-27-2012. This date is selected for several reasons. First, it is assumed that it will take two or three days to raise the money for this campaign (based off the response for the cupcake campaign). Second, in order to make sure the press releases can be written effectively, the gentleman in charge of drafting the press releases has requested additional time. From ordering to receiving takes 10 days, so there should be enough time to get a workable draft of the press releases, run them by the teams at HTL and Retake, and send them off to the press to attract attention. Third, the coordinator of this project would like to have the time as a buffer just in case unexpected difficulties come up (which they always do).

Note: 4-27-2012 date is contingent on the fundraising being completed by the given date. If the fundraising is not completed, the first order will be pushed back, unless Chip-In allows for small withdraws to cover expenses.

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The organization of the campaign (every order put in every three business days):
- The color of the M&Ms will be Red, Green, and Blue (except for the last shipment). A variety of colors would have the most meaningful impact on the last shipment, as the additional colors will symbolize choice.

Ordered on 4-27-2012: Days 1-3 – Hearts/ME1/We Still Believe

Ordered on 5-2-2012: Days 4-6 – Hearts/ME2/You’re Biotic Gods

Ordered on 5-7-2012: Days 7-9 – Broken Heart/ME3/This Hurts Us
- One of Hailley's photo images will be sent as a poster to arrive around the same time as this delivery.

Ordered two simultaneous shipments on 5-10-2012: Days 10-12 – ABC/DLC/Keep Calibrating/Remember Promises/Hold The Line/You Are Legendary

design note: M&M can contain 18 characters broken apart into two lines. The message will be the same, though the formatting may look off. The two messages affected will be "You're Biotic Gods" (will appear as UR Biotic Gods) and "Keep Calibrating" (will appear as Keep Cal- [space] ibrating.
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Cost estimation:
Silver Tin: $4.09 x 20 = $81.80 per individual shipment
Shipping cost: $55.40 per individual shipment
Tax estimation (assuming 9%, but will be confirmed on Monday): $12.35
Estimated cost for M&Ms campaign: $747.75
Plus estimated cost for poster + frame+ postage= $32.50

Estimated total: $780.24




In the interest of full disclosure, there were several campaign notes taken during the discussion:
As a result of the discussion, several ideas were presented which several showed interest in. These ideas are projects to be delivered to BioWare on a timescale independent of the M&Ms campaign. Some of these ideas include: supporting Olivia Doverspike's POV campaign where people write what they believed Shepard's POV was during the ending, the artistic campaign where individuals draw characters from Mass Effect to show love for the characters and to say that these characters deserved better, and an audio campaign where voices of Retake/HTL members are recorded and combined together to create the idea of a crowd in order to demonstrate the size and discontent among the members.

Eric, the administrator of the Retake Mass Effect board, is being approached by two members of this team to try to get a link up on the front page of the site.

HTL has kindly offered their support in several ways, including being a part of a newsletter and other structural support. HTL has experience organizing campaigns and fundraising, so HTL's support in this will be critical for the implementation of the plan, as the coordinator lacks the experience and know-how of HTL in this matter. Members of HTL have shown a great interest in beginning to fundraise for this project. Their enthusiasm is both humbling and greatly appreciated.

Customer service for My M&Ms will be contacted on 4/23/2012 to double check information provided on the website and gain accurate estimations for the final tally.

Much thanks should be given to everyone who has stepped up during this so far.

The poll is open for seven days!

Update: I put this plan up for a vote among the people who helped construct the plan for a straight up or down vote. So far, 13 votes yes to the plan.

Fair enough. I'll add what the group thought. Give me a few minutes.

How can you expect to be taken seriously if you don't use the peanut M&M's?

Heh.

We actually talked about that for a little bit, believe it or not. Too many concerns with allergies. My daughter is actually allergic to peanuts

Update:

The facebook group is going to be debating a couple of ideas which were put forward recently. I would like your feedback as well, just to make sure everyone is involved.

1. We are thinking about sending a poster to BioWare from Hailley's photo mural project. We received her permission for it (yay!!!!), but we are coming to consensus if this is something we will want to do. If we do it, it seems like it will be sent out in week three.
2. One of the members is researching the possibility of press releases during the campaign in order to attract the attention of the media. Any press release should be approved by the people here on HTL and the people who are all helping plan this on facebook page.
3. there is some talk about extending this one more week to include additional messages and artwork. This is rather vague, but some wanted to be able to say a bit more.
4. The timing of this campaign may wish to coincide with a mailing campaign to maximize the messages and show unity.

1. I think that's a great idea.
2. Make sure the PRT signs off on it as well.
3. Are they asking about something similar to the notes that were taped to the cupcake boxes? I kind of like the simplicity of plain M&Ms.
4. Sounds good. This could also be a way to incorporate concern #3. Time the messages and art to arrive around the same time.

For point 2, believe me....I want everyone to be onboard. I have no intention of ending out anything would not be consistent with the collective message of HTL/Retake. Plus, I would want to get all the facts right.

For point 3, It sounded like something similar to the notes. It isn't 100% clear to me at this point. Some felt that more messages could be shared than what was already put forward. I think it'll be cleared up with further discussion

Another update

The 2nd round of debates that I mentioned before will be happening this weekend Yay!!!! If you have any suggestions on how this campaign can be modified / improved in any way. Please reply so all ideas can be considered. Thanks!

Part of the discussion during the weekend is on the timeframe, on the merits of a press release, and a couple of additional ideas that the people have. There will be a definite plan of action created by the end of the weekend so I can present a timeframe and begin fundraisint.

The conversation is about to begin in about 10 or 15 minutes. If you'd like to participate in it, that would be fine.

It's on facebook. It'll last all weekend, since we have people from all around the world working on this. I'll try finding a past post from you, if you'd like...I can only add people who I friended

Bear with me, I'm working on a huge compilation manifest with a couple of people. It's almost done!

I'm up for it.

I'm in.

I'm really excited about this initiative!