Selfish Giving

links for 2008-05-07

• Staples goes back to school with its new cause initiative
  Staples kicked off its annual Back-to-School campaign May 1 with the addition of a new cause initiative, DoSomething101. com.
• Why Even Absurd Cause-Related Marketing Has its Place
  Buy a Bikini, Help Cure Cancer. Paul takes on another serious issue.

Selling Cause Marketing in a Down Economy

There's no doubt selling sponsorships and cause marketing is a lot harder this year than last.  The cause marketing side is especially challenging as many retailers--the backbone industry for many cause marketing programs, whether it be point-of-sale or percentage-of-sale--just aren't doing well and are looking to cut anything that's not directly driving sales. 

Here's what we're saying and doing to keep the partners we have and to recruit new ones.

Cause marketing drives sales.  A lot of people view cause marketing as just "branding" or "identity management".  "Yeah, it helps your image but where does it really get you?," they say.  Fortunately, we've collected a lot of great evidence that shows that cause marketing can help companies make and save money.  One of my favorite is from a retailer that made $350,000 from a coupon they had on our Halloween Town mobile.  Those are the kind of results businesses want to hear about and will help get cause marketing viewed differently.

Cause marketing is free advertising.  Our point-of-sale programs come at no cost to the retailer.  Nothing.  Zilch. Nevertheless, they are great ways to build loyalty and favorability with employees and customers, highlight in-store promotions and offers and, of course, raise money for a great cause.  When one of our partners wanted to promote a new service to consumers but didn't want to spend a lot of money advertising it, we printed the offer right on the mobile so employees could point it out and shoppers wouldn't miss it.  The retailer closed more business, we raised more money and shoppers got a great deal--all for a buck.  Win-win-win.

Enlist cause marketing champions.  As a nonprofit, you can only open so many doors by yourself.  It helps to enlist the aid of others.  Allies can include media outlets, sports teams, anyone who might have a connection or relationship with key businesses.  Your pitch to them is that their advertisers are sick of ad reps showing up with expensive advertising programs.  Instead, offer them something for free.  Explain that if they have multiple store fronts and lots of foot traffic they can do a point-of-sale program that will raise money for a great cause and underwrite a free advertising program with their favorite radio or TV station, newspaper or sports arena.  You don't want money from the marketing budget; you want access to the store's customers.  The latter is where the real opportunity lies.  There's ten times more money to be made there than from the company checkbook.  Just ask Bono and the folks at Product (RED).

Focus on other forms of corporate support.  W. C. Fields said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, and try again.  Then give up."  Sometimes the moment isn't right for cause marketing and you should look to other forms of corporate funding.  Fortunately, I work for a large institution with lots of business partners so we've doubled our efforts in reaching out to other "friends" of the organization.  Thanks in part to them our largest fundraiser of the year will set a new record next Saturday night.  Of course, this type of corporate fundraising is not as challenging and interesting as cause marketing.  But the dollars we'll raise will be as good as any other until our sails fill again and we can set our sights on more lofty goals.  As the Roman proverb commands, "When there is no wind, row."

links for 2008-04-30

• Entrepreneur's Corner: Can you boost sales by doing good?

Cause Marketing the Marathon '08

Patriot's Day Monday is always a big deal here in Boston.  There are the reenactments of the battles at Lexington and Concord that started the American Revolution.  The Red Sox always play at Fenway.  But, of course, the big event is the annual running of the Boston Marathon.  Among the thousands of runners clogging the streets from Hopkinton to Boston are the many charity runners who run to raise money for mainly Boston-based causes.

As a fundraiser it's a pretty simple one.  You start in September by hoarding all the "charity waivers" you can get, which are each worth at least $3,000 to your organization (one waiver on our team was worth $20k!).  You assemble your team, teach them how to raise money and train them to run 26 miles without ending up in an ambulance.  We rely on Boston-based Fitcorp for the latter. 

This year, we collected 35 waivers and to-date have raised $155,000.  This isn't as much as some of the bigger teams in Boston that had a lot more waivers, but we were happy with what we raised, and it really didn't require a lot of work.

Of course, my line of work is cause marketing, not event marketing, so I'm always looking for ways to get more companies involved in our Boston Marathon program.  Here's what has worked so far.

Selling companies blocks of waivers.  In a lot of programs you get one person from this company, another from that company and so on.  What we've tried is to give a bunch of numbers to one company so that they really get behind the program.  It worked the best a couple years ago when Jordan's Furniture took around a dozen.  Eliot's two sons ran on the team and Jordan's even toyed with the idea of putting their furniture out on the course as part of their "cheering" section.  How cool would that have been?  Anyway, we've raised more money and had better programs because we've bundled our numbers and focused our recruitment on a few specific companies.  You may not have a marathon program in your area, but the same idea would work with a cause walk.

Selling companies access to the marathon course.  Companies are a bit challenged when it comes to marketing themselves along the Boston Marathon course.  Unless they're an official sponsor, which is pretty expensive, they're not really suppose to be hawking their goods and wares along the course.  One way around this is to be with someone who should and can be out on the course, like a charity partner.

Let me give you an example.  Toyota of New England partnered with us for this year's marathon.  For a five-figure investment, they got their name on our running Jerseys, all promotional materials, including our popular bam-bams, which we distributed by the hundreds on marathon day.  We also promised them a spot right next to our tent along Commonwealth Avenue where they could pitch their own and park a brand new Toyota. 

But it almost didn't happen because they showed up before we did and just as they pulled their car along the course a cop told them to move it.  "You not on the list," he said.  After we showed up and spoke to the cop, Toyota had its spot back on the marathon course and us alongside them.  It wasn't because the hospital was on the map, because we weren't.  We got on the course because we explained we were a charity (who served helpless, poor, needy children) cheering on our runners and Toyota was a kind supporter.  I also think it helped that the cop knew were were a hospital and while we had no medical personnel with us, it gave us some legitimacy to be on the course.  Fortunately, our tent was right next to the American Red Cross who really were there to help runners!

Thanks to corporate sponsors of this year's marathon program, we raised an additional $20,000.  With Patriot's Day behinds us, the Boston Marathon program goes back into the cause marketing tool box of different programs my team uses to address the varying marketing needs of our clients and potential clients.  We can't forget that marathon is just one tool with a specific function.  It's nice to know you have a screwdriver, but not when you need a hammer.  That's why like any other trade, cause marketing should be plied with a variety tools.

links for 2008-04-22

• Study: Green Shoppers Gullible And Confused
  The best news is that despite the deluge of green products and marketing claims, consumers aren't burning out. Only 14% say environmental messaging makes them either feel cynical or overwhelmed.
• Today only Starbucks will donate a nickel to Conservation International for every Starbucks Card purchase

links for 2008-04-21

• Mini Storage Company Opens Doors to Charities
  Manhattan Mini Storage will officially enter the realm of cause marketing with their new "Save more than your stuff..." advertising campaign. The company has committed to donating a total of $200,000 over the next 6 months, beginning with a $25 donation f

links for 2008-04-19

• Cause-related marketing: can the arts afford not to participate?
  I personally think they're screwed, but read on.

links for 2008-04-13

• Benevolence a boon to bottom line
  Good graph on page one on how companies, broken out by industry, spent their dollars.

links for 2008-04-11

• Bausch & Lomb Thinks 'Pink' in New Campaign
  Bausch & Lomb's launches first cause-marketing campaign to benefit Komen.

Cause Marketing Mailbag

I'm writing an article on the role of social marketing and cause marketing in fighting HIV/AIDS.  I found your blog and am hoping you can give me some advice concerning cause marketing and HIV/AIDS. Kristine

Q.  I'm curious why a company would chose to support the cause of HIV/AIDS, as opposed to other causes.

A.  Kristine, on this front I can only speak from what I've seen and heard.  I've never done cause marketing for an AIDS-related charity before.  But I do work in a part of Boston where AIDS charities are very active and I, like most cause marketers, have followed the Product (RED) initiative with much interest.

That said, I think there are a variety of reasons why a company would support the cause of HIV/AIDS.  First, thankfully, the stigma has dissipated around AIDS and there isn't the taboo I remember from the 80's and early 90's.  In short, companies generally support mainstream causes and AIDS charities are now among them--especially ones that serve children with AIDS.  Second, a company may support the cause of AIDS because they want to tap their loyalists, who here in Boston are active, committed and united in their support for the cause and the partners that support them.  Third, the company may have a business or personal connection to the charity or one of its senior executives or a family member may have AIDS. 

Q.  To what extent have the cause-marketing partnerships between brands/companies and AIDS charities been successful?

A.  Product (RED) is the most visible gold standard of AIDS charities with over $60 million raised from cause marketing pacts.  Success has not come without controversy, however.  Read about the downside here and here.  There have been rewards and risks for all partners.

Q.  How are the results measured and evaluated?

A.  Nonprofits and for-profits engage in cause marketing because of the benefits to their organizations.  In my organization, which is a hospital, we measure our cause marketing programs on what they have raised in dollars, how much they have elevated our profile in the community and how they have created other opportunities to raise money (like the introduction to a major individual donor or a corporate foundation).  On the for-profit side, our partners evaluate their programs based on how well they drive sales, how popular they are with existing customers, how well they are received and executed by employees, how lucrative they are for the hospital, etc.  I suspect that AIDS charities and their corporate partners evaluate their programs in similar ways.

Q.  What are the pros and cons of engaging in a cause marketing partnership to support the AIDS cause?

A.  You can learn all about the benefits of cause marketing by perusing my blog.  I'm...ahem...pro-cause marketing.  But as far as the pros and cons of specifically doing a cause marketing partnership for an AIDS cause, there isn't much difference from from any other cause.  However, I do believe that because of Bono and the visibility of Product (RED), especially in major U.S. cities, AIDS charities are popular and trendy right now and the cause may resonate a bit more with retailers.  Hard to say.  The downside is that if those retailers have read more bad press about (RED) than good they may have a negative opinion about AIDS charities.  In the end, people base their decisions on a lot of reasons.  And it's for that reason you might want to peruse my section on cause sales.

What's Better: Active or Passive Cause Marketing?

Paul and Susan recently wrote posts on alternatives to the traditional paper icons/mobiles that I often blog on.  My mobiles are printed on paper and are sold by cashiers who ask "Do you want to donate a buck to help sick child?"  Oftentimes, they are signed by shoppers and displayed in stores.  But the mobiles Paul and Susan blog on require no ask, no paper and aren't seen.  But are they also low impact and no money?

Susan writes on visiting her local Whole Foods and seeing one of their checkout promotions.

They had a nice little display board inviting me to donate to the Prosperity Campaign by tearing off a coupon in the amount of $2, $5, or $10 to add to my food stack, as well as pamphlets (printed on 100% recycled paper using vegetable ink) about the Whole Planet Foundation to take home to learn more.  I am always up for these things, so grabbed a $2 coupon and laid it on my cracker box.  As the cashier was ringing it in, he gave me a big genuine smile and said, “Thanks so much for your donation!”  Had a fleeting thought I should have grabbed the $5 coupon…

I see these tear-off coupons every week at my own Whole Foods just outside of Boston.  I call these programs "passive promotions" because there is no verbal ask involved, which for most programs would be the kiss of death.  But not for Whole Foods, which raised $675k last year from their affluent and socially conscious shoppers who are happy to snap-up those $2, $5 and $10 coupons along with containers of cut-up watermelon for nine bucks.

Still, the amount Whole Foods raised is small compared to what an "active" supermarket promotion would raise.  The Triple Winner Program at Stop & Shop here in New England raises millions in just a few short months.  I also think Whole Foods' success with the passive promotion is a bit of an anomaly.  Leave a stack of mobiles near a register at just about any other store and it will be just as thick when you come back to pick up the four bucks they've raised for you.

The bottom-line is that a passive promotion is very tempting.  No hassling shoppers, who decide for themselves if they want to participate.  No employee training; these bar-coded slips ring up like any other product.  But nothing worth doing is ever easy.  And no retailer except Whole Foods ever raised any serious money for charity not asking customers for a buck at the register.

Unlike the passive promotion Susan supported, the mobile Paul discovered doesn't have an ask, isn't printed and isn't even sold at the checkout in a store.  It's sold online.  That's what MDA did with it's omnipresent Shamrock this year.  Paul clicked on a banner ad and voila he was taken to a web page where he could buy a Shamrock.  This was a great way to enhance MDA's in-store mobile program.  And while it very well may be the future of mobile sales, it's not a stand alone, it's an enhancer.  Alas, online mobiles will only make our expensive, landfill-clogging paper icon programs more visible and successful.

The lesson here is don't pitch a potential partner on either a passive promotion or an electronic mobile program, unless it also includes a traditional mobile program.  Stick to what works and what others have raised money with.  It's great to be progressive, but not when you get so far ahead of yourself you can't reap the benefits.  Remember, the 270+ supermarket chain known as Whole Foods began nearly three decades ago with just one natural foods store in Austin, Texas.

links for 2008-03-31

• National Wildlife Foundation plans $40M cause push
  In a shift away from grass­roots fundraising and aware­ness efforts, nonprofit National Wildlife Foundation (NWF), has signed Boston-based Cone LLC, a full-service marketing company that specializes in nonprofits and cause marketing.

links for 2008-03-30

• The Clorox debacle continues
  The leadership of the Florida chapter had been highly critical of the national board's decision in mid-December 2007 to allow The Clorox Company to use the Sierra Club's name and logo to market a new line of non-chlorinated cleaning products called "Green

links for 2008-03-25

• Tap Project Opens a Wellspring of Creativity
  Good article on how ad agencies competed against each other to do good and well.

Cause Marketing: The Trailer

Something we didn't do the first two years of Halloween Town was record the event so we could share the footage with prospective partners.  Seeing is believing with Halloween Town, and if we couldn't get them to come to the event having a video for them to watch would be the second best thing.  But for whatever reason we never did it.  Until we made it a priority at last year's event.

Our new sales video captures all the great sets we built for the event, the brandland experience we created for our partners, how the event benefited the hospital and all the Halloween fun our 13,000 guests had!  Our event marketing firm, wedu, did a great job shooting and editing the piece.

Having a sales video like this is all about not giving a prospect a reason to say no.  Without video, you're left to your words, which don't always sway prospects by themselves.  Some people--probably most people these days--are visual thinkers that insist on seeing before believing. (Either that or they're all from Missouri. Good question for Mike Swenson over at Citizen Brand.)

This isn't the first time I've used video to make a point.  When I worked at public television back in 2000 I realized that we were letting potential underwriters get away every time we talked about a PBS program they hadn't seen.  We solved this by buying a small television and toting along clips of every show we produced.  "Never seen Frontline?  Check out this clip."  Video made PBS a lot more tangible and kept the conversation going when in the past it had stopped cold.

So how will we use the Halloween Town clip?  We'll share it with sponsors.  But we won't just blindly send it out to prospects.  Like a foreign film, it needs interpretation and elaboration, which can only be done by the trained sales person that will accompany it wherever it goes.

Watch our new Halloween Town sales video here.

links for 2008-03-23

• MDA's Electronic 'Paper' Icon Campaign
  Paper or plastic? Neither.

Cause Marketing Sampler

Kudos to Paul Jones over at Cause-Related Marketing who wrote a great post on a pact between Chili's and St. Jude that's raised an astounding $8.2 million.  Some of the takeaways for me included:

Revisit the easy dining category.  Paul's right: it's been traditionally a tough category for all the reasons that he's identified.  But it's worth another look because these restaurants have what every successful point-of-sale program needs: traffic.  I was reminded of this two weeks ago when I waited over an hour on a Friday to get a table at Chili's.

Targeting easy dining eateries just isn't for the big charities.  Over the years, northeast-based Papa Gino's has raised over three million dollars for two charities by selling a coupon book for a buck.

Personalize the cause.  So often you think of Chili's as this big, national company and St. Jude as this stand alone hospital god knows where.  Well, the two partners worked together to find the human story and how two Chili's employees benefited from the outstanding medical services at St. Jude Children's Hospital.  Always look for the local connection, the human story with which employees and customers can identify.

Incentives work. Especially with employees that are highly motivated like Chili's are.  Their success with incentives confirmed for me that I'm on the right track!

Speaking of point-of-sale programs, Sue Hyatt, The Business Philanthropy Coach, has a good post on being asked at Safeway to "round-up" her purchase total with the balance going to Easter Seals.  I've never done a round-up program, but I think it's a great idea--and could be cheaper to run than a traditional mobile program.  Sue also makes the point that I've often made that point-of-sale programs are a great way to side-step the traditional company shrug that the "charity" budget for the year is blown.

And what blog post would be complete without some mention of Liberace.  I read a fascinating article in the Boston Globe on how the Liberace Foundation is trying to stay relevant and drive traffic to his museum by promoting Liberace as the king (and queen) of glitz and bling.  A pop culture icon for 50-cent and Dr. Dre, the Liberace Foundation has unveiled its own sparkly, piano key sneaker that sell for a c-note!  Indeed, Liberace could be on his way to being the next big dead, pop icon.

"Great, Joe," you say.  "Liberace's been dead for 20 years and now he's cool.  What's that have to do with cause marketing?"  Well, like the marketing team at the Liberace Foundation, cause marketers are the stewards of their causes, and like LF may not be selling the hippest thing in town.  So like the marketers at LF we can't forget that at our core we are (and must be) forever "merchants of cool" and can learn from the lessons of LF to try to find our own place in the fickle, unpredictable but wildly tantalizing and profitable world of popular culture.

Building on the example provided by the Liberace Foundation, perhaps MDA after Jerry Lewis dies will take a retrospective look at one of the great comedians of our time to revitalize a brand that took root when television was king and its coolest courtiers were the Rat Pack and the court jester was Lewis.

I struggle with relevancy all the time with my own cause.  As many of you know, I work for a safety-net hospital that serves the poorest of the poor.  What's cool or hip about that?  Well, maybe it can be cool if we start connecting the Horatio Alger stories of some of the most successful men and women of Boston with the modest beginnings and challenges of our patients.  Rags to riches stories never go out of style and will give the elite of Boston a touchstone to connect with a population that they usually only see through the windows of their luxury cars and downtown condos and, not surprisingly, don't really know.

So, I guess if the Liberace Foundation has glitz I have Schlitz.  Rich people don't drink it and many poor people today have probably never heard of it.  But that's not important.  They both know what it's like to drink cheap booze but to thirst for something better.   

links for 2008-03-17

• Safeway Checkout Promotion for Philanthropy
  The store tried two approaches and the round up model raised a lot more money. Good way to move retailers beyond the paper icon.
• http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6540915.html?desc=topstory
  Phil McCarty, chief executive officer of McCarty Partners, a firm that specializes in strategic charity campaigns, said that JFC is planning a national event that would get children involved with helping children in need.

links for 2008-03-13

• How small businesses can use cause related marketing
  How can my small business take advantage of cause related marketing opportunities in my community?

links for 2008-03-12

• How Chili’s Used Cause-Related Marketing to Raise $8.2 Million for St. Jude, Part I
  Paul has an excellent case study on a remarkable program from which we can all learn. Stay tune for part two!

Cause Marketing with Benefits: Does it Work?

In meeting with a potential new partner last week, we discussed doing a point-of-sale program in their stores to raise money for the hospital.  Since such programs involve our frontline employees, they asked, should we offer them incentives for hitting specific fundraising goals?

It's a good question that doesn't have a simple answer.  I had high hopes for incentives when I first started running point-of-sale programs.  Surely employees will respond to a tempting array of gift certificates, electronics, t-shirts and food, I thought.  But the reality was very different.  Here's what I learned.

Unmotivated employees stay unmotivated.  Even with incentives these employees won't push the program.  Indeed, their lack of motivation extends to just about every part of their lives!

Motivated employees don't need incentives.  These employees are carefully selected by the employer, well trained and have drunk from the company cool-aid.  They push the program because they want to and because they're told to.  Yes, they are more motivated, but they're also more disciplined and better on following the orders given to them by their supervisors.

Motivated employees can be marginally motivated with incentives.  Incentives can give motivated employees an extra boost to push the program.  But you don't need to offer them much.  Five dollar gift cards to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts seem to do the trick.  So does a pizza party for the winning store at the end of the program.  We did give away more expensive incentives, but I never felt like they did or would make a difference.  In short, they were expensive giveaways, not incentives.

If this is your first point-of-sale program with a company, don't offer any incentives.  See what happens.  Even without incentives, the program should do pretty well and there should be an enthusiasm among employees to do it again.  Adding incentives to the next round will feed the fire (with gasoline!).

Three suggestions on how to run a successful point-of-sale program:

Managers are key.  Incentives work with frontline employees, but don't forget that managers are employees too.  A manager constantly reminding cashiers to ask customers to donate a dollar is worth their weight in gold.  The best way to incentivize the manager is to convince the company to tie-in the fundraiser with sales goals and her compensation.  This will get her attention!

A retail partner that raised $140,000 for us last year agrees:

Most of our success with the mobile program has been due to store managers.  They are essentially the ones who really drive the program in store.  While incentives might work in some stores, they have no impact on others.  We also incorporate the mobile sales into our mystery shopper reports.  From an operational standpoint, this encourages all employees to ask customers to purchase a mobile.  Otherwise, stores run the risk of losing points on their mystery shopper reports.

Choose your recipients carefully.  Some employees are better than others for incentives.  Employees that are trained to upsell and are rewarded when they do are good candidates.  Don't insult them by not offering them.  Incentives will give the program its best chance for success. 

Make it easy.   Cashiers have enough to do at the register and are frequently upselling customers on a veriety of items: "Do you need any batteries today?"  "Apply for a credit card and you can save twenty percent."  "Are your children a member of our kids club?"  The last thing they want or need is a complicated program to sell.  Give them a simple, one-line pitch like "Would you like to donate a dollar to help a sick child?"  If you can add a coupon to the mobile that will give the consumer their own incentive to fork over a buck, even better.  It makes the cashier's job that much easier.  As will a barcode on the mobile so they can scan it in to the register like any other item.

Incentives can work.  You just need to know when to use them, and with whom.   

links for 2008-03-09

• The Celebrity Solution
  But what exactly do stars do for causes? They raise money, of course. But that is often less important than raising consciousness.

links for 2008-03-07

• Oram Matters: It Makes Me See Red
  This blogger is right: transparency is an issue.
• St. Jude fundraiser searching for a 'Dream Home' in Boston
  The "Dream Home" giveaway works like this: a single-family home is built on donated or discounted land, materials and labor. The land and materials are supplied by the developer who builds the home. St. Jude's then sells $100 raffle tickets for the home a

Free and Cause Marketing Part III

In writing the first two parts of this series, Paul Jones over at Cause-Related Marketing brought to my attention a Chris Anderson article in Wired called Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business.  Chris begins with a telling story on King Gillette, the 19th century inventor of the Gillette disposable raiser, and how he grew demand for his new invention by giving it away.  As Chris notes, "this business model is now the foundation of entire industries: give away the cell phone, sell the monthly plan; make the videogame console cheap and sell expensive games; install fancy coffeemakers in offices at no charge so you can sell managers expensive coffee sachets."

Free has changed all sorts of businesses: web, software, newspapers, video games AND cause marketing.  I've written about the impact and potential of free for cause marketers before, but it's a subject that's worth revisiting.

I've always believed that nonprofits shouldn't sell cause marketing programs.  Like King Gillette, we should give them away to create demand and to tap their true fundraising potential.  There are two good reasons not to sell them: The first is that it's really hard; the other is that there's no money in it. 

It's tough for your average nonprofit to sell cause marketing because a lot of the mid-size companies you'll sit across from don't really believe it works.  Don't be insulted.  The advertising that they think does work isn't either.  But unlike cause marketing, they are exposed to and familiar with enough advertising to believe in it.  Cause marketing is a new, acquired taste and famously short on metrics.  I've always said that given the choice between buying traditional marketing or cause marketing, cause marketers will leave empty handed every time.  That's why so many of the nonprofits that try cause marketing end up abandoning it.  They can't sell it!  Lesson one: don't sell what shouldn't and can't be sold.

The good news is that not being able to sell cause marketing is good because you wouldn't want to.  Why?  For the same reason Bono turned down all those company checks when he was pitching Product RED to Armani, Gap and Apple.  He knew that the real money in cause marketing was not in the company check book, but in the wallets of the millions of customers who were buying their products and services.  He knew that if he gave Product RED away (with all its cool star power) to companies to turn into products, consumers could potentially turn RED into a multi-million dollar success story.  Bono was right.

You can be the Bono of your nonprofit.  Stop viewing cause marketing as a sponsorship that needs to be sold and start presenting it as a program thats only requirement is free activation.  Whenever I talk to a business about cause marketing they are almost always impressed and have the same question: how much?  I have a standard response: nothing.  Value + Free - Risk = Opportunity.  And I haven't met a business yet that wasn't interested in a high value, low-risk, free opportunity.  Lesson two:  For your program to succeed it must be freed.   

Free is a great thing, but it cuts both ways.  I expect any day now to be outdone by a nonprofit with a better program based on free.  I think about it every morning when I'm shaving.  I used Gillette razors for years because I got a free razor and blades in the mail.  King would have been proud.  But what started as free has cost me plenty.  Those replacement blades aren't cheap.  (I tell my wife this all the time because she swipes my razor to shave her legs.  But that's another story.)  A few weeks ago I was vacationing in the Berkshires and got a welcome pack from the hotel with a free razor and blade set.  I was really impressed by the shave.  So now Schick is king!  Just don't tell my wife.  This time free is for me, not for us. 

links for 2008-03-04

• Unilever, P&G War Over Which Is Most Ethical
  Touting Programs That Benefit Humanity Offers Big Payoff for Marketers

Cause Marketing Mailbag

Q.  I’m curious to hear your opinion on the benefits/setbacks of campaigns that ask customers to consider giving an additional dollar or two in comparison to those that simply go ahead and deduct a certain portion. For example, UNICEF's Tap Project vs. Starbucks’ Leprechaun Latte. I imagine they have similar publicity but with the option to, well, opt out, I wonder if the potential dollars raised take a hit?  Ashley

A.  It's a good question, Ashley.  While it's great to lock in a donation like every Leprechaun Latte does, in general you'll make a lot more money asking customers for a donation.  Just compare the results of the two programs.  In just its first year, The Tap Project raised around $100,000 thanks to waiters pitching diners while Starbucks' Leprechaun Latte has raised $25,000 annually.  Focusing on programs that target customers at the register is especially important for smaller nonprofits.  If a retailer agrees to give you a percentage of sale from just one product your fundraising potential is pretty limited.  Now, if that same store has a decent amount of foot traffic and cashiers ask customers to donate a buck, you'll raise a lot more. 

For example, three years ago when Valvoline Instant Oil Change agreed to sell our Halloween Town mobile, their 40 locations were only seeing around 60 customers a day.  This is great traffic for oil changes, but it's not like the foot traffic that say a supermarket has. But by launching an aggressive point-of-sale program that had cashiers asking every customer to buy a mobile for $3, we raised nearly $30,000.  We never would have made that much from a percentage of sale program on oil changes.  Besides, most companies are unwilling to deduct the donation from their bottom-line.  Let's face it: that's why Starbucks only donates a quarter.  It's better for the charity if the store passes along the donation to the customer as an additional charge.

Of course, if you're a national charity working with a national company, twenty five cents from each sale adds up fast (Yes, Starbucks is an international company but they only sell the Leprechaun Latte in New England.  Imagine if they sold it everywhere!).  Charities like Product (RED) and Komen raise tens of millions from percentage-of-sale programs with vacuum cleaners, ipods, sneakers, sunglasses and dozens of other products.

Another good reason to choose a point-of-sale program (Tap) over percentage-of-sale program (Latte) is publicity.  A lot times of times we buy products and we don't even know they benefit charity unless we take a good look at the packaging.  But when a cashier asks you to add a dollar to your tab to support a good cause, you generally know who's getting your buck.  If not from the cashier then from the mobile itself, which many people are asked to write their names on, or from the hundreds of mobiles hanging from the store's walls and ceiling.  While the revenue from a point-of-sale program isn't guaranteed, their effectiveness as a fundraiser and marketing is.   

links for 2008-02-21

• Rewards site bets it can lure online shoppers
  Mass. based Jackpotrewards.com to offer sweepstakes, ads, discounts, and 50% of profits go to charity.
• Berry Plastics Introduces i Commit(TM) Brand of ''Pink'' Trash Bags
  Berry Plastics is introducing the i Commit brand: a unique, stand-alone product line that will contribute a portion of every sale to charity. The first i Commit product is trash bags, benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Restaurants Add Cause Marketing to the Menu

Most of the cause marketing programs I run are with retailers--and with good reason.  They have multiple locations, train their cashiers to up-sell and have lots of foot traffic, which makes them naturals for point-of-sale programs like mobiles.  But in a small city like Boston there are only so many retail chains that have great foot traffic.  The good news is that I work with most of them.  The bad news is that I need more like them!  That said, I've been recently encouraged of by the success nonprofits are having with restaurants.  Three stand out.

The first is IHOP Flips for Children's Miracle Network.  The pancake house invited guests to enjoy a free short stack of IHOP's signature buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on February 12th.  In return, IHOP guests were asked to make a donation to CMN.  Last year's event raised close to $700,000.  This is a great program for everyone.  Diners get something for free that's cheap for IHOP to provide (pancake batter is cheap, but it's not free and IHOP should be commended for absorbing the expense!) and children's hospitals reap the windfall.

The IHOP program reminds me of another great program currently running at Starbucks stores here in New England.  Now through St. Patrick's Day, Starbucks will donate 25 cents of every Leprechaun Latte sold to Boston-based Jumpstart.  I'm told this annual program raises around $25,000.  This program is super-low maintenance.  Order a Leprechaun Latte and Starbucks will take care of the rest!  Can't get much more turnkey than that.

The last program I've been following is new to Boston, but was launched in New York last year, where I think it raised around $100k.  UNICEF's The Tap Project--a campaign to provide safe drinking water for children around the globe--works like this.  Dine at a participating restaurant between March 16 and March 22 and you'll be asked to donate a buck or more for the tap water you usually get for free.  I like the program because it spotlights something we take for granted: an almost universal faith among Americans that tap water is safe to drink. 

Water isn't the only thing we get for free at restaurants.  Many offer bread (which I usually fill up on before they serve the $25 entree I can't finish).  I'm considering starting my own cause marketing program with restaurants.  Instead of water I'll ask diners to donate a buck or more for the bread they generally get for free or at little cost.  The program would be a great tie-in to our prescriptive food pantry, the only one in the country that is in a hospital.

Targeting restaurants is actually easier for a local nonprofit than for an international charity.  The former better understands the local restaurant scene.  UNICEF wants to extend the The Tap Project into Boston, but so far they've only recruited a handful of restaurants.  It's tough without feet on the ground and local contacts.  That's probably why they've hired Hill Holliday and a local PR firm to help them.  But what local nonprofits lack in size and brand they can make up for with networking and shoe leather.  Develop a program that you can shop from restaurant to restaurant.  You'll cobble together a nice group of participants, and don't be surprised if a couple of the restaurants offer to help you in other ways.  Restaurateurs are very generous...and very savvy. 

While they may have heard of The Tap Project, they know that it's locals like you who will build buzz and drive traffic to their restaurants, and not some Yankee fan making calls from Manhattan.  While UNICEF's intentions are crystal clear, she knows raising dough for you will mean more bread for everyone. 
   

links for 2008-02-13

• IHOP Flips for Children's Miracle Network
  1,300 IHOP restaurants throughout the United States will invite guests to enjoy a free short stack of IHOP's signature buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. In return, IHOP guests are asked to donate what they would have spent on the free pancakes, o

(Red) Faced

Dear Partners,

Thanks for your many calls and gentle ribbing last week on the New York Times article Bottom Line for (Red).  No, it didn't present cause marketing in a very positive light.  But I was happy that all of you responded with a chuckle rather than anger.  We're lucky to have you as cause marketing partners.  Thankfully, you're not being publicly punished and humiliated for your good deeds like the GAP and American Express and Motorola are.  If you were, this is how I'd suggest you respond to your critics.

Cause marketing isn't the anti-Christ.  It is just one of the ways companies and their customers can support their favorites causes and charities can raise a few bucks.  It doesn't stop people from giving or writing a check.  It is not tangible evidence of evil in the world.  It helps create a bigger pie for everyone--another "revenue stream," to use a business term.

Laugh when they say you get more out of cause marketing than the cause.  Then say that if your customers are more aware of the things you care about then you guess you did get a lot out of it.  Tell'em you feel just terrible about that.  Also, tell them about all the things you do to market yourself and how it compares to your investment in cause marketing.  Never was so little spent on something that is supposedly so profitable.  Guess you should be ashamed to call yourself a business person.

It isn't all about the money.  Sure, cause marketing means tens of millions to (Red)--still a minuscule part of the $2.4 billion Global Fund (Red) supports--but for most charities cause marketing is more about visibility than money.  Cause marketing is a means to an end, not an end itself.  It's a vehicle to ignite donors and foundations--corporate and others--to give the truly transformative gift.

The end justify the means.  A Northeastern University professor quoted in the Times asks, "Do we really want something as important as H.I.V.-AIDS to be funded by holiday shoppers?" Like how the war against Hitler was won by turning housewives into welders, rationing coffee and selling cheesy war bonds?  If we can help men, women and children who have a terrible disease by asking shoppers to buy a pair of sunglasses or t-shirt--that they probably planned to buy anyway--or donate a buck at the register, isn't it worth it?

I hope you'll never have to explain your involvement with cause marketing like (Red)'s partners are being asked.  You're doing a good thing, and making a difference in the lives of thousands of needy people who are treated at the hospital each year.  Cause marketing marries your personal compassion with your business and your customers.  What has been joined together, let no one put asunder.

Joe

links for 2008-02-06

• Sergeant's Pet Care Products Announces Partnership With the National Wildlife Federation
  The partnership will include co-branding and marketing of three product lines in which the NWF logo will appear on all products and a portion of the proceeds will directly support the NWF's conservation programs.

links for 2008-02-05

• "Charitable causes trivialized" at the Super Bowl
  Ad Age critic Bob Garfield offers a critical take on "cause marketing gone wrong" at this year's Super Bowl ads.
• Text Messaging Campaign Unveiled During Super Bowl
  In a television advertisement that appeared during the game, the United Way appealed to viewers to send a text message that would generate a $5 contribution.

links for 2008-02-02

• PVH "Ties" Arrow Brand Re-Launch With Ellis Island Restoration
  Calling the immigration processing and quarantine buildings on Ellis Island "great American treasures", PVH felt that marrying the concept of the all-American image of the Arrow brand to these icons was an ideal fit.

Putting a Halo on Ambush Marketing

Donna's Promo Talk alerted me to a new cause marketing program at this weekend's Super Bowl:

KFC is spotlighting its Hot Wings menu with this marketing first: If a player or celebrity performer "opens his heart and flutters his hot wings" in an impromptu chicken dance during Super Bowl XXLII, KFC will donate $260,000 to charity in the name of that person. KFC's criteria is for the chicken dance performance to include at least three seconds of "wing flapping."

Donna wonders if this isn't more ambush than cause marketing because KFC is neither affiliated with the NFL nor spending any advertising dollars on the Super Bowl.  KFC is hijacking the Super Bowl for its own purposes, but they've softened the transgression with a golden halo.  After all, it is all being done to benefit charity.

As cause marketers we often forget just how much leeway our noble efforts give us, and how this can be a valuable selling proposition when pitching potential partners. 

For the past few years my hospital has raised tens of thousands of dollars from companies that want to market themselves at the Boston Marathon but aren't official sponsors of the race.  If they just showed up on Marathon day and set up shop along the course the Boston Athletic Association--the folks who organize the marathon--probably wouldn't be too happy.  But because our corporate sponsors are there with us cheering on our charity team and showing their support for the hospital, they can put up tents, banners and hand out promotional items guilt-free and unmolested.

Ambush marketing is all about profiting from someone else's marketing, but it can also be about springing in to action when a good opportunity presents itself to attract and keep donors.

A good example is our Halloween Town event.  As a charity we have the unique opportunity before the two-day event to tap our corporate partners to sell mobiles to raise money for the hospital and to promote the event.  No other Halloween event in the Boston can do that.  They all have to rely almost exclusively on ticket sales at the door for revenue.  They don't have a cause in their corner.

Another advantage we have over other Halloween events is that we can get things for free that they can't because we're a "good cause."  We get free candy from manufacturers.  They pay for theirs.  We get a deal on the exhibition hall where we host the event.  They pay full-price.  We get special pricing on just about everything we buy.  They're charged more to cover our discount.  And all with good reason: our event benefits needy, sick kids in Boston.

Like the ambushes of any war, ours are fast, explosive and effective.  There are no deaths from our ambushes, but there are injuries and hurt feelings.  I'm quick to apology for any harm.  I was driven by my ideals and blinded by my mission, I explain.  You see, I'll do anything to help the children.      

links for 2008-01-28

• (RED) WELCOMES DELL AND WINDOWS
  With each purchase of a Dell (PRODUCT) RED PC, Dell and Windows will jointly make a contribution of $50 to $80 to the Global Fund, to invest in African AIDS programs.

links for 2008-01-27

• Western & English Today
  Good article on CRM on page 58 that quotes some of my favorite people. I always thought if I owned a horse I'd be quoted more.

Cause Marketing Mailbag

Q: Joe, I'm not Coca Cola or Avon.  I own a small promotional products and logoed apparel business and I want to donate a portion of sales to my clients and potential clients charities. How do I do it without going broke? How do get started? I'm convinced companies will buy from me with all other things being equal if I support their charities with a portion of sales. Any small businesses that sell business to business that are successful doing that, that you know about you can refer? Thanks, J. C.

A:  J. C., Thanks for the question.  Yep, you're right about customers buying from you.  Cone Inc. has reported that 79% of consumers are more likely to buy a product that supports a nonprofit. 

I'd start by talking to my current and potential clients about causes and nonprofits they care about.  From this list, choose one, two or three charities--at most--that you can earmark for support.  You can dovetail the interests of several clients by donating to a charity that is working to feed, say, starving children if they all share an interest in hunger relief and/or helping children.

With your type of business you can support these causes in two ways.  First, you can simply make a flat donation and promote to clients that their business with you is helping your company support local nonprofits they care about.  The second and preferred way is to donate a percentage of sales.  Then you can encourage clients to do more business with you because that will increase how much you give to worthy organizations.

Couple more suggestions.  Don't forget to go back to the nonprofits your supporting to highlight your generosity and to press them for business (I'm sure you'll broach the subject more delicately than I am).  Explain that they can help themselves by doing business with you and by encouraging other companies to work with you.  Also, if you come across a company that actively supports a charity not on your list, close the deal by offering to rebate a percentage of just their sales to their charity of choice.  Stay flexible and make cause marketing work for the both of you.

Finally, there are lots of examples of small business cause marketing right here on Selfish Giving!  On the right sidebar under categories click on Cause Marketing in Action.

Good luck and keep in touch.  Joe

links for 2008-01-24

• Cone Blog: More on the Crystal Ball for 2008
  Katya and I look at cause marketing trends for 2008.

links for 2008-01-22

• Absolut Vodka Goes Green with Life Earth Films
  Absolut will soon be adding registration codes to its bottles, and donating $1 for each code registered on its Web site. Absolut cocktails will be served in bars and nightclubs will come with “cooling cards” that will facilitate donations via text me
• GEICO Sends Gecko to Tour Zoos for Conservation
  Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) has kicked off a campaign that uses its gecko mascot to promote wildlife conservation and the role of American zoos and aquariums in the fight to preserve species.

United Way Penny Wise, Critics Foolish

Jeff Brooks over at Donor Power Blog has pumped some much needed fresh air into the putrid talk around the United Way's new Pennies for Change program, which allows consumers of participating credit card companies to donate a penny whenever they use their card. 

The program is simple and will probably be lucrative for the UW in the long run.  But not according to one writer at the Christian Science Monitor who thinks the barbarians are at the gate.

It could also undermine the United Way's longstanding commitment to supporting financial literacy for consumers. And it might buy the credit-card companies some desperately needed whitewashing at a time when Congress is looking hard at the industry.

Huh?  Isn't learning to use a credit card in a socially responsible way supporting "financial literacy," or is it just that all credit card use is bad?  Should poorer consumers be encouraged to pack their pockets with cash because they shouldn't use a credit card at the supermarket? 

If the United Way program is meant to provide some much needed cover for the credit card industry, why has only 12 companies signed up to participate?  Maybe it's because they all know that using Pennies for Change to prop up their public image would be like using a penny for an umbrella.

Cause marketing isn't going to whitewash anyone's problems.  Help?  Maybe.  Solve?  No.  Instead of being bombarded with negative press, the 12 companies that signed up for the United Way program should be commended for helping launch it.  I can assure you, they'll give more than they'll get, especially in the beginning.

The Monitor article also notes that Pennies for Change has been criticized for aiming too low, asking consumers to donate a measly penny, even when they are charging an expensive luxury item.  These critics have obviously never sold anything before in their lives.  Sure, it's a penny now, but with time, effort and commitment, maybe it's a dime, a quarter, even a percentage of purchase in a few years.  You have to start small and build the program.  And because UW is selling this program direct--without the buy-in of a large credit card company like American Express--they'll have better luck pitching companies on a nominal amount that many cardholders would easily accept.  In sales we call this "getting your foot in the door."

What amuses me most is that just above the Monitor article is: Monitor mall.  Shop for a cause - Support the Christian Science Monitor.  Pardon me, but does an online store support the Monitor's mission “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind”?  Do you think that the Omaha Steaks and Mrs. Field's cookies sold through the site are a "blessing," (hey, they have my vote) or are they two more things that are contributing to global warming and the obesity epidemic?

Oh, and you don't have to swing by the Monitor's offices to pay cash or check for your subscription.  You can pay online by credit card.  A blessing indeed.

links for 2008-01-17

• New Line of Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products Launches
  Sierra Club launched its first cause-related marketing venture involving a widely-distributed consumer product: the Green Works line of all-natural eco-friendly household cleaning products, a joint venture with the Clorox Company.
• Derek Jeter Drives Mega Marketing Super Bowl Campaign for G2, a New Beverage From the Makers of Gatorade
  G2 has committed to raise up to $150,000 for United Way between now and Feb. 3. For every visit to http://www.drinkG2.com, G2 will donate $1 to United Way up to $100,000.

links for 2008-01-16

• Striking a blow against breast cancer
  Don King Productions and the fighters have committed $100,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

links for 2008-01-15

• Club’s Penguins Raise Cold Cash for Charities
  A 10-day charitable campaign in Club Penguin, the Disney-owned online world aimed at kids and pre-teens, has produced a pile of virtual coins worth about $1 million very real dollars.
• MSN Banks on Cause Marketing with New Web Community
  MSN will partner with WhatOnEarthIsGoingOn to create an online community by which brands can connect with consumers through issues they find important.

Cause Marketing Makeover

Dear Selfish Giving,

The Seattle-based nonprofit I work for raises $12 million a year and our business giving program is about 18 months old.  Cause marketing is one area of our pr