Tag Archives: groupon

Groupon’s Fumble Gives Causes Chance to Score Big

Written on February 8, 2011 in Causerants
4 Comments

Enough people have registered their opinion to confirm this deal-breaker for everyone: Groupon’s Superbowl ads Sunday night were ill-conceived and offensive. Goodwill earned from this promotion: 0%.

As of this printing, Groupon should have apologized (they haven’t), pulled the ads (saw one last night), fired their agency (standing shoulder to shoulder) and donated a boatload of money to the causes they offended (Umm…nope).

But while the ads may have been a disaster for Groupon, they highlight four important lessons for causes and the businesses that work with them.

Holy, Batman! This cause marketing stuff really works! The outrage against Groupon was immediate, loud and passionate. As Willy Wonka said, “Strike that. Reverse it.” Now imagine if Groupon had produced a great cause marketing ad and the raves it would have earned from viewers. Cause marketing is a powerful, meaningful strategy that enhances a company’s favorability–when it’s done well. When it’s not, it has an equally potent but negative impact.… Keep reading

…

How to Sell Cause Marketing as a Groupon-Like Promotion

Written on October 19, 2010 in Cause Sales
4 Comments

Persuasion occurs through identification.

It’s one of the basic tenets I live by. It means that we are usually more convincing when we can identify with our prospect’s needs, attitudes, interests and beliefs. When your message aligns with needs, the “pain”, as it’s sometimes called, you get a spark of persuasion. String enough of those sparks together and you have the light and warmth that comes from the flame of a new partnership.

Despite its lofty intentions, cause marketing isn’t any different from any other idea, product or service: nothing happens until it gets sold. That’s why I’m always looking for new ways to meet the needs of prospects and create a spark.

My flint today is a recent post by Sam Decker on Analyzing Groupon Profitability: 7 Factors for Group Buying Success. It really got me thinking about how Groupon works and its similarities to cause marketing (not to be confused with my earlier post on Groupon as cause marketing, better known as Causeon).… Keep reading

…

Product Red’s Bono Learns the Hard Way: Don’t Put the Cause Before the Horse

Written on October 18, 2010 in Cause Practices
4 Comments

Last month the WSJ profiled U2′s Bono and and his wife Ali Hewson’s efforts to launch a fashion line with clothes made in sub-Saharan Africa. (Hat tip to the good folks at Cone for the lead).

Edun got off to a rough start because Bono and Ali had the best of intentions, which, unfortunately, didn’t top the list of reasons consumers would pay $800 for a jacket. Design and fit mattered more.

“We focused too much on the mission in the beginning, ” explained Hewson. It’s the clothes, it’s the product. It’s a fashion company. That needs to be first and foremost.”

Edun is just another business that learned you can’t put mission before margin. The best way for a business to help a cause is to be a great business first, and an advocate for causes second.

At the Beyond Cause Marketing summit ten days ago my industry’s mom Carol Cone told me that even cause leader Timberland had seen sales erode a few years ago when consumer interest in their styles waned.… Keep reading

…

Causeon: Groupon for Cause Marketing

Written on August 30, 2010 in Cause Practices
40 Comments

We all love Groupon, right? They offer us great deals with savings from 50% to 90% and if enough people sign-up for the deal everyone wins. Now a Portland-based company has launched Causeon. Same concept as Groupon, but Causeon offers up to 20% of its revenues to causes.

When Causeon launches in Portland this week the local chapters of Komen, YMCA and Girls, Inc. and others will be in line to receive checks.

I love the concept of Causeon. As a cause marketer, I think it represents a great alternative to point-of-sale programs and is a great step toward building a cause marketing community.

But can Causeon work?

Groupon works because they get tremendous deals and have a large, rabid following, which leads to better deals, more followers, etc. Oh, and one other thing: Groupon is a one-of-a-kind gee whiz phenomenon, much like the Daily Candy was a few years back.… Keep reading

…

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
  • About Joe

    Joe Waters shows nonprofits and for-profits how to use cause marketing and social media to establish and grow relationships with stakeholders. [...]

  • Resources

    Your ultimate guide to doing well and good is here! Cause marketing is on the tongue of nearly every cause and company you talk to [...]

  • Upcoming Webinars

    05.14.13 - Charityhowto.com: Fundraising with Businesses - 6 Tactics that Will Raise More Money

    06.04.13 - Charityhowto.com: Fundraising with Businesses - 6 Tactics that Will Raise More Money

    • Copyright © Selfish Giving 2013