Name That Cause Marketing Organization

Here’s a cause marketing trivia question for you:  Who’s been doing cause marketing campaigns for 20 years and cranks out an astounding 60-70 campaigns per year?

Here’s a hint.  They’re not an agency, though they broker cause marketing partnerships all day long.  They’re not a non-profit organization, though their hopper is full of amazing causes waiting to see the light of day.  You could say they’re a cause unto themselves but they’re a for-profit company.  You’ve definitely heard the name.

Give up?

Scholastic is best known as one of the largest publishers and distributors of children’s books.  Conducting 120,000 book fairs each year and boasting an established direct-to-teacher distribution channel, Scholastic has a pretty amazing foothold into classrooms and backpacks across the country.  Jason Omenn, Regional Director of National Partnerships at Scholastic, recently explained how they leverage this channel specifically for cause campaigns.

Our division of Scholastic works with government agencies, foundations, non-profit organizations and brands to act as education marketing agency.  Our goal is to carry messaging to teachers in a way that adds value to the classroom.  Our news magazines have between 75%-95% usage by teachers, and approximately 80% make it into people’s homes.

Campaigns may be an educational poster sent to teachers along with curriculum supplements and individual worksheets for students to take home.  Sixty percent of their campaigns also have a digital component with interactive online experiences for students, parents and/or teachers.  Campaigns range from financial education to internet safety, sun safety to stress management.

An interesting example is their current 9/11 Day of Service campaign.   When the non-profit organization, MyGoodDeed, decided to ramp up service-oriented efforts leading up the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and secured funding, they turned to Scholastic to help spread their message further with teacher lesson plans and service learning to “Inspire students to take positive action in remembrance of 9/11 and teach 9/11 constructively”.

A couple of things that strike me as particularly interesting about Scholastic from which we could probably all benefit:

• Empowering and entrusting children with cause-related messages.  Scholastic arms kids with the information they need on topics interesting to them so that they may educate their parents.   They also recognize that kids feel particularly validated when they can be the “expert” in a given topic and understand that kids really do want to make a difference in the world.

• Protecting the heck out of their channel.  There is certainly a litmus test for Scholastic when it comes to what they will and won’t distribute to teachers and children.  While approximately half of their campaigns are cause-related, they maintain editorial rights with their partners to create relevant and balanced content and curriculum and make no bones about telling partners, as Jason puts it, “We’re Switzerland”.

• Thinking long-term and client-focused.  Many of the campaigns Scholastic launches have been literally years and years in the making.  With so many organizations to work with, patience is certainly called for in waiting for the right timing, for budgets to align and for a relevant partnership to germinate.  Jason and his colleagues also recognize that, although organizations may see the value in a partnership with Scholastic, they often don’t have the time and resources to put into creating a campaign.  Jason is quick to assure client partners that the bulk of the work is handled by Scholastic, remaining sensitive to their resource constraints.

Scholastic offers a unique and interesting example for how cause campaigns can be leveraged through the classroom.  What’s your take on this?  How do you feel about cause marketing directed toward children via the classroom?

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Image credit to Kansasexplorer 3128.