Simon Sinek’s message Start with Why (must see) explains that marketing without this vision, this purpose, this cause does indeed work – through manipulation – but it does not breed loyalty or trust. Put in a cause marketing context, we may be guilted into donating at the register or buying the cause branded product, but we walk away feeling…icky, taken advantage of.
A Call for Open Sourced Cause Marketing
Word Press Founding Developer Matt Mullenweg got me thinking about how we market our causes and prioritize our efforts to move not only our own programs forward, but to move the entire cause-related conversation forward. My challenge to all you cause crusaders out there doing the good work: let’s make cause marketing best practices open sourced.
Cause Marketing: More is More?
Peter Bregman recently penned a great post, The Farm to Table Secret of Motivating People. In it, he describes a weekend spent at a 10-acre farm with his family and how it profoundly changed the way he selected, prepared and thought about his food. He then relates his experience to engaging and motivating people and posits:
Cause Marketing: The Best CSR Laboratory?
You won’t all agree with me on this, but my personal theory is that cause marketing has the potential to and should be a stepping stone into long-term sustainable business practices that change capitalism as we know it (think: how do we benefit ALL of our stakeholders, not just our shareholders?).
Contagious Cause Marketing?
Are positive, community-oriented behaviors like recycling or charitable giving contagious? It turns out that they may be, in an indirect sort of way. And, better yet, that you may be able to use this in your favor when crafting messaging.
Who’s Got Your Back in Cause Marketing?
If you’re a company or non-profit organization considering the implementation of a cause marketing campaign or initiative, who do you turn to for expert advice? Turns out you have a broad spectrum of options. I’ve asked some of the best and brightest in the cause marketing realm to comment about their place within the cause [...]
SeaPort Airlines: Taking “Home-Town” to New Heights
What do you get when you combine rural communities starved for air travel access, 9-seater airplanes and a “do it well or don’t do it at all” attitude? A nimble, sustainable and locally focused business called SeaPort Airlines.
Can Fast Food Be Sustainable? Lessons from Burgerville
Anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest knows Burgerville. Yes, it’s a burger joint with all the traditional trimmings you’d associate with fast food…french fries, hamburgers, drive-throughs, kids meals. But Burgerville isn’t like any other fast food joint you’ve ever known. Because they serve real food.
Bounty’s “Clean” Cause Marketing Campaign is Anything But
This week, P&G’s Bounty paper products line is wrapping up their 2-month “Make a Clean Difference” cause marketing campaign, according to a P&G company news release. The campaign paired Bounty with the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the Hands On Network to answer what the campaign’s toolkit describes as “…the call from President Obama for Americans to volunteer in the community” and organized over 1,000 volunteers to clean-up schools in a handful of cities around the US. When it comes to wiping up a cause marketing mess, Bounty’s not exactly the “quicker picker upper”.
Leapfrogging the Non-Profit Organization
This may come as a surprise to some in the non-profit world, but some businesses do fundamentally get the importance of partnering with a cause to provide a living example of what they do, engage employees or just give back to their community. All on their own. Without being solicited to partner with a non-profit organization. In fact, sometimes these businesses (who tend to be very focused and enterprising to begin with) just go out and find a need. And fill it. Call it philanthropy. Call it cause marketing. Call it what you will. It happens for several reasons and there are both upsides and down to this phenomenon.
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