filter by tag: advocacy
You’re Blushing! Tackling Uncomfortable Issues with Cause Marketing
It’s hard to believe breast cancer was once a salacious issue for a company to support. Once considered too personal to discuss outside the doctor’s office, today it is the cookie-cutter cause to support in October. You know the issue has shed its societal stigma when everything from soup cans to paper towels bears the pink ribbon in your neighborhood grocery store. However that does not imply we’re past all the blushing and squirming when it comes to public dialogue of very personal health issues.
Some touchy issues may be shooed away from the schoolyard, but others are looking to target the youth market. MTV recently teamed up with the popular geo-location provider Foursquare to offer the first cause-related badge for checking in to…ahem…STD testing centers. Part of the network’s Get Yourself Tested campaign, the partnership hopes to dampen embarrassment and instead raise awareness, dialogue and action from teens about sexual health. And what better way to get the word out than allowing brave teens to announce their responsible actions to their entire social networks?
Although shock-factor is sure to get attention for these causes, core to all these campaigns is the authentic desire to get the public talking about important issues, even if they are uncomfortable. Once the dialogue is open, there is room for progress toward solving these serious issues. Perhaps one day discussing STD prevention will overcome the gasps and be as acceptable in our public dialogue as fighting breast cancer.
Tags: Women cancer causebranding advocacy campaigns youth newmedia health
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Consumers as Activists – Against Your Cause
Consumers rule the roost when it comes to online conversations. Technology, paired with low trust in business, has created the perfect environment for consumers to broadcast their objections to business practices and programs. And communicating your well-meaning cause effort is no guarantee the chatter will always be nice.
Case in point: the online backlash to KFC’s “Buckets for the Cure,” which was met with seething criticism by both consumers and seasoned cause marketers. The disconnect between the issue (breast cancer) and the product (fried chicken) was the main point of contention. As the conversation simmered, both the fast food chain and the nonprofit partner came under attack. The fact that this partnership has raised millions to-date is lost, perhaps forever, amid the perfect storm of skeptical consumers and critical chatter online.
The best defense? A good offense. Engage the would-be activists early in the process to better predict what issues could arise. In fact, our research found that consumers want to be engaged in the decision-making process for your social or environmental efforts. To help influence initiatives, consumers are willing to take part in a variety of activities, including participating in a survey (70%) or emailing, calling or talking with the company or an employee (32%). By providing these forums for consumers to voice their opinions, organizations will be better equipped to react to possible criticism and adjust their programs accordingly.
And the benefits don’t end there. When their ideas are put to work, consumers are more likely to buy those products and services (60%), feel more loyal to the organization (54%) and are more likely to recommend it to others (51%). So before you tie a ribbon on your soon-to-launch product, why not ask your consumers what they think about the cause, the nonprofit partner and the details? They’ll be eager to engage, and it may just swap a future headache for a brand halo.
Tags: research cone engagement advocacy sharedresponsibility
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Forgetting Your Shoes for a Good Cause
Going barefoot in the office is usually a faux paux – unless you’re an avid supporter of TOMS Shoes.
Yesterday marked the annual One Day Without Shoes event, which challenged people across the country to spend the entire day (or even a few hours) sans shoes. TOMS rose to fame in the cause world through its simple, but powerful, buy one, give one model. For every pair of TOMS Shoes someone buys, a pair is given to a child in need. Yesterday’s effort drew support from 250,000 people through more than 1,600 events around the world. How did they achieve such success? Here are a few thoughts:
Low Barrier to Entry – Consumers didn’t have to contribute financially to take part in the effort, they simply needed to kick off their shoes for the day. This easy call-to-action allows both TOMS Shoes loyalists and non-customers to take part.
Wow Factor – Sometimes the best way to garner awareness is by causing a scene. A shoe-free day is less extreme than wearing nothing but an apron to work – which LUSH Cosmetics employees do once a year to make a statement about over-packaging – but is nonetheless an eye-catching spectacle for a good cause. And getting some celebrities, including Kristen Bell, Matisyahu, Morgan Spurlock and Heather Graham, to kick off their shoes for a day doesn’t hurt either.
Teaching Moment – TOMS was able to supplement its existing sales-based cause efforts with an educational, worldwide event to help inform the public about the risks millions face by living without shoes. The threats range from cuts and scrapes that can lead to infection to Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil. Suddenly, shoes are about more than just comfort and style.
Personal Connection – The event helps bring participants closer to the issue through first-hand experience. Instead of discussing TOMS’ mission in the abstract, the organization gave consumers a way to experience the cause for themselves and gain appreciation for what life is like for the children the company serves.
Widespread and Grassroots – The success of the campaign is largely due to the hundreds of regional events across the globe within cities, college campuses and even elementary schools. The One Day Without Shoes Web site offered toolkits to help participants organize, promote and execute the local efforts.
TOMS Shoes has already established a cult following among socially conscious fashionistas and is slowly creating a movement with its simple rallying cry for the cause. By executing an engaging and powerful event, TOMS was able to reach a wider audience with the message and hopefully increase its band of loyal followers who will provide shoes to the world’s children, one by one.
Did you participate? Tell us what you thought of the experience.
Tags: causebranding global campaigns engagement celebrityengagement advocacy
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The Power of Positivity
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking a results-driven approach to promoting American investments in global health efforts by releasing an advertisement centered on impact. The video, part of the Living Proof Project, will strike a chord with policy-makers, philanthropists and citizens alike not by centering on unmet need, but by highlighting true and measureable change: “Polio cases reduced by 99%;” “Mother-to-child HIV prevention in 16 million pregnancies;” “Malaria cases down 50% in 29 countries.” This approach instills confidence that funding saves lives.
Aimed at policymakers to sway additional funding, the positive message will reach stakeholders beyond those already engaged with the project. The Gates Foundation hopes the commercial, and specifically the measured results, will encourage grant makers and individual philanthropists to give where it counts. As Bill Gates points out, “We see that these things are working, and we’re willing to continue to make investments. I think then other people say, Okay, it must be working or people wouldn’t put their own money into it.”
Additional messages on the project’s Web site encourage advocates to pass along the positive thinking and to “Dispel the myths. When you hear someone say ‘It’s just money down a hole,’ or ‘Saving lives just leads to overpopulation,’ tell them why they’re wrong. These investments work. They empower people, and they’re appreciated."
In the bevy of important social and environmental issues that ask stakeholders for financial support every day, programs that show impact are in high demand. The pressure is now on nonprofits to show the ROI.
Tags: philanthropy roi nonprofitcausebranding global nonprofit advocacy corporategiving
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Unlikely Partnership: Vick and The Humane Society
The Humane Society of the United States is showing a softer side for one of its former animal cruelty targets. The nonprofit organization has partnered with football sensation turned convicted dogfighting offender Michael Vick to become its anti-dogfighting campaign spokesperson. Wait - what?
That’s right, the very organization that rallied against Vick and helped put him behind bars in 2007 announced he will become the face of its campaign. The incentive for Vick is fairly clear. Looking to repair his damaged reputation following his fall from the sporting spotlight, he likely sees aligning with the cause as a direct route back into the public’s favor.
For The Humane Society, however, the choice to engage a man prosecuted for animal cruelty is harder to grasp. But the organization is using the outcry to its benefit. The aftermath of the scandal actually gave The Humane Society and other animal organizations a unique opportunity to draw upon public attention and address the issue of animal fighting. As his sentence comes to an end, the organization believes working with Vick will provide a direct line of communication to the urban youth it is trying to reach with its anti-dogfighting message. Vick himself grew up exposed to dogfighting and claims he didn’t question its immorality when he became an adult. Perhaps like drunk driving offenders or former drug abusers who take to the speaking circuit to share their “lessons learned,” Vick may supply an authentic voice to the campaign the organization couldn’t achieve with another spokesperson.
Partnering with celebrities, as we’ve discussed in previous articles, is always a perilous venture, but joining with one so blatantly in conflict with your organization’s mission is nothing short of treacherous. The Humane Society is taking the controversial decision in stride, claiming it will “reserve judgment until he demonstrates that he's part of the solution rather than a further part of the problem.” Time will tell how the public, Humane Society supporters and animal rights advocates react to this unlikely partnership. Frank, ongoing communication from the organization will be critical.
Tags: currentevents advocacy marketing campaigns engagement celebrityengagement
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Cause Awareness: Videos
The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship just announced it is seeking entries from companies who have demonstrated their responsibility through video for its inaugural International Corporate Citizenship Film Festival. We’re excited to see the winner revealed at the annual conference in 2009 because we’re also big believers in the power of video to showcase compelling stories about pressing issues. Not only does video have an almost unparalleled power to tug at the heartstrings, but it can also inform (build brand and issue awareness) and mobilize (generate funds or advocacy and drive change).
ITT Watermark Video
Video was once typically associated with compelling TV advertisements (Whirlpool’s Habitat for Humanity spot on the film festival’s Web site is a great example), but social media channels have today provided new, less resource-intensive ways to produce and distribute pieces that educate and bring complex issues to the masses or specialized audiences (e.g., Dove or ITT videos). Increasingly, companies and organizations are turning the screen inward to rally their own employees or secure partners through videos not shared publically. They’re even handing the camera to those touched by the issue to tell the story in their words . Video may not be the most novel tool in the communication arsenal, but it continues to translate complex issues, capture attention and inspire unlike most any other medium.
A few best practices for communicating your cause via video:
- Humanize the initiatives – use real people affected by the issue to show the need
- Provide context (e.g., a few defining statistics) to illustrate why efforts are urgent, especially for complex global or business issues
- Show the impact you’re making on the issue, but don’t overstate or overpromise
- Ensure it is more than a boast about your accomplishments
- Be transparent with the details of your commitment – a requirement if you’re also selling a product or service that triggers a donation for the issue
- Offer a convenient venue for people to learn more about the issue and opportunities for engagement
- Spread the word – tap social media networks to encourage others to advocate on your behalf
Tags: causebranding nonprofitcausebranding campaigns advocacy currentevents
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