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A Long-Term View for Relief in Japan
Japan is facing the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history – a 9.0-magnitude earthquake followed by tsunami, which caused a nuclear crisis. The series of events is almost unimaginable, and though the damage is high the outpouring of financial support from consumers and companies is notably lower than other recent natural disasters, including the Haiti earthquake last year, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Why the discrepancy? It may have less to do with human compassion than with simple pragmatism. Here are several factors at play:
- Factor 1: Japan is a developed nation with the third largest economy in the world. Its infrastructure and resources far outweigh that of developing nations where crises also occur, such as Haiti.
- Factor 2: The Japanese government has not issued a call for support from other nations, and in fact, turned down offers for assistance.
- Factor 3: Nonprofit organizations in Japan, such as the Red Cross, have demonstrated a similar reticence to accept outside assistance from global affiliates.
- Factor 4: Where do you start? As the nuclear crisis continues to escalate, there is not a clear understanding of where Japan’s biggest short or long-terms needs are.
With such reserve from the government and aid organizations, it is hardly surprising that consumers and companies alike may not be responding with the same fervor as we have seen in the past. Despite our tendency to make comparisons, disasters are not all created equal.
Companies looking to support Japan as it assesses damage must realize this disaster may call for a different approach than for those that came before. Japan has resisted some of the immediate support offered, yet that is not to say aid is not desperately needed. The domino effect of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis paints a picture of a disaster that will demand more than immediate assistance. The best strategy a company can employ is not to have a short attention span.
Instead of sending volunteers, financial assistance or other assets in the short-term, which may not be used effectively or may actually create challenges for distribution on the ground, companies should instead create a thoughtful plan that will help the nation in the long-term, once mass media attention has died down and the nation looks to rebuild. Having patience to assess the needs will prove difficult for companies and American citizens alike, because, traditionally, our country’s largest outpouring of donations and compassion occur as we see the faces of the devastation in real time.
It’s in all of our interests to see Japan recover quickly. With a plan already in place, companies will be prepared to leverage their unique assets when the call for aid finally comes. For now, sit back, assess what the need is, listen to what the ask is, then give what and where it is needed most.
Cone offers the following five evergreen tips for corporate disaster response planning:
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Tags: fundraising crisispreparedness donation corporategiving employees crisis
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Nonprofit Social Media Faux Pas: A Lucky Mistake
An accidental tweet came across the American Red Cross’ Twitter stream this week, giving the nonprofit reason to feel dizzy.
The American Red Cross has handled this error incredibly well. So well, in fact, that it should be a model for others to follow. Here is what they did right:
- Moved quickly
- Removed the tweet
- Acknowledged that nothing is ever *really* removed from the internet
- Admitted the error ON TWITTER with a witty follow-up
- Took further responsibility for the error in a blog post that was honest, authentic and appreciative of folks who recognized it as a simple mix-up
- Laughed at themselves
Not all social media faux pas are as innocent as this one, but it is a terrific example of turning a potential negative into a positive through active social media participation.
- Mike Hollywood, Director of New Media, @mikehollywood
Tags: nonprofitcausebranding newmedia crisis donation
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Not Just a Crisis Issue – Transparency as a CR Opportunity
The heated discussion around the Taco Bell lawsuit for using only 36 percent beef in its tacos has been wrongly framed. Although many view it as a crisis communication challenge, it is in fact a symptom of the company’s misaligned corporate responsibility priorities. 
Taco Bell’s punchy response – “Thanks for Suing Us” – reaffirmed its lack of serious commitment to the issues that matter most. Stakeholders today are demanding greater transparency and assurance from the companies they patron. This lawsuit should serve notice to several players in the quick-serve industry – be transparent and honest about ingredients, whether it’s 87 percent turkey or 100 percent beef.
Today’s consumers will embrace Transparent Brands – those that demonstrate a laser-focus on issues that matter, openly share operational challenges without spin and make a commitment to honest engagement as a path to innovation.
Taco Bell can’t promote 100 percent beef like other quick-serve competitors. But the company’s response, indicating that consumers don’t care or expect less, isn’t true or sustainable. Competitors that can offer better ingredients should pounce. Transparency is the new brand opportunity.
- Jonathan Yohannan, Senior Vice President
Tags: corporateresponsibility transparency health crisis qsr
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Corporate–Nonprofit Partnerships: What to Do in a Crisis
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Africa is under fire after revealing “grave misuse of funds” in four countries where it operates. The Fund released its report last year, but an Associated Press story brought renewed attention to the situation this week, revealing the Global Fund is demanding the recovery of $34 million in grants out of $13 billion.
In the U.S., the development fund may be better known as the NGO behind the (PRODUCT)RED cause brand. (RED) is backed by a house of iconic brands, including Starbucks, Apple, NIKE and American Express, who have successfully helped generate more than $160 million for the Fund through a unique licensing agreement to sell (RED)-branded merchandise. For these or any companies facing donation fraud or other crises within their cause partnerships, we recommend the following short-term measures to help protect the cause brand and retain consumer trust:
- Review existing NGO/cause partnerships to confirm whether credible auditing is in place and whether audit results are accessible to the company and its stakeholders.
- If any doubt exists, make a formal request to partners for information and escrow further donations until such auditing and results are confirmed.
- Prepare a reactive public statement to this effect, for use in the event of media or consumer inquiries. Make sure appropriate employees – from customer service representatives to store managers – are armed with this statement to respond to questions in real time.
- For major ongoing product-based partnerships such as (PRODUCT)RED, post the statement on the media page of the company’s website. Encourage consumers to continue supporting the cause, but assure them their money is safeguarded until it will have the social impact the company desires.
- Keep consumers informed of any changes in how their money will be directed as things progress.
Visit our website for Cone’s full POV on the Global Fund crisis.
Posts under the Knowledge Leadership byline come from Knowledge
Leadership team members Sarah Kerkian and Casey Brennan. Follow us on
Twitter: @ConeLLC, @SarahKerkian, @CaseyB
Tags: causebranding global nonprofitcausebranding crisis employee corporatepartnerships
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Interactive Tools to Communicate Complex Issues
As interconnected as our world is today, it is still difficult to understand the impact of a natural disaster or serious issue from afar. To help bridge this divide, organizations are creating interactive online tools to better connect individuals to global issues, making them more relevant than ever before. Two disaster-related examples caught our eye this week:
IfItWereMyHome.com – a visualization tool that allows users to overlay the map of an area affected by disaster (the BP oil spill or Pakistan flood) atop a map of their own communities. For example, we can compare the devastated area in Pakistan to our office location in Boston, which shows the flood area would extend along the entire east coast. Suddenly, we realize the true extent of this disaster in proportions we can understand. Once users are attuned to the scope of the disaster, the site offers some further information and opportunities to donate.
The Haiti Aid Map – a collaboration of InterAction, BCLC and FedEx – details NGO efforts in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. The map pinpoints 486 efforts underway by 77 different organizations, allowing visitors to search by topic, community or organization and learn more about what efforts and progress are happening within each. As the challenges in Haiti persist a year after the earthquake, donors may be questioning whether their dollars are being used effectively. Ideally, this site will bring a heightened level of transparency and coordination to the many efforts on the ground and ensure the continued flow of support.
Interactive “on-the-ground” tools like these are a trend to watch in 2011 as the demand for transparency and accountability in the cause space grows. But they should not be restricted to disaster response. It’s a technique that other large national or global causes should also adopt, as it invites consumer engagement and promotes organizational transparency and accountability – both things sometimes in short supply.
Tags: transparency global trends causebranding crisis newmedia engagement
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Dawn: A New Day?
After 30 years helping to rescue wildlife from oil pollution, the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign is more relevant than ever before, amid the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The connection to the crisis is direct – it has donated thousands of bottles of its dish liquid to clean birds affected by the Gulf oil spill. So it would seem that the company has a credible opportunity about which to communicate its efforts, yet Dawn does not appear to be altering its strategy in light of the oil spill.
A few media outlets have highlighted Dawn’s support, including a placement in The New York Times and a mention on CNN. One article noted Dawn has purchased Google adwords to direct searchers to the campaign Facebook page. But, the company itself has not made substantive changes to its TV advertising messages (e.g., a Gulf-specific tag), Web site or even issued a press release in light of its continued commitment to relief efforts. In fact, the current ads were slated to run before the crisis occurred, and there’s no word whether Dawn will continue the campaign after they are scheduled to stop at the end of June.
The choice by Dawn to keep its efforts under the radar comes in stark contrast with other corporate relief efforts – Hooters has touted its donation of pantyhose to make booms that will absorb oil, and Microsoft teamed with TV host Stephen Colbert to donate money to relief efforts every time Colbert said the word “Bing” during his half-hour comedy show.
Times of crisis are bound to be sensitive, and Dawn has to be careful about how it communicates its efforts. The worst thing the company could do is appear to be leveraging the spill as an opportunity for its brand. But because Dawn Saves Wildlife is an established, credible cause effort, there may be a real opportunity for the brand to tweak its messaging (and perhaps even its charitable contributions) in light of the very real, very relevant disaster we face today.
What do you think? Voice your opinion about Dawn’s communications, and what its communication strategy should be moving forward by voting in our latest blog poll.
Tags: causebranding currentevents environment campaigns crisis
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Disaster Donations: Haiti vs. Chile
Donations for relief efforts in Chile pale in comparison to those for Haiti. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports in an interview that a mere $250,000 raised by Americans three days following the Chile disaster, which starkly contrasts the nearly $97 million raised three days following the Haiti earthquake. Despite experiencing a stronger earthquake, Chile’s existing building codes and infrastructure better prepared it to cope with damages. However, several other factors may have influenced the difference in donations:
Consumers Are Tapped Out – Many Americans responded to the Haiti crisis by taking part in the widespread text-to-give campaigns promoted by major relief organizations, through which the American Red Cross alone raised $32 million. Mobile giving was a fast and easy way to respond to the crisis, but some may simply be overwhelmed by donating to the second major disaster in a two-month period. In addition, there has seemingly been more media attention for the Haiti disaster, which continues to capture headlines amidst the Chile crisis.
Call To Action Was Less Urgent – The Chile government’s call for aid didn’t take place for several days after the disaster which influences donor urgency. According to The 2010 Cone Text-to-Give Trend Tracker, more than one fifth (22%) of respondents indicated they would donate to causes via text message only when the need was urgent.
Haiti Activated Grassroots – In Haiti, the need for donations was immediate and urgent. Individuals were activated to help not only through popular donation campaigns by organizations such as the American Red Cross and Yele Haiti, but also through their own grassroots efforts that utilized events and social media. The Wall Street Journal this week highlighted some of the more extraordinary methods for individual fundraising, such as a skydiving nun and pajama-clad office workers.
Celebrity Involvement – The star power that surrounded Haiti undoubtedly drew additional attention to relief efforts. Whether sports stars making a statement on the courts or a star-studded telethon, celebrities came together for the cause and inspired other Americans to do the same.
None of these factors are the responsibility of any one stakeholder. Governments, relief organizations, businesses, influencers and consumers need to work collaboratively toward a common solution for maximum impact, and we saw this collaboration in top form following the earthquake in Haiti. The sobering reality of the back-to-back earthquakes of 2010, however, made it clear that no two disasters, or their resulting relief efforts, are the same. What will you and your organization proactively prepare to do when another disaster strikes?
Tags: causebranding donation currentevents global fundraising newmedia crisis
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Disaster Relief in the Digital Age
All eyes are on Haiti this week, and before anything, we must say that the thoughts and prayers of the entire Cone family go out to the people of Haiti. As nonprofit organizations and government agencies quickly deploy their emergency resources to come to Haiti’s aid in the aftermath of this tragedy, American citizens are just as quickly responding through their own channels – digitally.
With laptops and smartphones at their fingertips, donors are setting records with lightning-fast fundraising tools. Convio, a company that provides donation software to charities, processed more than $20 million as of January 13th – more than it did on December 31st, which is typically the biggest fundraising day of the year. And it wasn’t just online donation that was successful, text-to-donate campaigns saw big numbers too. The American Red Cross has raised $8 million to-date through its mobile campaign, and Yéle Haiti, the nonprofit of musician and Haiti-native Wyclef Jean, has raised more than $750,000 through a similar mobile effort.
Cone’s research on cause and new media this fall found that Americans are using such tools for awareness, but not necessarily translating this into donations. This situation debunks the myth that they won’t donate – for now we know when the need is urgent and the request is easy, citizens will respond through every tool at their disposal. One lesson to emerge from this devastating tragedy is that having new media communications and fundraising capabilities in place before the need is urgent will help mobilize your cause when the situation is dire. And despite the urgency of a message, those that are clear, concise and show ongoing results are lessons all organizations can heed when developing new media communications in support of their causes.
To see Cone’s list of guidelines and resources for companies responding to natural disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, please click here.
Tags: causebranding crisis currentevents donation charity fundraising newmedia
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Conference Season 2009
Spring is in the air, and Cone is revving up for an exciting (and busy) conference season. Here is a sneak peek of where you can find us in the next two months:
The Better Business Bureau of NY
CSR Forum II: Leading the Recovery and Restoring Transparency and Trust in Business
May 12, 2009
Carol Cone will be moderating a panel entitled “Responsibility Strategies for Rough Times.” The discussion will include representatives from Verizon, Time Warner and Pfizer.
Sustainability 50
May 12, 2009
Jonathan Yohannan, SVP, will join a candid discussion among business leaders about effective environmental communications.
May 14, 2009
Carol Cone will lead a roundtable discussion entitled “Anatomy of the Corporate Soul.”
The Bulldog Reporter Media Relations Summit
Expanding the Value of PR in the Digital Age
May 18, 2009
Mike Lawrence, EVP and Chief Reputation Officer, will speak on a panel entitled “Lightning Response: Surviving the First 24 Hours of Crisis.”
The 2009 Cause Marketing Forum Conference
May 27, 2009
Carol Cone will help kick off the event with a keynote at the opening dinner about trends in cause marketing and Cone’s latest cause research.
CECP’s Corporate Philanthropy Summit
Under a New Lens: Corporate Philanthropy in a Changed Economy
June 2, 2009
Carol Cone will moderate a panel entitled “Beyond Cash: Leveraging Your Resources.” The discussion will include representatives from Cisco, American Express Foundation and The Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.
June 4, 2009
Mike Hollywood, Director of New Media and Jonathan Yohannan, SVP, will lead a half-day workshop on “Sustainable New Media” where participants will learn how to successfully integrate new media into corporate responsibility communications strategies.
We are honored to be speaking at these leading conferences and hope you can join us!
Tags: Reputation corporateresponsibility newmedia causebranding crisis conferences environment
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