August 18, 2008

Nonprofit Gives Up Tower of Power

Driving the expressway downtown ad exec Peter Brown did something the staff and donors at Boston’s most well known homeless shelter had never thought to do: he looked up.

Just down the street from my own nonprofit and visible from the major roadway into Boston, the Pine Street Inn tower is a premium piece of advertising real estate.  Since Peter convinced the Pine Street Inn to sell ad space on the tower in 2000, the shelter has raised $2.3 million, which has all gone to repairing the tower.

Of course, now that the tower is restored to its former splendor the South End community that borders the Inn wants the billboards gone.  And the Pine Street Inn has agreed to do just that, according to the Boston Globe, saying that the ”shelter considered it ‘lucky’ that advertising proved to be an option for fund-raising.”

Huh?

First, money is tough enough to come by for a homeless shelter, right?  The tower ads provide a steady stream of income that will serve the Inn well through good and bad times.  Second, if it wasn’t for Peter Brown and his tacky ads the tower would still look the way he originally saw it: shrouded in black mesh and unfixed.  Third, the Inn has spent eight years being a good corporate citizen and spending every dime they made off the ads to repair the tower.  How about a few more years to raise some money for things like blankets, food and toiletries.  You know, the things a homeless shelter would need.

The Pine Street Inn is not obligated to remove the ads.  While certainly historic–it was built in 1894 and was modeled after the Palazzo Pubblico, the old town hall in Siena, Italy–the tower isn’t located in a historic district.  Besides, it practically sits on the expressway and is in the far corner of the South End.  In short, it’s a better billboard site than a community icon, at least for now.

Two lessons here.  First, the tower is a great example of how every nonprofit has to be on the lookout for their assets.  We all have advantages that we can leverage in the marketplace for fun and profit.  Look at what the Pine Street Inn had right over their heads.  They should have been the ones approaching Peter with a way to raise money, and not vice versa.  Second, once you’ve identified those assets you need to maximize and protect them with your life.  The money the Inn is raising from the tower is just too lucrative to let go or to dismiss as “lucky.”  Nor should they be kowtowing to community groups, unless they happen to have $2.3 million in hand. 

Okay, so maybe you don’t have a billboard up 365 days a year, but what about a few months or half a year?  Or maybe you could use one of those new blind billboards that one moment would show the tower in all its all glory and in the next be an ad for Dunkin Donuts ice tea?  Cripes, at least use the tower to brand the Pine Street Inn in some meaningful way.

The Pine Street Inn is happy to have the ad-less tower back.  They say the shelter is a beacon of hope and the tower symbolizes that.  That’s really beautiful.  Tell that to the homeless men and women you can’t help when donations take a dive. 

Posted in Capplause, Cause Practices, Causerants | Comments (0)
August 4, 2008

links for 2008-08-04

  • Big tick for Sainsbury’s Woodland Eggs
    Since the brand was launched in 2004 Sainsbury’s has initiated tree planting on nearly 200 farms in order to ensure Woodland Egg laying hens can enjoy the shelter and protection trees provide.
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August 4, 2008

Cause Marketing Help Wanted

The prolific Paul Jones over at Cause-Related Marketing has written a great post on Cause Marketing Advisory Boards and how they can help build a nonprofits cause marketing program.  If not for the guidance from my own boss, I would be ridiculing Paul right now (which Paul knows I prefer).  I hate boards and committees and have generally found them to be a complete waste of time.  Arm chair warriors who talk a lot, but really know nothing, and do even less.  But not the cause marketing committee we created at the hospital.  Here’s why.

Creating institutional buy-in.  When my boss launched the cause marketing program four years ago he had to leverage some of his own personal credibility with senior management to begin an effort many were uncomfortable and unfamiliar with.  He knew he needed to spread the load and to involve others to sustain the momentum during those uncertain times.  That’s where the cause marketing committee came in.  He packed it with knowledgeable, well respected supporters and donors that soldified cause marketing as an institutional priority.  This was no longer one man’s personal aspiration.  It was the shared goal of some of the most well respected supporters of the organization.

Building a pond to fish in.  In addition to choosing key supporters of the institution, we packed it with the CEO’s of retailers with whom we wanted to work on cause marketing programs.  The committee meetings were excellent settings to educate them about cause marketing, to share success stories and to slowly chip away at any doubts they had about running a program.  In short, our cause marketing committee became our own personal fishing hole for new partners.  If a new retailer said no to a cause marketing pact but wanted to be supportive of the organization, they joined the committee.  And they weren’t on the committee very long before we sealed a deal–or figured out they never would.

Two-way education.  Education on the committee was two-way: we learned a lot from retailers what  would and wouldn’t work in stores.  Sometimes we pitched programs that were just too complicated and our retail members would point out all the demands placed on their register clerks and that we were asking a lot from people making seven bucks an hour!  So while we educated them about cause marketing, they taught us about retailing.  It was a productive, win-win partnership.

You might think after reading this that our cause marketing committee is working hard for us to this very day.  It’s not.  Eventually we had all the buy-in we needed, all the committee members were on board for a program in one way or another, and we had picked their rolodexes clean to boot.  And while there was always something new to learn about retailing and cause marketing, we all eventually talked ourselves to exhaustion.

We didn’t disband the committee, but we dropped the “cause” in the name and switched the focus to hospital branding and the marketing of clinical services.  It’s a more challenging assignment for them and I think they’re enjoying their new responsibilities.  We still occasionally talk about cause marketing.  Some even put their arm behind their back and yell as if I’m still twisting it.  It’s nice that they remember the good old days.    

Posted in Cause Marketer's Journal, Cause Marketing 101, Cause Practices | Comments (0)
July 24, 2008

links for 2008-07-24

  • Will People Give Meaning To Marketing?
    So, if people are in control and are becoming more and more socially conscious, and marketers want to reach people, then the amazing potential exists for corporations to redirect a significant portion of that $300 billion spent on self-promotion toward ch
  • The $300B Equation - Can Brands Get it Right?
    Money quote: “Brands are contributing only 5% of all charitable giving, and using less than 1% of their advertising budgets for “cause” related efforts. Yet, it is unmistakable that consumers want and expect more.”
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July 23, 2008

Cause Marketing Can’t Buy You Love

Wal-Mart is finding out the hard way that cause marketing alone can’t buy you love.  According to Al Norman at the Huffingtonpost.com, Wal-Mart only managed an overall grade of a C+ on the NAACP corporate report card–despite getting an an A for charitable giving.  Just shows you what a couple of D’s can do to a GPA. 

Wal-Mart’s giving included a $1 million grant to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, $1 million to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project in Washington, D.C., and donations to local NAACP chapters across the nation.  Norman says that “Wal-Mart is a big contributor to many NAACP chapters.  Such donations are what industry consultants call ’cause-related marketing.’”  For me this isn’t cause marketing but it is ”selfish giving.” 

Giving with strings attached is something I’m use to, and you should be too if you plan to work in cause marketing.    

As a mid-size nonprofit working with similar sized businesses on cause marketing programs I always get questions on how cause marketing will impact the bottom-line.  I find that larger businesses are less concerned with cause marketing being a sales driver and can afford to lump it under the do-nothing moniker of ”branding.”  But not so with small business owners.  Every dollar spent has to drive sales and grow the business.

Here’s how I answer their questions about cause marketing.

Will my participation in a cause marketing program boost sales?  There are plenty of studies out there that show that consumers are loyal to and buy more from businesses that support the causes they care about.  But it takes a consistent, long-term commitment to cause marketing to earn your halo.  In short, like everything else that requires an investment, you’re not going to see a return overnight.  But your long term prospects are very good.  I suggest you get started.

How does the costs of cause marketing compare to other types of media (e.g. radio, TV, print, billboard, etc.) I invest in?  Because cause marketing programs inherently see more dollar signs in the register line than in the corporate check book, the former will cost you only a fraction of what radio, TV and print cost.  Unlike the media salesman that wants you to write a check for another flight of ads, the cause marketer wants access to something that you value but costs you nothing to deliver: your customers.

How is cause marketing different from the other ways I invest my time and money to promote my business?  The other ways you market yourself give you visibility.  Consumers know your business and what it sells.  And that’s great.  Cause marketing is different in that it enhances your favorability with consumers.  It gives them a better reason to do business with you than just product and price.  Traditional media shows consumers where you stand–literally; cause marketing shows them for what you stand.

If I run a point-of-sale program, how do I handle customer questions on how much my business is donating?  First, it’s always smart to at least make a modest in-kind or cash donation to show customers that, like them, you’re willing to put your money where your heart is.  But if you can only afford to open your doors to the charity, tell your customers that you wanted to raise the most money for the cause and opening your doors to the charity is ten times more lucrative than any check you could have written.  This is the god honest truth!  Also, remind consumers that you are donating your employees time to participate in the program.  They could be using the valuable but brief time they spend with customers selling them something else!  

Don’t customers find these programs a hassle and would rather not be bothered?  It’s all in the approach.  Americans are very generous and appreciate the opportunity to give back.  You’re giving them a vehicle to do something they enjoy doing and would probably just do somewhere else if given the chance.  When they’re asked enthusiastically, thoughtfully and politely to give, they respond and will thank you.

If I do this for you every charity in the City will be hitting me up to do something similar or to give them money.  Won’t I have a gigantic bulls eye on my business?  Just the opposite.  If you’re really committed to working with one or two organizations that gives you the perfect reason to politely tell people that you’re dance card is full.  This will enhance your favorability in your community because word will get out what a committed partner you are! 

When I die and go to hell, can I use my cause marketing efforts as “Get out of hell” free card?  Absolutely.  This is one thing I can say for certain.  Even if you find yourself standing next to Judas himself you can rest assured that three little words–”point-of-sale”–will automatically transport you to the Pearly Gates where you’ll receive your just reward.  But not before Saint Peter asks you buy a mobile for a buck.  Seeing all those mobiles hanging from the clouds will be one powerful sight.  And who could say no to: “Would you like donate a dollar to save a child from limbo?”    

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July 21, 2008

links for 2008-07-21

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July 18, 2008

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July 17, 2008

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July 14, 2008

Cause Marketing Sampler

Mobile Giving.  With seven Red Sox players dominating the American League line-up at tonight’s All-Star Game, I thought I’d give you another reason to tune-in if for some strange reason you’re not a Sox fan.

Two nonprofit organizations, Stand up to Cancer and Make a Wish Foundation, will benefit through mobile donations.  To donate to Make a Wish Foundation, attendees and viewers will be prompted to text ‘WISH’ to 90999. For Stand up to Cancer donations, text ‘STAND’ to 40202.  The details are still being worked out, but we should see in-stadium and on-air calls to action for both charities.

Mobile giving is a fast growing area for fundraisers.  Just yesterday, the Washington Nationals and MLB launched a mobile donation program benefiting the creation of a Diabetes Care Complex for Children’s National Medical Center.  During the game against the Houston Astros, fans were invited to text the word “NATS” to 90999 to give $5 to support the work of Children’s National Medical Center to fight pediatric diabetes.

Do these programs raise money?  Keep a Child Alive has raised over $40,000 through mobile donations during Alicia Keys ‘As I Am’ tour.  During her concerts, Alicia Keys dims the house lights, plays a clip from her ‘Alicia in Africa’ film, and asks concertgoers to pull out their cell phones and text ‘ALIVE’ to 90999.  So far, over 8,000 donations have been made.

To learn more about mobile giving, visit mGive.com.  What I like about mobile giving is its potential to be used in numerous settings.  At sports arenas, at the supermarket, in conjunction with a point-of-sale or percentage-of-sale program, at company meetings, etc.  Just think if you could sit in a company auditorium and hear about the work of a bunch of nonprofits and by just using your cell phone choose your charities for payroll deduction.  The possibilities for mobile giving are endless!  And after checking out mGive, I was amazed at how easy and affordable it is to get started.

Viewers Identify with Brands that Support Favorite TV Shows Causes.  This was the conclusion of U.K. research reported on by AdAge that looked at how subtly TV sponsorship works and how different its effects are from traditional spot advertising.  I think the research is applicable to cause marketing in several ways.

  • Like cause marketing, TV sponsorship works “by capitalizing on a viewer’s feelings about a program.  The stronger the relationship the viewer has with the program, the more effective the sponsorship will be at driving these emotions toward the brand.”  Most cause marketing programs work because consumers have a long, positive and strong relationship with a corporate brand–relationships that are in turn passed along to the cause partner and enhanced to the benefit the corporate brand.  While great cause marketing programs have different appeals and approaches they all share one thing: a strong corporate partner.
  • If a TV sponsorship can have an impact on a fans’ favorability toward a brand (the sense of the brand being “for me” can rise as much as 12% and intent to purchase can be up to 9% higher), why are companies so surprised when I tell them that cause marketing can significantly improve their favorability with consumers?  If a Domino’s Pizza TV sponsorship of The Simpsons can help sell pizzas, isn’t Domino’s support for sick kids at St. Jude’s a sales driver too?  Domino’s obviously gets this, but most companies still do not.
  • Cause marketing partners want what the U.K. study calls “brand rub.”  Just as TV fans tend to use the same words to describe programs AND sponsors–”funny,” ”enjoyable,” “friendly”–corporate partners hope to benefit from the ”brand rub” of causes and be called “compassionate,”  “responsible” and “giving”.
  • Like cause marketing partnerships, the rewards of TV sponsorships come with time.  “Longevity reaps greater rewards with increases in intent to purchases, favorability and fame.”  Perhaps most interestingly, ”Given time, even brands that are not a natural fit with a show can enter the viewer-program and fame.”  This speaks to a point I often make about the synergy between nonprofit and for profit.  Do they always have to be closely linked?  Like the one I saw last month between Vitamin Shoppe and Vitamin Angels–so similar I asked if the latter was separate from VS, which it is.  I’ve always thought that consumers don’t really care what cause companies support.  What they do want from businesses is a sincere commitment to a good cause.  Period.  They may scratch their heads in the beginning, but with time and commitment from the company, customers will stop scratching and start applauding your good deeds, whatever they may be.
  • Not surprisingly, the appeal of TV sponsorships is emotional, not rational.  “Only 10% of respondents believed that sponsorship has informed them about a brand or has been thought provoking.”  The same is true of cause marketing, which at its most basic level is transactional.  “Do you want to donate a dollar to help a sick child?”  It’s not meant to educate, inform or change the way you think about a company.  It’s meant to make you feel.  If you want thought provoking watch PBS.  Appeals to the head should never be mistaken for matters of the heart.
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July 8, 2008

Hitting the Wall of Cause Marketing

The economy is impacting every type of business and cause marketing is no exception.  I know we’ve lost our share of corporate partners this year.  Just this week a major partner slashed its sponsorship from $93,000 to $7,500.  Ouch!  Business is off, marketing plans are changing and new faces bring new perspectives and new challenges.  Here are some of the ways we’re adapting our cause marketing programs for these leaner economic times.

Keep your friends close.  You know who they are.  These are the companies that have drunk the cool-aid and will stick with you through good and bad.  Committed partners like party-supply retailer iParty continue to generate record sales in the three mobile programs they do for us each year.  As other retail partners have faltered or disappeared, we continue to work with iParty to maximize their cause marketing program and to make up the shortfall.  So far it’s working.

And your enemies closer.  I love the dramatic, but let me assure you: these companies aren’t your enemies.  But they are the ones who want to run when things get hot in the trenches.  These are the companies that you have to hand-hold through the rough spells.  The ones you have to reassure that cause marketing delivers a unique benefit that can not be found anywhere else.  The ones you have to give room to to adjust the timing, theme and length of their cause marketing program to fit their new reality.  If they want to be an event sponsor of your April fundraiser but can’t do a point-of-sale program to pay for it until October, let them!  Make it hard for them to say no and easy to stay your friend.

If you can’t bite, nibble.  Because we know there are a lot fewer five and six-figure cause marketing partners for events like Halloween Town this year, we’re focusing our efforts on a three and four-figure strategy for raising money from the business community.  Since corporate ticket sales for Halloween Town have always been significant ($200k since inception) we plan to drive volume with corporate ticket packages that start as low as $500.  We’ve committed two sales people to calling on law firms, architects, investment houses, real estates offices, etc.  Many of these businesses cannot afford or don’t want to be five or six-figure sponsors of Halloween Town, but buying $500 in tickets that they in turn can give to their employees or give back to us for distribution in the poor communities we serve is an easier yes.    

Other ways we plan to “nibble” our way to more revenue with Halloween Town this year include a Door and Floor strategy.  Already under-priced compared to the $23 to $25 Halloween events in Boston, Halloween Town tickets will go up at least a buck this year.  This will generate thousands of dollars in additional revenue.  Also, once inside, guests will be asked to pay a dollar or two for some of our most popular activities (e. g. laser tag) and will have to pay extra for things like face painting, balloon animals etc.  This too will boost our bottom line.

Like hitting the wall at mile twenty during the Boston Marathon, hitting the wall of cause marketing during a tough economy is neither fun nor pretty, but it is survivable.  You survive the same way you survive those last six miles: focus, perseverance and a great support team.  The goal is to finish intact, unhurt, and, most importantly, unbroken.  Tough times don’t last.  Tough people do.     

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July 4, 2008

links for 2008-07-04

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July 3, 2008

links for 2008-07-03

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July 2, 2008

links for 2008-07-02

  • Jim Beam touts its inner ’stuff’
    While Jim Beam’s marketing has long focused on the quality of the drink inside the bottle, the brand’s new effort is a high-concept, cross-channel campaign that champions the stuff inside not just its bottles but individuals and organiza­tions as well.
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June 30, 2008

Other Types of Corporate Fundraising

A question I got after last week’s post was what are some of the other ways I raise money from companies.  If a company isn’t a retailer with foot traffic that you can run either a point-of-sale or a percentage-of-sale program, how do I make money when I’m pitching my organization to law firms, investment houses, construction companies,  etc.?  It’s a good question because reaching out to different industries represents a huge growth area for corporate fundraisers.  Cause marketing is great, but eventually you run low on the big retailers that make these programs go.  You have to diversify.  Here’s how I’m expanding my corporate footprint in Boston and even retrofitting some of my current cause marketing programs for new corporate missions.

New missions for existing programs.  Most of the events I run–Halloween Town, Team BMC–are cause marketing driven, but also deliver great opportunities for corporate involvement and support.  For Halloween Town, companies can send volunteer groups by the dozen to participate and give back.  They can also buy corporate tickets for their employees, or they can donate them back to the poor children we serve.  When it comes to Team BMC, our annual Boston Marathon fundraising program, companies can buy blocks of waivers that they can use for their employees, clients and vendors.  Of course, we don’t just hand over the numbers, we create a whole program for them that maximizes their chances for employee and customer involvement and satisfaction.

In-house fundraisers.  One area I’ve been looking at more is workplace fundraising programs.  A few weeks ago at Cause Marketing Forum, Lee Krajian from NBA-E introduced me to a good one.  Lee’s company organizes gift card drives at local companies.  Here’s how it works.  Most people have a gift card or two that they either don’t plan to use or only has a few dollars left on it.  Thanks to Lee’s company you can bring that card to your work and drop it in a collection box.  He’ll extract what’s left on the card and, after taking a small fee, give what’s left to your charity of choice.   Lee’s idea is simple, easy to execute in the workplace and costs the donor nothing because the gift card cost them nothing or had close to nothing left on it, or both.

Custom fundraisers.  Whenever I visit a company I become their de facto charity consultant who is there to, first, help them achieve their employee and customer goals, and, second, to raise money for my organization.  Some may think my order is screwed up, but I would refer them to Henry Ford:

It is not the employer who pays the wages.  Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.

Our success as corporate fundraisers hinges on how well we service our corporate supporters.  If my prepackaged programs don’t resonate them, I find out what does.  If your company loves kick-ball, how about a tournament with other employees?  Better yet, how about one with other companies?  Could your directors help with recruitment?  The partner in charge is happy to open his home on Nantucket for function?  How about a clambake for employees and clients that asks for a donation and tens minutes of their time to hear about your organization.  You have a motivated group of employees who would be happy to raise money if they could get race numbers for next month’s Falmouth Road Race?  Let me make a few calls and see what I can do.

Whether it’s involving companies in an existing event, designing an in-house program or customizing a program based on their goals and interests, the opportunities with companies of all industries and sizes are endless.  Cause marketing is great for retailers, but what if you wanted to raise more money from other businesses?  Here’s a hint: If the store you shop at doesn’t carry everything you want, you need to shop somewhere else.

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June 26, 2008

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