Selfish GivingCapplause | Selfish Giving

Winners: Pinterest ‘Causes I Love Contest’

Joe Waters — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:29:18 +0000

Wow, choosing the winner of the Pinterest “Causes I Love Contest” was a lot of fun. But it was a tough decision too. Truth be told, I asked my wife to help.

We loved so many of the boards I decided to hand out three awards. First place gets the $250 DonorsChoose.org gift card. Second place a $100 gift card. Third place a $50 gift card.

First Place

I loved this board by Anne Spires DeLong. The pictures are wonderful and it’s clear that she loves dogs, pets and animal adoption.

Second Place

This is a great board from Jessica Stanford. Jessica’s board especially spoke to my wife with its interesting and cute pictures. We both loved all the causes that are represented on it.

Third Place

I thought Kathy Hernandez had a clever idea for her board. She pinned pictures of people that share her last name of Hernandez that she supports through Kiva. Talk about put a human face to giving. What a great use of Pinterest!

Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who participated.

Anne, Jessica and Kathy: You can contact me at joe@selfishgiving.com to receive your DonorsChoose.org gift cards!

The 10 Best Cause Marketing Posts of 2011

Joe Waters — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Here’s one last look back at 2011. Here are the top ten posts at Selfishgiving.com as ranked by PostRank.

The Best Local Cause Marketing of 2011 (and 3 that Really Stunk)

Joe Waters — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Here are my picks for the best local cause marketing programs of 2011. My criteria for picking these promotions wasn’t based on dollars raised, but on how well they represented the potential for local cause marketing. In short, these programs inspired me and made me proud to be a cause marketer.

I hope they do the same for you! If you know of other local programs that should be added to my list – good or bad – include them in the comments section of this post. Also, I’m looking for some great cause marketing promotions to include on my cause marketing page on Pinterest!

Program: Peapod Virtual Food Drive for The Food Bank for New York City

Location: New York City

Details: Customers can create their own virtual food drive and invite friends, relatives and co-workers to support it.

Why it’s on the list: I love online cause marketing when I can find it. This program fits seamlessly with Peapod’s business model. You shop online for yourself. Now you can shop online to help others. I’m a big fan of the Food Bank for NYC. They have a great mission and do great cause marketing all year long!

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Program: Tevolution Twists, Sips, Gives to Four Nonprofits

Location: Washington, D. C., Los Angeles

Details: Every time you buy one of Tevolution’s delicious teas you can enter the text code behind the label to donate $0.25 to one of four causes.

Why it’s on the list: I like that Tevolution started runs a business with one thing in mind: to make and sell an outstanding iced tea. The best way for a business to help a cause is to be a great business FIRST, and that’s Tevolution’s first priority. I also like that the two co-founders of the company saw the value and promise of using SMS for consumers to direct their donations to one of four charities.

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Program: Great Wolf Lodge Gingerbread House Supports BBBS

Location: 10 locations nationwide

Details: For a donation of $20 to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Great Wolf Lodge guests can enjoy a meal inside a life-size gingerbread hsouse through December 25.

Why it’s on the list: For those of you who regularly read my blog, you know I love holiday cause marketing, especially experiential cause marketing. This Christmas promotion won’t raise the most money, but it’s unique, creative and memorable.

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Program: KFC, Dairy Queen Sell Pinups to Raise Money for Homeless

Location: Savannah, Georgia

Details: This program has cashiers selling pinups for $2 at the register. Drive thru guests get a special insert with a QR code to scan to learn more about the program and donate on their smartphones.

Why it’s on the list: This simple, transactional cause marketing program has already raised nearly $20,000 for the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless. It shows what great, local cause marketing can accomplish when people are motivated, committed, persistent and trained in cause marketing.

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Program: 40 Local Companies Partner with the Ellie Fund for Cancer Care

Location: Boston

Details: Executive director Julie Nations recruited 40 businesses that each committed to donating a minimum of $1,000 through purchase-triggered donation programs. For example, a local dry cleaner offered customers 20% off the cleaning of pink products with 5% of the cost going to the Ellie Fund. A local e-tailer sold a special pink ribbon clip and donated 10% of the proceeds to the charity.

Why it’s on the list: Just as Maggie Keenan in Savannah, Georgia showed us that any cause and company can do point-of-sale, Julie shows the potential of purchase-triggered programs for nonprofits. The Ellie Fund’s cause marketing program is a great example of using the assets you have on hand to create a program that rasies money and awareness for YOU.

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Program: Foursquare Cause Marketing Finds Home with Shelter Scotland

Location: Scotland

Details: Shelter Scotland offered real value to customers that checked into eight thrift stores. They offered a buy two, get one free special for both new and loyal customers on every sixth check-in. Foursquare users also earned unique badges – wonderfully designed by a noted Scotland designer – for each store. When you collected all eight you were entered into a contest to win prints of the designs.

Why it’s on the list: This is special addition to my list because Shelter Scotland didn’t have a company partner for this program, which, according to my own definition doesn’t make it cause marketing. Instead, it created the Foursquare program for its own business, a chain of thrift stores. While the program could be enhanced with a for profit partner, it’s a great example of Foursquare cause marketing for nonprofits that have storefronts (e.g. Goodwill).

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Program: PUMA Runs Wicked Far for Soles4Souls

Location: Boston

Details: The weekend of the Boston Marathon the PUMA store on Newbury Street put a treadmill in its front window on which passerbys could run a mile a two. For every mile logged PUMA donated a pair of shoes to Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that provides shoes to poor people around the globe.

Why it’s on the list: While this promotion was created by an international footwear company, it shows just how easy cool cause marketing is for even just one store. If you run a bakery you can sell a special cupcake to benefit a cause. If you run a hair salon you have a cut-a-thon. And if you sell running shoes you can set up a treadmill on which visitors can run a mile or two to support a cause. You don’t have to be big to be bold!

~~~

These are my picks for best local cause marketing programs for 2011. Here’s my pick for the worst.

Program: KFC Shows They Don’t Give a Cluck About Juvenile Diabetes

Location: Utah

Details: One Kentucky Fried Chicken location in Utah ran this promotion: Buy a HALF-GALLON of soda — with 800 calories from 56 spoonfuls of sugar — for $2.99 and a buck goes to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Why it’s on the list: This program was just wrong right from the beginning. Campaigns for health causes in fast food chains shouldn’t involve menu items, unless they are healthy meals. Connecting a large soda with something like diabetes – even Type I diabetes, which I’m told is a genetic condition not related to diet – just isn’t smart. If I can make mistake Type 1 and Type 2 so can millions of Americans. This program was a disaster for JDRF, KFC, and gave cause marketing a stinging black eye.

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In 2011, I published a guest post and wrote a post on two campaigns that deserved a critical eye. I’m not including them in in my official list because they’re not local promotions. However, you should read them so you can kick off your own cause marketing programs in 2012 without incident. I would hate it if next year you ended up on my naughty list.

Walgreens Checks-In to Controversy with 4sq Cause Marketing

Urban Outfitters’ Cause Marketing for NPR is a Poor Fit

5 Holiday Cause Promotions that Top My Christmas List

Joe Waters — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I love Christmastime! There’s classic music like Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, time with friends and family (minus grandma), lots of delicious baked goods from my wife and, yes, presents!

I’ve already gotten some great gifts: five cause marketing promotions that keep me believing in the spirit of giving that happens when company and cause work together.

Macy’s ‘Believe’ Campaign to Benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Macy's 'Believe-o-Magic' app for iPhone & Android.

In its fourth year, Macy’s ‘Believe’ campaign will donate $1 (up to $1 million) for each letter to Santa mailed at its stores. Macy’s doubled their donation for National Believe Day on December 9th. They even have a Believe-o-Matic app that kids can use to make their own Christmas cards.

I like this campaign because it’s a long term commitment to Make-A-Wish, has tons of different features to it and has a slick website. Check it out. It. Is. Awesome. Finally, we have a big retail chain that’s sticking its flag in the ground and saying MERRY CHRISTMAS instead of happy holidays. Good for them. That being said, Happy Hanukah and Kwanza!

Radio Shack ‘So Right’ Foursquare Badge Supports LIVESTRONG

Radio Shack's "So Right" Foursquare holiday badge benefits LIVESTRONG.

After a successful campaign last year with Holiday Heroes, Radio Shack is back with ‘So Right’ holiday promotion this month. For each badge earned, RadioShack will donate $1 to LIVESTRONG, the cancer charity founded by Radio Shack spokesman Lance Armstrong. Since 2009, Radio Shack has donated $7 million to LIVESTRONG.

Kudos to Radio Shack for using Foursquare in a signature holiday campaign!

Great Wolf Lodge’s Gingerbread House Helps Big Brothers Big Sisters

For $20 I can have lunch in here. How much TO EAT IT?

I get a kick out of this one. As part of Great Wolf Lodge’s annual Snowland winter event, guests can enjoy a meal inside a life-size gingerbread hsouse through December 25! Each house took over 400 hours to complete. $20 will be added to each party’s bill and donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Will this experiential promotion raise the most money? No. Will every family remember the experience and the cause it supports. Absolutely. That’s worth something in a world where most houses (i.e. promotions) look the same.

eBay’s Give-A-Toy Store Window for Toys for Tots

One of eBay's Give-A-Toy store windows with QR Codes.

This is my digital pick for the holiday season. Smartphone toting shoppers in New York and San Francisco can scan QR codes displayed on holiday windows to trigger a donation to Toys for Tots. Consumers can also visit Facebook to build a toy. Both unlock a $1 donation – up to $50,000.

Take a good look at this QR code campaign. You’ll see a lot more of them in 2012!

Fed-Ex Delivers Trees for Troops

FedEx has helped to deliver, on average, 17,000 real Christmas trees each year to 60+ military bases throughout the U.S. and overseas.

This is a great program that deserves more attention. Trees for Troops brings together FedEx, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and tree farmers across America to transport thousands of real Christmas trees to service members stationed overseas, as well as on military bases in the U.S. On average FedEx has delivered 17,000 trees annually. This year they hope to deliver their 100,000 tree since 2005.

Here’s another great program FedEx is quietly supporting: Wreaths Across America. Supporters of this program are laying 400,000 wreaths at veterans’ graves in all 50 states. FedEx Ground provides both in-kind delivery for the wreaths, as well as volunteers to support the events nationwide.

To FedEx and our soldiers, we salute you this holiday season.

These cause promotions top my Christmas list. What’s at the top of yours?

6-Figure Cause Marketing Grad Uses Pinups, QR Codes to Help Homeless

Joe Waters — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:58:13 +0000

I love when students put their education to good use.

Maggie Keenan, a branding and cause marketing consultant in Savannah, Georgia, is a graduate of my Six Figure Cause Marketing course, which shows nonprofits and businesses how to develop and execute an effective and lucrative cause marketing program.

Maggie gets an A+ for her latest effort: a regional cause marketing program to support the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless, Inc. Hodges Management Company, which owns the local KFCs, KFC/TacoBells and DQ Grill & Chills, approached the Housing Authority about doing something to help the homeless this holiday season.

Thanks to Maggie, they came up with a great campaign: Dishing Out Meals: Fighting to End Hunger & Homelessness in Our Community.

You can read all about Maggie’s outstanding cause marketing program on her blog. But let me take a moment to mention some of the things I really love about it.

It embraces the easiest and most lucrative type of cause marketing: point of sale. The pin-up below sold for a buck. While there are other types of cause marketing Maggie could have recommended to the partners, point of the sale is truly the best, especially for local programs like this one. I’ve raised as much as $300,000 in just a few weeks with pinups.

It taps every asset the business had for giving. Realizing that the pinup wasn’t the best option for drive thru customers, Maggie created a value card with a QR code that takes customers directly to the Homeless Authority website for more information or to make a donation. Great thinking, Maggie! [One suggestion: The mobile donation page isn't optimized for smartphones. Check out what my friend Bob Jones at Give.mobi can do to make this a better experience and raise you more money!]

It battled indifference and apathy from the outset. Have you ever been asked to buy a pinup but the total lack of interest from the cashier convinced you that he or she didn’t really care if you did? Hodges Management Company did their best to ensure that apathy and indifference wouldn’t be part of this program. All general managers spent a Saturday learning and volunteering for the cause, an experience they’ll share with their employees.

I’m proud of everyone involved in this program, and I’m eager to see the results when it’s done. Most of all, I’m really proud of Maggie Keenan. She’s a great student, asked lots of good questions and kept in touch with me to make sure she didn’t make any of the many, many mistakes I made in my first programs.

Congratulations, Maggie! I’m sure this won’t be that last post I’ll write on one of your successful cause marketing campaigns!

Maggie learned about creating and executing point of sale cause marketing programs in my Six Figure Cause Marketing program. You can too! Buy the recorded version of 6FCM for just $99!

6 Thanksgiving Cause Marketing Promotions I’m Thankful for

Joe Waters — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:08:06 +0000

Whatever challenges, misfortunes and problems you faced this year, I bet you still have something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s just the fact that you’re alive!

I know I’m thankful for a lot of things. After all the important stuff, I’m thankful for good businesses and nonprofits that execute great cause marketing promotions that make me proud to call myself a cause marketer.

Please remember these folks in your prayers and toasts on Thursday!

Hanes Virtual Sock Drive Brings Comfort to LA’s Skid Row

It’s amazing what Mark Hovarth has done with brands to help the homeless. Homelessness is not a natural a fit with cause marketing as causes involving women, troops abroad, kids and puppies tend to rule. A great example of a promotion that flies in the face of convention is the 3rd Annual Hanes Virtual Sock Drive, which will distribute up to 250,000 socks from now until December 12. For each visitor that clicks ‘Donate Now’ on their Facebook Page, Hanes will donate a pair of socks to The Salvation Army to distribute.

Check out this video with Mark at Los Angeles’ Skid Row where The Salvation Army distributed socks and food on November 4th. Powerful stuff, Mark! Keep up the great work!

Bonus Facebook Like cause marketing promotion: When fans “Like” the Kraft Fight Hunger Facebook page and play the 2-Minute Trivia Drill to donate virtual meals, Kraft Foods will donate the monetary equivalent of meals to Feeding America on behalf of local food banks. “Liking” the page serves as one meal donation, and more donations are earned as fans answer football and food-related trivia questions through the 2 Minute Trivia Drill game. I like how fans can choose to enter their zip codes to donate meals directly to their local community Feeding America food bank!

Harpoon Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale Supports Local Food Banks

The Harpoon Brewery is my Boston pick for the top Thanksgiving cause marketing promotion. For every 6-pack of Grateful Ale sold, the Harpoon Brewery will make a $1 donation to the local food bank in the area in which the beer was bought. This promotion is part of Harpoon Helps, which in 2010 alone raised more than $270,000 for local charities, donated more than 33,000 pints toward local charity events with approximately 144 local non-profits supported, and has performed hundreds of volunteer hours at local organizations.

I love Boston. I love Harpoon for its support of local causes. And I bet you’ll love this beer! Pick up a six-pack today and help your local food bank!

Thanks to beer connoisseur and fellow cause marketer Jessica Orndorff for bringing this program to my attention!

Bridgewater Candle Company Light a Candle Feed a Child

I love what Bridgewater Candle Company in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is doing for several reasons. First, I had never heard of BCC until I worked with Curt Weeden in Charleston. They are a great example of a small company making a difference without a lot of fanfare. Second, Bridgewater Candle didn’t go out and remake the wheel by founding another nonprofit. They chose to work with an existing nonprofit called Rice Bowls. Finally, the spirit of cause marketing and giving is evident everywhere in the company. In the employees you speak to, on the homepage of their website and in the fact that every jar candle they sell feeds a child for one day.

Check out the story below on their new special edition candle. If this doesn’t make you bow your head and give thanks on Thanksgiving, what will?

Peapod’s Virtual Food Drive for The NYC Food Bank

I complain that there isn’t enough online cause marketing. But home grocery delivery service Peapod by Stop & Shop is giving me hope! I’m a Peapod shopper myself here in Boston, but this virtual food drive benefits The Food Bank for New York City. (Finally, something in New York to admire! )

The Food Bank for New York City has a nice Slideshare presentation that explains the program better than I ever could. Create a campaign for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah or New Year’s and ask friends, families and guests to feed a hungry man, woman or child in need instead of giving or bringing something you don’t need.

Create Your Own Virtual Food Drive!

Which Wich Brings Thanksgiving Spirit [and turkey] to Dallas Children’s Hospital

Sometimes cause marketing for Thanksgiving is all about the turkey! That’s what Dallas-based Which Wich Superior Sandwiches had in mind yesterday when it delivered boxed lunch turkey sandwiches to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, the 7th largest pediatric hospital in the country. To further celebrate the day, every time someone views the video from yesterday (which you can watch on Which Wich’s Youtube Channel beginning Thanksgiving Day through December 2) Which Wich will donate 50 cents, for up to 10,000 views. That’s a local cause marketing promotion I can sink my teeth in to!

The Which Wich team gets ready to deliver some boxed lunches!

Groupon Now! Dollar Lunch Day Helps Feeding America

In the years ahead Thanksgiving cause marketing will be even bigger than it is now. A harbinger of how businesses will infuse cause marketing in everything they do was the Groupon Now! Dollar Lunch Day on November 18th. Buyers got lunch for a buck while helping to provide Feeding America with 500,000 meals for people in need.

Did you miss this promotion on November 18th? You can still help with by being part of this Groupon deal that has buyers donating $11 to Feeding America, which for every 200 sold will feed 200 families for two weeks! Pepsi is supporting the effort with a $250,000 match.

These are six of the cause marketing promotions I’ll be giving thanks for on Thursday. Who will you be thankful for for making this world of ours a better place?

Blogworld 2011: Yes, Virginia, There are Blogging Superheroes

Joe Waters — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:26:37 +0000

Me with one of my blog heroes: Darrens Rowse of Problogger. I'm the bald guy!

This past week was a big one for me as I attended my first Blogworld Expo in Los Angeles. I had blast and learned a lot. I also presented in the program’s cause track with two talented cause practitioners: Noland Hoshino and Megan Strand. A big thanks to Chris Noble for leading the cause track this year.

It was great to talk and visit with many old friends. But the very best part was meeting the old friends whom I had never met before. The “old friend” part was often one-sided as most of them had never heard of me.

But that didn’t diminish my enthusiasm to meet them!

One of the first guys I ran into was Pat Flynn from the Smart Passive Income Blog. Pat was true to form and a very sincere, friendly guy – just like he is on his fabulous blog that teaches people how to make money from blogging in their underwear! Pat taught a great session on the importance of including podcasting and video in your blog to maximize your outreach.

Following Pat’s presentation, I attended a more in depth session on podcasting with Lou Mongello. Lou completed what Pat started: I definitely will be giving podcasting a try in 2012!

I next ran into fellow New Englander Rich Brooks from Flyte New Media. I’ve been learning from Rich and his email newsletter for years. I credit him with getting me on Twitter! (Which means my wife wants to kill him. ) It felt good to thank him in person for everything he’s given me.

I was truly thrilled to finally meet Darren Rowse from Problogger. I’ve followed Darren since the very start of my blog in December 2004. Darren delivered a great presentation on blogging from the heart, which he does every day. He shared with us many of the struggles he had growing his business. I felt at many times like he was speaking directly to me. Blogging is a hard business, but Darren proves that nice guys do win and can still have a family and a soul.

Ryan Scott at Causecast didn’t attend Blogworld, but when he heard that so many cause peeps were in town he took several of us out to dinner. Ryan shared some very exciting news about Causecast. And while I’ll let him share the news with you first in the coming weeks, I’m really looking forward to posting on Causecast once the news is public.

It was great to meet Gerard Artavia, president and co-founder of Tevolution, which I wrote about back in July. I love Tevolution’s business model: sell an outstanding product that gives back to charities in a big way. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to buy Tevolution in Boston within the next few months.

I also finally met Chris Garrett, Grant Griffiths, Denise Wakeman, Jason Falls, Deborah Ng, C. C. Chapman, Jay Baer, Jessica Kirkwood, Jim Turner, Aaron Strout, Laura Gonzo, George Weiner, Joe Magee, Mike Nealis, Mike Dougherty and Jen and Paul of the For Dummies marketing team at Wiley Publishing. My apologies if I missed anyone.

Phew! What a week. Of course, I would remiss if I didn’t mention my friend and Blogworld roommate John Haydon who kept me laughing from morning to night! John knows so many people in the the blogging world and is always so generous about sharing his contacts and friends in the industry with me. In short, John is a great person to hang out with at a conference!

I’m already looking forward to Blogworld 2012!

8 “Pinktober” Promotions that Deserve a Ribbon

Joe Waters — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:23:29 +0000

Selfish Giving and Cone Communications, a leading public relations and marketing agency that specializes in cause marketing, are teaming up to share our top “pinktober” cause marketing promotions. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and companies are partnering with breast cancer charities on a variety of “pink” promotions.

In choosing ribbon-worthy “pinktober” campaigns we began with two standards to guide our selections.

First Standard: Does the program says exactly what charity will receive the funds, with enough information for a person to find and investigate the charity on their own. (e.g. Funds raised will benefit Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Learn more at www.bcrfcure.org.)

Second Standard: Does the program say exactly how much money the charity will receive – either in total or from each purchase with a projection of the total and any minimum or maximums built-in. (e.g. X charity will receive ten cents from each yogurt sold for a total minimum donation of $50,000 and a maximum donation of $100,000.)

All the programs we chose that fundraising goals met these two standards. Among other things, we also considered the size of the contribution, the length of the partnership and some of the creative ways the cause marketing promotion was activated.

Our choices aren’t the only noteworthy “pinktober” promotions. But they are some of the best, and embody the standards and qualities of good programs we might have missed or didn’t make our top ten list.

Program: Lee Jeans National Denim Day

The Details: Wear your jeans to work on Denim Day in exchange for a $5 contribution to Women’s Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).

Why It’s on the List: Since 1996 this simple cause marketing program has raised $83 million dollars and involved thousands of companies and tens of thousands of employees. This year, Lee partnered with celebrity Mike Rowe and his mom to tell their personal story and encourage supporters to donate the the cost of their jeans.

Program: NFL Goes Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

The Details: Everything from pink apparel, equipment, half-time programs celebrating cancer survivors and even pink field goal posts the first Sunday of October made this a can’t-miss program.

Why It’s on the List: A tremendous visibility effort that, in true NFL form, really kicked off “pinktober”. We admire the NFL’s focus on cancer prevention by encouraging women over 40 to get their mammograms, which will be important in driving down cancer rates.

Program: Dick’s Sporting Goods October – The Power of Pink

The Details: In addition to selling many pink ribbon products in their stores from names such as Nike, Reebok and Under Armour, Dick’s will kick-off the giving with a $250,000 donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Consumers can also show their support by adding a pink ribbon to Dick’s “Endless Ribbon” Facebook initiative. Throughout October, consumers can visit the Dick’s Sporting Goods Facebook page, add a pink ribbon to their profile picture and dedicate it to a loved one or choose to include an expression of hope. Dick’s goal is to break the record for World’s Longest Pink Ribbon. Finally, the sporting goods retailer is teaming up with several professional NFL players to promote “The Power of Pink” via public relations and social media.

Why It’s on the List: Dick’s is supporting breast cancer with in store tie ins, digital, a corporate gift and celebrity endorsements. As a retailer that’s done many cause marketing campaigns – mainly point-of-sale programs at the register – Dick’s Sporting Goods has challenged themselves and created an October promotion that is varied, ambitious, creative and generous. [One thing we did find at Dick's and other retailers' online shopping sites is a need to share the same level of details and transparency online that is often shared offline on pink products sold in stores. This is certainly an area for improvement for most brick and click retailers.]

Program: Kroger Giving Hope a Hand

The Details: Kroger will carry over 1,600 pink items–supporting many breast cancer organizations–in October that this year alone will raise $3 million. This will bring Kroger’s total fundraising effort to $18 million since 1996. This year, Kroger is featuring 53 employees and cancer survivors in its latest promotion.

Why It’s on the List: As the country’s largest grocery chain, Kroger is uniquely positioned to help vendors such as Yoplait, Campbell’s and Betty Crocker to achieve their own ambitious fundraising goals. Giving Hope a Hand puts a face on the program for the company and gives “pinktober” a new relevance and urgency. Kroger’s commitment to keeping dollars raised local and the company’s involvement year-round in cancer fundraisers gives hope more than a hand – it gives it a real boost!

Program: Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives**

The Details: In the Save Lids to Save Lives program, for each pink lid redeemed by customers through the end of the year, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure to support local breast cancer awareness programs, up to $2 million.

Why It’s on the List: This is a signature “pinktober” campaign has raised $30 million over the past 13 years. Not only is it one of the most recognizable cause marketing programs among consumers, but Yoplait’s commitment to the cause is year-round through the Komen Race for the Cure and is always finding new ways to support breast cancer awareness and survivors.

** A Cone client.

Program: Delta Air Lines Take Flight for the Fight

The Details: A pink plane – “Breast Cancer One” – kicked off month by taking Delta employee cancer survivors from Atlanta to Detroit. Delta employees are adorned in pink scarves, ties and other apparel. When you join the Delta Sky club 10% is donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Finally, Delta has teamed up with Minute Maid Pink Lemonade to donate 100% of inflight sales to BCRF.

Why It’s on the List: We recently had the chance to fly Delta and witness firsthand their commitment to the cause. It was omnipresent on the flight from the staff’s announcements to apparel to branded napkins. There’s a pride that makes this program very authentic. It shows in how much Delta has given to the BCRF since 2005: $3.5 million.

Program: Sharpie Ink it Pink

The Details: Sharpie is challenging consumers to Ink it Pink for the cause. For every pink autograph submitted to its website in October, Sharpie will donate $1 to City of Hope. Sharpie also has a whole of line of pink ribbon products that have helped raise $2 million for City of Hope since 2006.

Why it’s on the List: This is great integration of breast cancer awareness with a product line. Sharpie has worked hard to engage celebrities, sports stars and other A-listers in the program, which has increased the the visibility of the promotion and awareness of breast cancer issues.

Program: Boston’s Copley Square Hotel Goes Pink for October

The Details: The Copley Square Hotel is matching $1 donations from guests at time of reservation. The hotel’s restaurant, XHALE, will offer a special pink themed dessert in October for $5.00 with 100% of the proceeds plus a hotel match going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The hotel staff will also be doing their part by wearing pink bow ties and scarves throughout October.

Why It’s on the List: A great local example (Selfish Giving and Cone are based in Boston!) of cause marketing in a place consumers usually don’t find it: a hotel. The program involves the hotel’s major asset: guest reservations. Copley’s commitment to the program is complete as hotel staff will also be doing their part by wearing pink bow ties and scarves throughout October. And the hotel will be flying a pink flag, of course.

There are many great “pinktober” promotions this month. And they’re not limited to partnerships between big companies and causes. Look around your community, and share your favorite pink program in the comments!

Local Hospital Proves Anyone Can Do Cause Marketing

Joe Waters — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:46:44 +0000

One of the greatest feelings in the world is when someone comes up to you out of the blue and says they’ve been reading your blog for some time and learned something they’ve been able to put into practice.

That happen to me yesterday when I spoke to the Women in Philanthropy in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

After Joanna and I spoke, Gwen Majercak from Cooley Dickinson Hospital in nearby Northhampton, MA shared the above pinup with me that sold in local stores for $1 and raised $10,000 last year.

Right on the pinup it says the funds raised from the program supported medical care to 9,000 newborns born to teens at the hospital.

Gwen’s success is impressive as Cooley Dickinson is far from the big city and the big chain retailers. Nevertheless, Gwen put together a great program and she’s busy planning this year’s drive.

One thing I really liked about this pinup is the perforated round icon at the top that pops out and is displayed in the store with the person’s name. The rest of the pinup, along with some important facts Gwen put on the back, goes home with the consumer.

I’m really looking forward to hearing the results from this year’s program! Congrats to Gwen and Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Interested in learn more about point-of-sale programs and other cause marketing fundraisers? Sign up for one of my cause marketing bootcamps at CharityHowTo or join me for my three-part training program Six Figure Cause Marketing.