I visited my local Whole Foods last weekend and saw this cause marketing program at the register. I’ve seen these passive cause marketing programs before at Whole Foods, but this one was different. It benefited the West Suburban YMCA right down the street from the supermarket.
It was the first time I had seen a program at Newtonville Whole Foods benefit a nonprofit in my town.
Fortunately, I had a great contact at the Y, La Tanya Arnold, whom I met at a business event a while ago and turned out to be huge Halloween Town fan. She referred me to to Annmarie Cobb, Director of Annual Giving & Community Relations, who gave me the scoop.
This Whole Foods location is the only store raising money for the Newton Y. It isn’t part of a national effort by Whole Foods to raise money for Y’s, as I first suspected. Shoppers had a choice of $2 or $5 donations.
Annemarie said the Y hoped to raise between $1,000 and $1,500 during the month of May.
The Y is on the right track working with a supermarket. Grocers have the foot traffic needed to raise lots of money with point-of-sale programs. The only thing missing from this program are more locations to raise more money!
There’s another Whole Foods in my hometown just a couple of miles down the road, perhaps they could fundraise for the Y as well?
Like everyone I talk to, Annemarie said cause marketing will be a big focus of her work in the months ahead. But also like everyone else, she’s not quite not sure who her next partner will be. That’s when having Joe Waters live in your town just might be a good thing!
The Six Figure Cause Marketing webinar helps local nonprofits develop effective and lucrative cause marketing programs. The next session begins June 10. Only eight spots left!
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Great piece Joe! Localized – did this program feel any different because it was for an organization right down the street?
Reason I ask, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this already but our API will do something similar. For e-tailers who have a nation-wide customer base, it will auto-populate charities (options still closely related to the e-tailer and their cause) that are near from where the purchase is being made! What do you think of that?
Keep up the "good" work,
Ross
Very cool, Ross. You know, the look of it was very similar to other cause marketing campaigns I had seen in their stores. Whole Foods really doesn't do anything too fancy.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by changefeed, Melissa Radin. Melissa Radin said: Joe Waters Blog YMCA Puts the "Local" in Hyperlocal Cause Marketing http://ow.ly/17vOcR [...]
Thanks Joe for the opportunity to be featured on Selfish Giving. We don't have a garden just for ourselves. We have it to share.
My pleasure LaTanya. You know firsthand that my family utilizes the Y for many things. I'm glad Whole Foods is doing this great program for you!
An interesting example that illustrates a basic fact: Cause marketing can be done on a small scale as well as a large scale. One Whole Foods store is better than none. And working one-on-one with a store manager or small business owner is often easier and more productive than trying to work with corporate.
Nonprofits seem to overlook small local businesses support, to their loss. Small businesses also have foot traffic and people at their cash registers, just like Whole Foods. They also can give in-kind support and volunteers. The key to a valuable cause-marketing relationship is finding a partner that reflects your values.. Size doesn't matter as much as purpose.
Exactly, Geri! And even when you work with one store it gives you momentum and experience to work with another and another. But it has to start somewhere.
And the opportunity you have is worth ten times more than the one you’ve been dreaming of. Stop looking up in the clouds for answers and instead look down the street!
"Cause marketing can be done on a small scale as well as a large scale. One Whole Foods store is better than none."
Try telling my boss that. I often think of things that I think will work for us only to hear the "opportunity cost" speech. I'm not saying he's wrong, but how many $500,000k deals can I put together in a year? What about the small business that want to get involved?
Oh well – love reading your site, Joe. I might be late to this post but better late than never, right?
Always like having you stop by, Shawn! Thought of you when I wrote this post.
http://selfishgiving.com/cause-practices/great-ou…
[...] across this appeal at my local Whole Foods Market. These types of cause marketing promotions are common at Whole Foods. I call them passive cause marketing because they don’t involve an ask from the cashier, [...]