Remembering 9/11 and the Cause Marketing That Wasn't

I will never forget 9/11. I will never forget the people we lost on 9/11. I will never forget the people who died after 9/11 because of 9/11.

In the past 12 years there hasn't been a lot of cause marketing connected with September 11th. Maybe that's a good thing. But, according to Cone's Craig Bida, there's no reason why cause marketing can't be done well on 9/11. Craig's 2011 article in CommPro.biz on the tenth anniversary of the tragedy has some good and bad examples of 9/11 cause marketing.

Craig also offers five fundamental principles of cause branding that are particularly relevant for companies considering any 9/11-related promotion.

Another issue we should weigh on this day is how money is raised and dispersed to victims and their families after a tragedy or disaster. Over 3,000 people died on 9/11 and $7 billion dollars was distributed to families in the aftermath. Much of this money came from Americans who felt the only way they could help was to give money.

Likewise, after the Boston Bombings, tens of millions was raised for the victims.

Ken Feinberg oversaw the distribution of funds in both New York and Boston. I remember reading that he said a woman whose child died in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing wrote a letter asking him where her check was.

Was her lost nor worthy of of our generosity?

We need a better way of collecting and distributing funds after a tragedy or disaster. As I recently wrote, the next tragedy is right around the corner. How deep the pain is, and how long it will last will be largely up to us.