Newsletter: "Kondo-ing" Corporate Partnerships 👔; Big Changes at the Target Foundation 🤭; Gillette's #MeToo Ad Gets Mixed Reviews 📈
If you haven't heard of Marie Kondo you must be living in a (cluttered) cave. It seems like she's everywhere right now. Perhaps you've read her bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Maybe you're a fan of her new Netflix show Tidying Up. Or perhaps you were turned down for a lunch date last weekend because your friend was "Kondo-ing." You know you've made it big when people are using your name as a verb!
Marie Kondo is on a mission to declutter our homes. But the timing is also right to declutter our corporate partnership programs. Let's get rid of the things that are stressing us out and not supporting our success! A few places to start...
1. Streamline your marketing. If something isn't generating business leads, get rid of it. Focus on things that work and trying things that could work. Dump the things that aren't. For corporate outreach and development, I would focus on two things: email marketing and case studies.
2. Slash your prospect list. Stop focusing on so many prospects. Limit your prospect list to companies that are the best fit for your organization. Once you've identified these companies, work inside out from strongest to weakest connection.
3. Go where the money is. For local or regional nonprofits the money is in mid-size business-to-consumer private companies that have multiple stores and heavy foot traffic. Small B2B companies and single location B2Cs are great to work with; but they won't generate a lot of revenue.
What are you doing this year to be less cluttered and more focused? Hit reply and let me know. Marie Kondo would be proud of you!
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. L. L. Bean is sharpening its focus on outdoor philanthropy.
2. Reps from the Target Foundation have been calling Minnesota organizations it supports with news of some big changes.
3. Financial services giant TIAA is leading with values and getting results.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. There's been a lot of ink spilled on the new Gillette's #MeToo ad. First, was the ad a success? Here's a look at the numbers. Second, the best commentary I've read on the ad is this article from Phil Haid (Twitter handle: @PhilHaid) at PUBLIC. "Don’t give Gillette credit unless it does a lot more than making an ad." What did you think of the ad?
2. File this under earned media. A good Twitter thread here on what The Washington Post is looking for in opinion pieces that is good advice for any oped submission. Stacy Palmer, the editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, agrees.
3. Consumers say brands shouldn’t bring politics to the Super Bowl. I agree. Let's stay focused on my New England Patriots 🏈 winning another championship!
4. How to know if a marketing effort is making a difference. Would people miss it if you stopped doing it?
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause Marketing**
1. Development Manager, Corporate Partnerships, Grameen America (NYC)
2. Manager, Cause Marketing, Dollar Tree (Chesapeake, VA)
3. Director of Partnerships, Family Reach Foundation (Boston)
4. Associate Director, Partnership Development, KaBOOM! (Washington, DC)
5. Senior Manager, Events & Partnerships, Code for America (San Francisco)
**Have your cause-related job featured here for FREE. Hit reply to this email and give me the details and a link.
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. Companies are using a Boston accent to sell people stuff. Yes, a Boston accent is wicked awesome! 🤣But not everyone is happy.
2. Has this happened to you? What to do when your boss steals your ideas.
3. Maybe your boss isn't a thief - just dumb. 127 metaphors for "He is as dumb as...."
Have a question, comment or just want to say hi? Just hit reply or head over to Twitter. 🙏
