Newsletter: 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing ✍️ ; Podcasting is the New Blogging 📻; Companies to the Rescue 🌎
I think we can all agree that it's been one heck of a year! Massive hurricanes, the #MeToo movement, celebrity suicides, school shootings. Crazy, right? 🤪
But as a cause marketer, here are the three questions I want answered.
1. Have the last 12 months really changed our perspective on what social causes matter the most?
2. On what issues is corporate America being asked to get involved?
3. Perhaps even more importantly, why should corporations and nonprofit organizations care?
Catalist’s new Issue Revolution Study profiles the top social causes that resonate with Americans today, the conversations around these issues, who is having them, and how we all want deeper engagement with the cause and the knowledge of the impact we help to catalyze.
And as you can see from this image, Catalist breaks down issue affinity by gender and generation! Super helpful, right?
READ THE POST & DOWNLOAD THE STUDY
Partnership notes
1. David Hessekiel at Engage for Good updated Kurt Aschermann's 10 Commandments of Cause-Related Marketing, which he released in 2003. It reminded me that I had published my own 10 commandments eight years ago.
2. Cause marketing "Mom" Carol Cone discusses how companies are changing the way we weather natural disasters. Includes a link to the backstory on the Waffle House Index FEMA uses to assess the severity of a storm.
3. Nike isn't the only one benefiting from taking a stand. This clothing company's sales are up 11 percent. Oh, and for those partners bugging you for their "Nike moment." Tell them to chill and think long term.
4. Wow. Boston's Thompson Island Outward Bound recently hosted its 18th annual 4K Trail Run. They had 103 corporate partners and raised $445,000, a 25 percent increase. 🤯
5. Watch as more companies evolve into the "c-store" of their category. Ace Hardware is evolving its brand platform to become "The Home Convenience Store" to distinguish itself from rivals like Home Depot and Lowe's. Since you are learning about retail trends, here are five for 2019.
6. Congrats to Dan Goldenberg and the The Call of Duty Endowment for a successful #CODNATION Challenge. It raised $280,000! The Endowment also announced that it reached its goal of funding the placement of 50,000 veterans into high-quality jobs ahead of schedule.
Marketing your cause
1. The business case for focusing on email marketing grows stronger. The average daily time spent checking email is now 5.6 hours — up almost a half-hour since 2017. Also, after face-to-face and phone, email is the most "human" form of communication.
2. Email is a proven winner for corporate partners. But what if you combined it with text messaging? Hmmm...
3. I know, I know. I talk about email all the time.🙄How about this instead: podcasting is the new blogging. BTW, here are eight you should be listening to.
4. I've written before that there are 3 types of decision makers: thinkers, feelers and deferrers. But there might be one more: the narcissist.
🤝 Sponsor
Cool jobs in cause**
1. Director of Development, Red Sox Foundation (Boston)
**Have your cause-related job featured here for FREE. Hit reply or email me at joe@selfishgiving.com.
Brain food
1. Major companies are the new art patrons. And it’s causing some tension in the art community.
2. How companies can take the lead on saving the planet. Meanwhile, scientists are chronicling a vanishing world.
3. 8 podcasts every nonprofit professional needs to listen to.
Have a question, story suggestion or category you want to see covered? Just leave a comment below. 🙏
