meaningful and uncommon cause marketing

Meaningful and Uncommon Cause Marketing

Presented by Matt ScelzaDirector, Incite Los Angeles

Today’s Agenda

1. Cause Marketing

2. Your Nonprofit

Today’s Question

How are you meaningful and uncommon?

Definition of Cause Marketing

Partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Definition of Cause Marketing

Marketing is about consumer engagement.

Causes engage consumers in meaningful and uncommon ways.

Definition of Cause Marketing

20% of consumers will pay more for a cause-related product.

61% will try a new product because of a cause.

80% of consumers will switch to a brand that supports a cause when price and quality are equal.

Source: Cone Evolution Study 2010

The Price Premium of Engagement

Brands that engage people

emotionally can command prices as much as

20 to 200 percenthigher than competitors

The Evidence for Cause Marketing

Consumer Expect Marketing with Purpose Globally – Eighty-six percent of consumers around the world believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on societal interests as on business interests. 2010 Edelman goodpurpose

Marketing Experts Agree - Two-thirds of brands now engage in cause marketing (up from 58% in 2009) and 97% of marketing executives believe it is a valid business strategy. 2010 PRWeek/Barkley PR Cause Survey

Communication is Key - 90% of consumers want companies to tell them the ways they are supporting causes. Nearly two-thirds (61%) don’t think companies are giving them enough details about their efforts, including the amounts donated and the length of the promotions. 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study

Hispanics and African Americans Respond to CM - One-third of Hispanic and African American consumers report that they almost always choose brands that support causes they believe in, compared to just one in five Non-Hispanic Whites. Yankelovich MONITOR Multicultural Study 2010

Not Cause Marketing

Donations

GrantsSometimes:• Event Sponsorships

• Cause-Created Companies

Cause-Centered Companies

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefitIs it cause marketing if a company is

created specifically to support a nonprofit?

Early Cause Marketing Efforts

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

1983

American Express for Statue of Liberty

Cause Marketing Goes Mainstream in ’80s and ’90s

Who knows who these two women are?

Cause Marketing Done Wrong

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Best Practices for Transparent Cause Marketing

From the NY State Attorney General, spurred by some murky ads.

1. Clearly Describe the Cause Marketing Promotion2. Allow Consumers to Easily Determine Donation Amount3. Be Transparent About What is Not Apparent4. Ensure Transparency in Social Media5. Tell the Public How Much Was Raised

Purposefully flexible to accommodate the evolutionary nature of our industry.

Two thoughts on the Best Practices

Make sure consumers can easily answer the question - “If I take this action, how much will go to charity?”

Corporations need to be clear about what they mean when they say “We are a proud sponsor of…”

Top Cause Marketing Issues

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

The Big 31. Education 2. Environment3. Health

The Other 34. Disaster Relief5. Economic Development (Jobs)

6. Hunger Relief

Why This Matters to Nonprofits

How Nonprofits Benefit

Increases revenue, visibility and volunteers

Gives you access to new audiences, including the corporation’s employees, suppliers, distributors, and customers

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Action-Triggered

When a consumer makes a purchase, part of the money made from that purchase goes to the nonprofit

Source: SelfishGiving.com

Action-Triggered Example: Bon-Ton and Goodwill Industries

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Consumers either donated their used clothes at Bon-Ton stores to benefit Goodwill or donated to Goodwill and then registered with BonTon.com.

All donors receive discounts at any of Bon-Ton’s stores or online, along with a chance to win $25 and $50 gift cards instantly and be entered into the Grand Prize sweepstakes for a $1,000 Shopping Spree.

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Point of SaleCashier asks if you

want to donate, or a sign displayed at the register encourages a donation

Point of Sale Example: MDA and Menchie’s

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefitUsing a “pin-up” available for $1,

MDA raises revenue and Menchie’s gains wall art

that displays community involvement.

Important Lesson from Menchie’s: Think About Your Partner

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

From Joe Waters’ blog:Menchie's pinup program is packed with heart, but [CEO Amit] Kleinberger used his head when he chose MDA. Menchie's senior management team didn't have a personal connection with muscular dystrophy. No one had a stricken daughter or son, or an ailing spouse or parent with Lou Gehrig's Disease -- perhaps the most well known form of muscular dystrophy.

With no clear choice, Kleinberger treated the process like a hiring and interviewed three charities.

"MDA was very professional," he said. "They understood our business and what we were trying to accomplish. After meeting with them, we all believed that MDA had tremendous potential to do good in the world."

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

DigitalUse websites, social

media sites, and cell phones to collect donations or help increase the visibility of the cause

Digital Example : charity: water

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Rubicon Property, a real estate brokerage firm, hosted a cause marketing campaign called “Get Dirty” in celebration of World Water Day on March 22nd.

Rubicon asked participants to take a picture of dirty water in a glass or bottle and share it via social media in exchange for a $1 donation to charity: water up to a maximum of $5,000. All images appeared on the firm’s ‘Get Dirty’ Pinterest Board.

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Message Focused

Use business resources to share a specific cause-focused message rather than collecting donations

Message Focused Example: Liberty Mutual

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

To encourage families to have conversations about driving for seniors, Liberty Mutual partnered with iTNAmerica to create the National Conversation Drive, which included opportunities for people to drive while wearing the Senior Simulator Suit.

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Licensing Company pays

a fee to use the nonprofit’s brand on its’ products or advertising

Licensing Example: Yoplait’s Pink Lids

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

For over a decade, Yoplait has used the “Save Lids Save Lives” campaign to drive revenue and goodwill.

Annual donation of $1.5 million and numerous accolades, including Dannon’s copycat effort.

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Employee Engagement

Employees donate time or money

Employee Engagement Example: Home Depot and KaBoom

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Partnered on 1,000 Playgrounds in 1,000 Days, which involved nearly 100,000 Home Depot volunteers.

Seven Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Events

Collect donations or raise awareness through walks, Galas, etc.

Events Example: Revlon Run/Walk For Women

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Some events are so clearly associated with a particular company that they fit the cause marketing definition. Revlon has raised more than $65 million to fight women’s cancers through the Run/Walk for Women.

Characteristics of a Successful Partnership

1. Reciprocal

Smart cause marketing efforts have the same target audience

Characteristics of a Successful Partnership

2.Communication

Regular, effective and meaningful

Characteristics of a Successful Partnership

3. Measurement

Quantitative and Qualitative

The Key Question

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

What do you offera cause marketing

partner?

Three Good Answers

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

1. Your Brand

2. Your Audience

3. Your Access

Your Brand

Refers all the way back to differentiating among cattle.

Now “brands” have value and equity of their own.

Most succinct definition:The perception(s)that customers orprospects haveabout you.

Your Brand

Do you feel the same aboutthese twocompanies?

Your Brand

Your Brand

Worksheet #1

15 minutes in pairs

Your Audience

Worksheet #2

15 minutes in pairs

Your Access

Worksheet #3

Quick quiz

The Second Key Question

What do you want from a for-profit partner?

Good Answers

1. Money

2. Volunteers

3. Visibility

The Best Answer

What the for-profit can offer

Finding Cause Marketing Partners

4 Steps

1. Identify Potential Partners2. Research3. Conduct an Initial Meeting4. Propose

Identify Potential Partners

Start with who you know already.

Focus on companies that:1. Sell a product you use2. Think like you do; Similar cultures3. Have been involved with a philanthropic cause before 4. Are local

Identify Potential Partners

Focus on a category…• Who are the key players in the “green” category?• Who are the key players in the “animal welfare” category?

Listen and look for nonprofits…What nonprofits are you seeing on TV, hearing on other radio, seeing in print?

Quick Note about Community Relations Directors

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Community Relations Directors may or may not have any interaction with the sales and/or marketing departments.

Don’t assume that they will think ‘marketing’ their community involvement is a good thing.

Questions for the 1st Corporate Meeting

Handout #5

10 questions you can adapt to use in the first meeting

How nonprofits need to present themselves

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

MDA and Menchie’sA professional decision made with the head,

not the heart.

Elements of a Proposal

1. The Fit between your organization and the business

2. A specific business goal that your organization is uniquely positioned to help the business accomplish

3. What your organization gives to the partnership, including key team members

4. What the business gives, including desired team members

5. Tactics and Timeline

6. Metrics

If They Say…

We do not mix our charitable activities with marketing.

Your Response: Cause marketing campaigns

will help us in multiple ways, including freeing up staff time to focus on other important mission-related work.

If They Say…

That sounds great, but how does this benefit my corporation?

Your Response: 1. Lots of nonprofit examples.

General Mills/Box Tops for Education. 19% growth annually for 15 years. Now a $1 billion+ campaign annually.

2. For media campaigns, Incite has completed more than 1,000 campaigns over the last decade. We have dozens of case studies in different categories available (Education, Environment, Health).

Full service marketing firm specializing in cause, behavior change, and nonprofit marketing

National scope, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Austin, and Indianapolis

Incite

A few recommendations

1. Cause Marketing Forum; best overall site for information and resources

2. Edelman annual surveys

3. Joe Waters, whose blog is SelfishGiving.com and who is the author of Cause Marketing for Dummies.

Thank You

A partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual benefit

Matt ScelzaDirector, Incite Los Angeles818.238.6646@CausesLAmscelza@inciteimpact.com