Here we go again, another recent poll about how charitable giving will be down this year during the holidays. There certainly has been plenty of this messaging in the media. It's hard to get away from it. But, I don't think we should. The times are what they are, and the best we can do is help out others in need and not ignore it. I've heard some say, "I choose not to participate in this recession." Let's not forget that some families are facing it head on and they are turning to community resources and agencies for help. During the holidays it seems particularly harder.
Business owners are stepping up to the plate to make a difference this season. There are more cause marketing campaigns than what I have ever seen in previous years. Many of them are great. There is "The Big Warm-Up" a partnership between Land's End and the National Coalition for the Homeless, Macy's and Make-A-Wish Foundation "Believe" campaign, Iams and "Home4theHolidays," and Drew Carey's Twitter Challenge between Drew Carey and LIVESTRONG Foundation. While these campaigns are from large companies, a business of any size can create a campaign and positive experience around it. It's important to note that we are not talking about partnerships, just product sales or purchase plus.
If you want to be a part of the charitable giving landscape this holiday, here are a few strategies to create a simple and easy cause campaign through your business:
1. Decide on a charity that aligns with your business's values.
2. Create a great value for the consumer or client.
3. Keep the message cause-centric and drive the social impact.
4. Choose your campaign tool (discounts, pin-ups, point of sale).
5. Keep your tracking simple at the very least through # of media hits and/or funds raised.
Business owners are stepping up to the plate to make a difference this season. There are more cause marketing campaigns than what I have ever seen in previous years. Many of them are great. There is "The Big Warm-Up" a partnership between Land's End and the National Coalition for the Homeless, Macy's and Make-A-Wish Foundation "Believe" campaign, Iams and "Home4theHolidays," and Drew Carey's Twitter Challenge between Drew Carey and LIVESTRONG Foundation. While these campaigns are from large companies, a business of any size can create a campaign and positive experience around it. It's important to note that we are not talking about partnerships, just product sales or purchase plus.
If you want to be a part of the charitable giving landscape this holiday, here are a few strategies to create a simple and easy cause campaign through your business:
1. Decide on a charity that aligns with your business's values.
2. Create a great value for the consumer or client.
3. Keep the message cause-centric and drive the social impact.
4. Choose your campaign tool (discounts, pin-ups, point of sale).
5. Keep your tracking simple at the very least through # of media hits and/or funds raised.
Some of the benefits of a cause marketing campaign is that it connects people to charity by building awareness, it provides unrestricted funds, and positions your business as caring and community-minded.
The key is to keep it simple so it can be easily implemented again. With all the glitz and sparkly stuff during the holidays, keeping your campaign clean can be more compelling for consumers.
Copyright © 2009. Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. All rights reserved.
