Cause Marketing for Social Brands CrossLink, 6/7/11 Michael Fasciano, Digital Strategist Twitter: @Fasciano

Purpose

•  First off, WELCOME to CrossLink!

•  This presentation aims to provide a brief OVERVIEW on trends, examples, and best practices for cause marketing.

•  The END GOAL is to provide insights that spark GROUP DISCUSSION. So please think about questions and comments that you’d like to raise during the Q&A!

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Cause Marketing Agenda

•  The opportunity

•  Strategic considerations

•  Best in class examples

•  Partners who can help

•  Group discussion

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THE OPPORTUNITY

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What is Cause Marketing?! Hrmmmm....

•  A literal definition might look something like one of the following:

“Cause Marketing is a relationship that bridges commerce and cause in ways that benefits both parties.”

– Alden Keene

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Less literally, it’s TURNING HEADS because it’s INHERENTLY SOCIAL

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Practically speaking, it’s simply CO-BRANDING

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A NEW FLAVOR that incorporates consumer participation

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SOCIAL BRANDS have new marketing needs

Cause marketing programs offer:

•  Positive PERCEPTION and REPUTATION

•  Loyal, engaged COMMUNITIES

•  CONTENT for broader distribution and sharing

•  An on-going brand story to PUBLISH and SHARE

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Causes are becoming a big part of the marketing toolkit

Cause-related sponsorship SPENDING is up to $1.7 BILLION and GROWING 5% per year (IEG, Spnsorship Report,” 1/4/11)

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Consumers are increasingly responsive to causes

Cause association impacts purchase decisions

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

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Key planning challenge: Managing a diverse group of stakeholders and participants

BRANDS:

Seeking to support positive brand perception

Developing owned and earned media communications drive community, content and sharing

CAUSES:

Recruiting support in the form of advocacy and volunteerism

Courting financial donations to exist sustainably

CONSUMERS:

More conscious than ever about the impact of purchase decisions

Looking to participate in programs that they can believe in and share with friends

Want to feel good about spending money

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Best in-class examples

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Complete the action to benefit a cause

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Nestle’s  Charity  Partner:  Dress  For  Success  

Engagement: Send a note of encouragement and Coffee-Mate will donate $2 to Dress for Success

Dress for Success is a non-profit organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women around the world.

Join the conversation to support the cause

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Cause-based content program sparks branded advocacy

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MTV’s  Charity  Partner:  Opportunitas  Aequa  

Engagement: First, watch a video and answer a question about the MTV show The Buried Life (shown below).

After completing that portion, MTV let people know how they can help children in war-affected Uganda.

Fan benchmarks trigger cause donations

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Community helps SELECT the cause

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Community helps DEVELOP the cause

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Starbucks: Even small donations can drive scaled response

  Project  Goal:  Use  social  promoAons  to  aBract  more  in-­‐store  drink  purchases.    

  Approach:  Use  paid  “social  ads”  on  Facebook  to  invite  purchases  of  Starbucks  drinks  on  World  AIDS  Day.    Facebook  event  ads  invite  users  to  visit  Starbucks  on  World  AIDS  day,  during  which  each  drink  purchased  will  trigger  a  5  cent  donaAon  to  the  Global  Fund  for  fighAng  AIDS  in  Africa  

  Outcome:    –  Almost  200k  users  stated  that  they  planned  to  purchase  a  drink  in  Starbucks  to  support  the  Global  Fund  

The product is inspired by the cause

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The business is based on social impact

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Best practices

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•  Keep it simple

•  Incent social actions

•  Offer multiple ‘ways in’ for participation, across a spectrum of behaviors

•  Maintain frequent updates as the story unfolds

•  Spark ‘network effect’ to drive organic exposure

•  Account for platform-based challenges

•  Target the right audience

•  Leverage existing audiences

•  Social media is not FREE media

Partners who can help

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Media Partners

Custom Development

Mobile Apps

Find Green

Innovators entering the cause space

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•  NEXT MEETUP: ‘Innovating Change: Cause-Minded Startups’

•  WHEN: Thursday, June 16 @ 7pm

•  WHAT: Panel discussion with leading cause entrepreneurs will be led by Nick Chirls, co-founder of Two-Seed

Thank You

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‘Los Medicos’ Screening

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Group Discussion

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Appendix

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Common cause marketing relationships between the stakeholders

•  Research and planning help determine how to minimize friction among program stakeholders

•  For different products and communications, one profile may be more appropriate or acceptable than another

•  (ie. Water vs. Chocolate vs. banking vs. childrens products)

•  Most cause marketing must account for the consumer’s interests first and foremost

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Buy the product so you can support a cause!

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Brand identity is reinforced around cause and community

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Macy’s  Charity  Partner:  Make-­‐A-­‐Wish  

Engagement:  Tell  everyone  in  your  social  networks  what  is  at  the  top  of  your  holiday  Wish  List.  

 

Macy’s  also  encouraged  everyone  to  bring  a  leBer  to  Santa  into  any  of  their  stores,  and  they  would  donate  $1  for  each  leBer  received.  

Drive foot traffic to stores via events

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