Citizen Brand

Cause keeps on ticking

The 2009 edition of the PRWeek/Barkley Cause Survey released this week sends a clear message that cause branding programs work even in tough economic times.

That's good news for all of us who believe that cause programs are one of the single best ways for a brand to create permanent connections with their customers. And good for non-profits who are hit hard by the economy and need new, effective ways to gain dollars and volunteers for their missions.

You can download a copy of the 2009 survey at the Barkley website. We would love to hear your comments on the findings and the accompanying article featuring some of the most successful cause marketers today.

Marketing spend on cause up!

In the midst of marketing budgets being slashed this year, we have incontrovertible evidence that cause branding is the go to strategy in this epic economic downturn. Aaron Baar tells us in this story on Mediapost.com.

The economy may be causing marketers to scale back on expensive, high-production efforts, but one area is still likely to see some growth this year: cause marketing.

According to IEG, North American companies will spend about $1.55 billion on cause marketing efforts in 2009, a roughly 2% increase over 2008. That is down from previous year-on-year increases in the cause marketing arena, but in the current economic climate, any increase in a marketing program is worth noting, says Dan Kowitz, vice president of IEG Sponsorship Consulting.

"As consumers, if there's anything we want to see a company spend money on, it's a cause that's important to us," Kowitz tellsMarketing Daily. "And marketers know that."

As evidence of consumer interest in sponsorship, Kowitz cited a Performance Research survey from February 2009 in which 41% of Americans said companies should increase their spending on cause marketing, compared with 13% who said they should increase spending on sports sponsorships and 20% who said they should increase sponsorship of cultural events.

Plus, cause marketing is generally cheaper than sports sponsorships, Kowitz says. Mott's, for instance, has said it will contribute up to $134,000 (the equivalent of feeding one million people through the Feeding America non-profit), which is much less expensive than the many millions it might cost to put a company's name on a sports arena.

"When you talk about subjects outside of sports, they come at a much more cost-effective price-point," Kowitz says.

Cause marketing, however, can be tricky, particularly among a public that has grown jaded and cynical, Kowitz says. The key for marketers boils down to one thing: authenticity."

"Companies have to do this in an authentic way," he says. "You can't claim to be a green sponsor just by putting your logo on a recycling bin."

And with consumers more empowered than ever to find and call out companies on how their business practices don't live up to their cause-marketing initiative, companies have to put a lot of time and effort into their chosen programs, Kowitz says. The good news is that many marketers have caught on and are living up to their promises.

"Companies have done a better job [with cause marketing] than in the past 12 months," Kowitz says. "What they could have gotten away with six years ago, for instance, was to throw money at something and say they're supporting it."

Zappos Review

The marketing community has been all abuzz about the review of agencies being conducted by Zappos. At first, Zappos was going to invite in a select number of agencies but when word got out they were looking, interest grew.  Zappos is a cool brand with great leadership and an even greater culture. And in this economy, winning business is critical.

Zappos received over 100 initial entries and paired it down to 20 or so for the presentations. Full disclosure now. Barkley was one of the finalists. Our team presented on Thursday.

The creative leader at agency Ignited, caused a few waves this week when he criticized Zappos in this AdAge article. All of us in the agency arena have opinions from time to time about all review processes. Some are tightly controlled by third party consultants preventing agencies and prospects from communicating with each other except under their watchful eye. Other reviews appear from the beginning to simply be a brand trying to light a fire under its current agency and then magically the current agency is retained.

Zappos was neither of these. Zappos had a wide open and transparent review process. Anyone could participate and we all knew the rules going in. The people at Zappos have been helpful and honest.

I defer now to one of my Barkley partners who was on our team in the room Thursday to add the postscript.

Moms love causes

The 2008 edition of the PRWeek/Barkley Cause Survey is published and any company who is not involved in cause branding today should take notice.  Why?  Because moms, who are responsible for more than $2.1 trillion in consumer spending this year like to spend with companies that support good causes.

The survey revealed that moms demand companies use their power for good, with 85.6 percent saying it’s important for companies to support a cause. With regard to their purchasing decisions, 58 percent say they would pay more for a brand that supports a cause, 69.2 percent say they would try a brand because it supports a cause, and 76.8 percent say they would recommend a brand that supports a cause. Overall, 66 percent of moms say they have purchased a brand because it supports a cause.

You can download a pdf of the survey and article along with a transcript of our 2008 Cause Roundtable by going to this link at the Barkley website.

And here is a link to a column on cause written by PRWeek's Erica Iacono who we work with each year to develop the survey.

In this economy, the companies that have established cause programs will benefit from the special relationship they are developing with their customers.  And those companies that don't have them, now is a fine time to consider starting one.  It could prove to be the point of differentiation that separates a company from its competitors.  And when the economy does improve, the difference will be even greater.

Lee National Denim Day - 2008

Tim Daly and Chandra Wilson will be our ambassadors for the 2008 edition of Lee National Denim Day.  The TV docs are teaming up to tell America to wear their jeans on October 3 and give five bucks to fund critical research in the fight against breast cancer.

This is the 13th year for Denim Day.  Lee Jeans and Barkley created the program in 1996 and today it is a model for grassroots cause branding programs.  Our partner, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and its Women's Cancer Initiatives use the millions of dollars raised to fund collaborative research teams at a dozen leading cancer research institutions nationwide.

As our client at Lee, Liz Cahill said, "We've learned from our incredible team of scientists in Lee Labs that just like jeans, one cancer treatment does not fit all.  Through our Lee Labs for translational research, the early detection blood test, and our work with the National Breast Cancer Coalition, we're making a significant impact in finding and treating this disease in its many different sub-types and arming people with the information they need if they're faced with a diagnosis."

Companies, organizations or individuals wanting to form their own teams can begin signing up June 5th at denimday.com.  And then be ready to wear your jeans and make a difference.

Cause takes Windy City by storm

The Cause Marketing Forum circa 2008 is in full swing in Chicago.  Barkley hosted the opening reception last night.  Our theme was a 'Cause Art Gallery' and in addition to a few highlighted causes, Kansas City artist Mike Savage came along with us and produced a stunning cityscape of the Chicago skyline which has been donated to the Chicago Children's Museum for them to auction off and raise money for their worthy cause.

There were many great presentations today.  One that stood out in my mind was the peek behind the curtain of the great campaign being rolled out by St. Jude Children's Hospital.  Behind the networking and celebrity power of Marlo Thomas, St. Jude utilizes all aspects of marketing communications to raise awareness and money for their cause.  An important dynamic of their campaign is the utilization of other celebrities that could be the precursor for transitioning from one face and voice to many faces and voices.

McDonald's was given the Golden Halo Award this year.  It's interesting to note that the Ronald McDonald Charities are a separate organization from McDonald's and in fact, the company supplies only ten percent of the funding for the Charities.  But the power of a brand name makes up for actual cash in a case like this.

I had to leave for a flight to the west coast before the final presentation of the day about Dove's Real Beauty campaign.  Stacie Bright of Unilever, who was part of our Barkley/PRWeek Cause Roundtable last fall, is speaking far and wide about this groundbreaking cause campaign.  It's a great example of how cause is changing from the days of transactional cause fund raising to a deeper program driving social change.

It was great to catch up with people who I have come to know over the years in the cause arena.  It's always good to see Carol Cone who paved the way for all of us in cause.  I also finally met Joe Waters, a fellow cause blogger over at Selfish Giving.  We have commented on each other's ideas, pointed to each other's posts over the past couple of years but had never met.  Joe presented a breakout today on the great Halloween Town program he and his team run at Boston Medical Center.  Joe is a great cause ambassador and a guy who practices what he preaches every day.

This was a special CMF because we used it at Barkley PR as our annual retreat.  We had almost all our partners from the PR firm with us in Chicago.  It was a great opportunity for all our pros to interact with other cause marketers and also see that the work they do each day at Barkley is part of something bigger than just our programs.

Cause Marketing Forum - 2008

I am in Chicago at the 2008 Cause Marketing Forum and I'm not on my own.  In fact, the entire Barkley PR team is in Chicago for the Forum.  We take a retreat each year and this year we achieved a dream I have always had of putting everyone on a plane for a retreat.  This is the year.

It is fitting that the planes we stepped on have brought us to the Cause Marketing Forum.  Cause branding is an integral part of who we are at Barkley.  We have been a part of the Cause Marketing Forum since its inception earlier this decade.  For the first time, the Forum's annual conference will be held outside of New York City, another sign that cause is now mainstream.

Barkley is hosting the opening reception tonight and our team has created a compelling theme for the attendees to enjoy.  Think of what a cause art gallery might look like and you will begin to see the picture.  Art is subjective.  What might look like a pair of jeans to one person may look like a way to fight breast cancer to another.  A simple tube of lipstick?  The means to fight ovarian cancer.  A red dress?  You get the picture.  And stay tuned here on Citizen Brand because we will be reporting the goings on in Chicago and we will have some art to go with it.

Cause is here to stay.  If you have yet to board the train, it is time.

Great.....another fruitcake

Do you ever wish there was a final resting place for that horrible holiday gift you received?  You know the kind.  It might be the ugly lamp; or the mallard duck bookends; or a Slim Whitman CD.  As a kid, I once bought my Mom a record album of an artist I was just sure she loved.  Problem was I had the names mixed up and got her some obscure singer she, nor anyone else in the family had ever heard of.  Being my Mom, she was very nice about it, put the album ( yes a record album made of vinyl my children ) and she listened to it in its entirety.  I think she exchanged it the next day.

Well this year, I could have told her to send it to the Bad Gift Emporium.  The Emporium is our holiday gift to all of you from all of us at Barkley.  Please enjoy and if you have gifts to add, tell me about them here at Citizen Brand and I will pass them on to our Emporium managers.

Enjoy the season!

Jayhawk Journalists

Sunday, I had the privilege of making remarks at the December graduation ceremonies for the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications at KU.  Dean Ann Brill asked me earlier this year if I could make it and I enthusiastically said yes.  Following a very warm introduction by Professor Bob Basow, here is the brief speech I made to the 60 graduates plus their families, friends and faculty gathered in Woodruff Auditorium at the Student Union on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence.

2007 William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications
December Commencement Address
December 9, 2007
Woodruff Auditorium at the Student Union
University of Kansas

Thank You:

Professor Basow – “Bob”
Dean Ann Brill
Distinguished faculty of the Journalism School
Parents, family and friends of the graduates
And most importantly – the graduates.

To say it is an honor to be standing here today is an understatement for me.  I have always been a Jayhawk.   And in the 8th grade I decided I wanted to be a broadcast journalist.

So attending the University of Kansas was a foregone conclusion, especially when I realized I would have the opportunity to attend the best Journalism School in the country.   There may be others that lay claim to that – but I truly believe it and here’s why.

Today you are graduating from a journalism school that has never simply focused on theory and philosophy.  There is plenty of that taught here as it needs to be.  But what you have gained from attending KU and the William Allen White School of Journalism is a plethora of practical applications and learnings along with the theory and philosophy.

The advantage you had by being able to apply what you are learning while still in school positions you to be successful more quickly than you might otherwise be. 

And for that you have this group of people behind me on the stage to thank.  This is a great faculty and you are the representation of their effort and time.

I stand before you today a product of this great school.  I came in with my sights set on becoming the best broadcast journalist I could be.   What I didn’t realize is that what I was really learning to do was not simply to become a reporter – but instead I was learning how to tell a good story.

I was learning how to research information – how to dig for facts.  I was learning how to take those facts and pick out the ones that mattered most to people and deliver that information.  Over the years, even though my jobs have changed – I still am doing those same basic things every day.

As William Allen White said once – “If the facts are fairly and honestly presented; the truth will take care of itself.”  That philosophy still works today even though the communications profession has changed dramatically from his day.

That is the beauty of the world you are entering.  Regardless of what you want to do first – a journalist; a marketer; a public relations professional; a webmaster; or a film maker – you are in the business of telling a good story.  A story that needs to be educational; compelling;   a story that will inform and perhaps move people to form opinions and even take some sort of action.

That is why I am as excited today about this wide open world of mass communications as I have ever been.  And you should be too – because you are now going to help shape its future.

So what would a good graduation speech be without some advice.   I have been the beneficiary of some great mentors and advisors over the years.  I will try today to give you a little of what I have learned in the hope that something will resonate with you as you head out to begin your careers.

My advice today centers around some of our core philosophies that make Barkley the kind of company it is.  These are philosophies that drive our business – philosophies that shape our relationships with each other and with our clients – and finally these are philosophies that form the foundation of our work.

As I thought about this talk today – it became clear to me that they also could form the building blocks for each of you to consider as you head out to begin the next chapter of your lives.

When you walk through our front door at Barkley right now, there is a telephone booth standing right in front of you.  I’m wondering right now if any of you have actually made a call from a telephone booth.  Next to that phone booth is a sign that espouses our core philosophy at Barkley – Every idea has an expiration date.

Think about that for a minute.   By taking the attitude that ideas can expire, it forces you to keep things fresh all the time.  What worked yesterday may not work today.  And more importantly – what is working today may not work tomorrow.    How does this apply to each of you as a new graduate?

When you land that first job – and you will land that first job – be the person who is the most curious.  Be the person who is constantly staying abreast of the latest trends.  Be the person who seeks out a mentor or two to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can.

In other words  -- keep yourself fresh and up to date – and your thinking will be fresh and up to date.  Don’t put yourself in a position where you are behind the curve or else you will be left behind in this fast paced world we live in.

My second piece of advice revolves around our brand promise to our clients.  We promise our clients that our goal for them is to make them irreplaceable to their customers.  It is not enough today for a brand to simply be relevant.  The brands that are successful today are the ones that people cannot imagine living their lives without. 

That is what you have to do when you land your first job.  And Mom and Dad – they will land their first job.  Be the person who volunteers to work on the extra project.  Be the person who organizes the social activities at work.  Be that person who is a sponge for learning the ropes of the business – who asks the extra question that everyone else in the room is afraid to ask.

It is the little things that will make you irreplaceable.  Attending to the details will allow you the opportunity to be in the room to help come up with the big ideas that can make a difference.

My final piece of advice is to always give something back to the community around you.  As Bob mentioned, we are big into cause branding at Barkley.  I’m proud of the work we are doing because it is more than simply selling another product.  We are helping to educate, inform and raise money for important causes.

And you need to be the generation that solidifies this emerging trend of corporate and nonprofit partnerships that are not only good for them but are great for society.  The beauty of giving back is that it really is up to each of us to take a small step each day to do something good for someone.  It is the cumulative impact of each of our small, individual steps that turns into a stampede of giving that makes a difference.  Get involved and stay involved as you walk off this campus.

So there you have it.  Three pieces of advice.    One --Don’t let yourself become an idea that expires. 

Two -- Make yourself irreplaceable --- not only in your work – but also to your family and friends --- and

Three -- always, always be giving something back to the rest of society.

I will end with three words.  Three words each of you have said many times in the last few years.  And three words that tie us all together wherever we go and whatever we do as alumni of the University of Kansas.  Some think it is simply a cheer.  But we know different.  It is our calling card. 

Rock Chalk – Jayhawk.

Thank you and good luck.

Be memorable in the mark that you make

If your best customer asked you, "What do you stand for?" Do you have an answer?

Trust. Credibility. Authenticity. These are the hallmarks of great public relations campaigns. None of them are easily attainable. And all require a lot more strategic thinking than simply sending out a few news releases. Yet there are still people out there who believe that public relations is still making sure the media is informed of an organization’s activities. Not so anymore.

An organization that wants to gain its fair, or more than its fair,  share of the customer’s mind today has to think about more than simply making sure the media knows what it is doing. It is not about just developing and delivering a message. It is about listening and finding ways to engage with customers.

Companies must be connecting with their customers emotionally and intellectually, as well as through the pocketbook. The key is to find ways to engage them in two-way communications or activities.

Today with the same retailers in strip malls on every other block in every city of every state, brands are more local than government. In order to remain viable, brands must be more attuned and responsive to the public. 

The solution is a marketing strategy to forge an emotional connection between a brand and its customers—cause branding.

A brand with a focused cause branding strategy aligned with a specific cause that is relevant to consumers can take the next step and stake a claim in the minds of consumers. “Brand X was there for us when the storm hit. It financially supports programs to improve adult literacy. Brand X is giving back to the community and investing in our future. I will support Brand X and tell my friends and family to do the same.” This is the potential impact on reputation that a focused cause branding program can have.

Cause Branding is a continuous, 365-day-a-year association with a cause via internal and external programs. In the purest form, a brand brings its core values to life by supporting a cause or nonprofit partner that embodies those same values. It is a true branding endeavor to align a cause and a brand’s support for that cause in the consumers’ minds. It is linkage:  Ben & Jerry’s and the environment; the National Football League and United Way; Lee Jeans and breast cancer. Lee National Denim Day was created 12 years ago and today it is considered by experts to be one of the most successful cause branding programs ever. Learn more about it and why it works.

Just how important is cause branding to your customer? What are other corporations doing to connect? Discover the latest research in the 2007 PRWeek/Barkley Cause Survey.

And then challenge yourself to figure out whether or not you have an answer to the question, "What do you stand for?"