Citizen Brand

Cause marketing for Venus & Mars

Late last year, the annual Barkley cause survey made a big discovery - men do have a heart. We talked to male consumers all over the USA and found out that men are impacted by cause marketing in nearly the same numbers as women. We also found out that only 3 out of 10 chief marketing officers were contemplating targeting men with a cause program. Sounds like some fertile ground for the right brand and nonprofit doesn't it?

At the Cause Marketing Forum in Chicago last week, I had the opportunity to meet with two small groups of fellow cause marketers to discuss cause and men. We had a great mix of people from agencies, companies and nonprofits. The discussion was spirited and we arrived at some interesting insights. The most significant one came when we talked about what motivates men in general and then discussed what that means when developing cause programs.

We all can agree that emotion plays a huge role in cause marketing. But while that is a primary motivator for women, is it the same for men? Our group in Chicago decided that it probably is not the primary motivator for men. Emotion will always be a factor in cause programs, but for men we decided that other dynamics may matter more - competition and accomplishment.

Men like to compete and men like to be able to see the results of the work they do. If you agree these are two big motivators for men, then the cause programs we develop to target men may look different than most cause programs today.

A cause program for men might have a component where the consumer is asked to take specific action or do some work as opposed to just writing a check or swiping a credit card to make a donation. A cause program for men might involve a competitive component where consumers who raise the most money for the cause or solicit the most participants for a cause are rewarded. The reward doesn't have to be a personal reward for the consumer. Instead it could be a brand increasing the amount it donates to its cause recognizing the milestones achieved by the male consumers it is targeting. Thus, the consumer can point with pride to what he has "accomplished." Starts to makes sense doesn't it.

We only had a couple of hours in Chicago but we all believe we identified some insights into how brands and nonprofits should look at programs that would get men involved. I look forward to hearing what others in the cause community think. Let the collaboration begin!

The Death of Cause Marketing - Act Two

One can't help but take notice when the person who is considered the originator of cause marketing says it is dead as we know it. Of course I agree with Carol Cone, founder of Cone and now representing Edelman. In June, AdAge ran a column I penned and headlined it "The Day Cause Marketing Died." We are essentially saying the same thing. But in the rush to get headlines, maybe our real point was missed by some.

Cause is not dying. It is evolving. But there are those who have come late to the party and believe they are doing cause when in fact they are not. For some in corporate leadership today, cause is a box they are checking off on a list so they can say they are doing it. For those companies who are interested in doing more than checking off a box, cause is a wide open arena of possibility to demonstrate to customers, employees and all key stakeholders that they actually do want to make a difference over the long term.

For so long now, there has been a belief among brands that cause programs were successful if they made people feel good about their brands. What we now know is that the best cause programs make people feel good about themselves. When that happens, brands will be rewarded in a way that nothing else they do can achieve.

And if those same companies are paying attention, they now know that men are attracted to brands doing cause right almost as much as women. Our just released Barkley/PRWeek Cause Survey also says that even though men will buy, refer and support brands that support causes in a real way, two out of three corporate CMO's are not planning on targeting men with cause programs. Another evolutionary turn for cause is teed up for brands that care.

Cause is maturing and these kinds of discussions are healthy for all of us to have. We all have a responsibility to make sure that cause does not die, but rather continues to evolve. When done right, it is the most powerful form of purposeful engagement a brand can have with its customers.

 

 

No laughing matter, but.....

London agency Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw has produced one of the best PSA's I have ever seen. It is for WaterAid. We all know how much young kids love to make jokes and laugh about anything having to do with - let's see how do I say this - going number two.

But it is that insight that makes this spot so powerful. Watch it and see what I mean.

Cause a Survivor

AdAge asked me to write a column about cause marketing and branding in a tough economy.  Here it is. Please join the discussion.

Marketing's True Survivor

Why Advertisers Should Turn to Cause Strategies When Times Are Tough

Posted by Mike Swenson on 07.29.09 @ 11:45 AM

       

Mike Swenson

When times are tough, cause marketing can make all the difference in a client's marketing strategy. Mike Swenson, exec VP-chief marketing officer of Kansas City, Mo.-based Barkley, tells why.

If you compare our current economic abyss to a game of "Survivor," with marketing programs vying to avoid being voted off the island, it appears we have a winner. Cause-related marketing might just be the true survivor in this economy.

Anecdotal evidence is everywhere. Entire ad campaigns by major brands range from simple hints about the good they are doing for society to entire campaigns centered on causes and giving back. At Barkley, we have two clients that made cuts in their marketing budgets but did not stop the development of cause programs set to launch later this year.

The primary reason is consumer demand. Giving back is part of the consumer mind-set now. A perfect example is a study from Opinion Research Corp. telling us that 76% of consumers are willing to pay more at the cash register for environmentally friendly products. This debunks the perception that consumers will buy green only if it doesn't cost them.

Our most recent Barkley cause survey, done in partnership with PR Week, brings consumer support for cause marketing into even sharper focus when you consider the female consumer. Since women are responsible for more than 80% of all spending, what women want matters to marketers. Two of three women have purchased a brand because it supports a cause they believe in, and three of four have recommended a brand to others for the same reason.

The headlines tell us that philanthropic giving is down during the economic slump. So why is cause marketing surviving? It's simple: As a person's disposable income drops, his or her ability to make philanthropic donations drops as well. Cause marketing provides outlets for consumers of all financial means to give back, since most programs carry a modest level of donation.

Simply stated, cause marketing is surviving in this economy because consumers not only want to give back but also can afford to do it through cause-marketing programs. And since we see the mountain of evidence telling us consumers will reward companies that offer cause-marketing programs, the reasons not to make cause a part of the marketing mix are dwindling.

The benefits are numerous for a brand that commits itself to cause marketing. One of the most important is the internal impact of support for a cause. When consumers put on their employee hats, they want to work for companies that care. Two out of three CMOs Barkley surveyed in late 2008 said their cause programs resulted in improved employee morale and retention. That was especially true for employees in their 20s and 30s.

A second benefit is directly linked to the troubled economy. We all know that value pricing has its limits. A competitor can always undercut a price point. Think of value a different way. A brand can hold steady on some prices when it adds value to the purchase, such as support for a cause. Consumers will be willing to pay a bit more if they know the product they purchased will support a good cause.

With consumers living their lives more and more online today, marketers can offer a year-round cause-marketing presence, thus reinforcing their status as brands that care. It also makes it easier for consumers to engage with the brand. Our client Lee Jeans has experienced this firsthand through Lee National Denim Day, which supports the fight against breast cancer. Denim Day began 14 years ago as a workplace program using traditional methods of marketing and communication to spread the word. Today, the entire program exists online atdenimday.com, where anyone can form a team, make donations and learn new ways to get engaged in this grass-roots cause program.

Finally, brands engaging in cause marketing can fill a big need in today's economy. Nonprofits are being hit hard right now, which means the people they serve are being hit harder. Nonprofits are being squeezed from all sides. They have less help from government, foundations, direct donations and volunteers.

Combine that with the fact that companies today are searching for any edge they can find to drive business and grow their brands, and it will bring you to a simple conclusion: Cause marketing will give a brand the edge it is looking for and will help the nonprofits collect much-needed dollars to support their missions.

Brand marketers need to ask themselves a question right now: If your best customer asks you what you stand for, do you have an answer? Cause marketing will help give you that answer.

Countdown's Apology Hall of Fame

As a postscript to my last post, let's take a look at a few more famous apologies courtesy of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. It is bipartisan and very funny. Enjoy.

Three candles

 

Pardon me for the self indulgence. Citizen Brand is three years old today. I'm glad I have made it this far and appreciate all of you who have checked in from time to time to peruse my observations on the world. Whether anyone reads this or not has never been the objective. I simply have enjoyed having an outlet to point out happenings that interest me.  As always, I would love to hear your suggestions on issues or events or unimportant items that interest you.

One filter I always try to use as I observe the world is whether the people or organizations making news are having a positive or negative impact on the rest of us.  I will continue to do that to the best of my ability.  For those of you who have just discovered this blog, here is my first post from February 4, 2006 where I lay out the foundation for Citizen Brand.

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Saturday, February 04, 2006

Jumping off the cliff

I'm a big movie fan so I often resort to great scenes or lines from movies to define moments in time.  So it's only fitting that as I launch my blog (finally) I can only think of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."  The posse is closing in on them and they are standing on a cliff and the only place to go is to take a hundred foot jump into a river.  The Kid tells Butch he can't swim and Butch laughs and says "Hell kid, it's the fall that will kill you."  So let's jump.  It's time.

My intention with this blog is that it be representative of who I am both personally and professionally.  I run a public relations firm by day (and night sometimes) but I'm also a husband, father, stepfather, grandfather, golfer, music, and movie lover, a political junkie, a rabid Kansas Jayhawk and sometimes I even find time to finish a book.  My challenge will be to find some common threads between all this and what is important to me in my profession now.

After 30 years in journalism, politics and public relations I believe the most important thing any of us as individuals or as representatives of our various organizations can do is give back.  And today that can take so many forms and can happen in so many different kinds of venues.  It is exciting.  Technology has made the world a small place and yet it can also put electronic barriers up between us.  The antidote to that is to take action and get involved and make a difference.

At my company we talk about helping organizations to become Citizen Brands.  A Citizen Brand is an organization that is ethical and responsible in its actions and is active in giving back to the society that is supporting it.  It can be a for profit company dependent on consumers to buy its products and services or it can be a not for profit organization dependent on donors to support its mission.  Either way, any organization is made up of its people and it can only be a Citizen Brand if each person is in their own way - a Citizen Brand.

So that is what I hope to explore here and hope that my view of the world is one that triggers ideas and opinions from those that read this.  We can only truly each be a Citizen Brand if we are open to learning from each other and from the world around us and everything that is in it.

There, I jumped off the cliff and the water is fine.  Fortunately, unlike the Sundance Kid, I can swim.

I'm a big movie fan so I often resort to great scenes or lines from movies to define moments in time.  So it's only fitting that as I launch my blog (finally) I can only think of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."  The posse is closing in on them and they are standing on a cliff and the only place to go is to take a hundred foot jump into a river.  The Kid tells Butch he can't swim and Butch laughs and says "Hell kid, it's the fall that will kill you."  So let's jump.  It's time.

My intention with this blog is that it be representative of who I am both personally and professionally.  I run a public relations firm by day (and night sometimes) but I'm also a husband, father, stepfather, grandfather, golfer, music, and movie lover, a political junkie, a rabid Kansas Jayhawk and sometimes I even find time to finish a book.  My challenge will be to find some common threads between all this and what is important to me in my profession now.

After 30 years in journalism, politics and public relations I believe the most important thing any of us as individuals or as representatives of our various organizations can do is give back.  And today that can take so many forms and can happen in so many different kinds of venues.  It is exciting.  Technology has made the world a small place and yet it can also put electronic barriers up between us.  The antidote to that is to take action and get involved and make a difference.

At my company we talk about helping organizations to become Citizen Brands.  A Citizen Brand is an organization that is ethical and responsible in its actions and is active in giving back to the society that is supporting it.  It can be a for profit company dependent on consumers to buy its products and services or it can be a not for profit organization dependent on donors to support its mission.  Either way, any organization is made up of its people and it can only be a Citizen Brand if each person is in their own way - a Citizen Brand.

So that is what I hope to explore here and hope that my view of the world is one that triggers ideas and opinions from those that read this.  We can only truly each be a Citizen Brand if we are open to learning from each other and from the world around us and everything that is in it.

There, I jumped off the cliff and the water is fine.  Fortunately, unlike the Sundance Kid, I can swim.

Jumping off the cliff

I'm a big movie fan so I often resort to great scenes or lines from movies to define moments in time.  So it's only fitting that as I launch my blog (finally) I can only think of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."  The posse is closing in on them and they are standing on a cliff and the only place to go is to take a hundred foot jump into a river.  The Kid tells Butch he can't swim and Butch laughs and says "Hell kid, it's the fall that will kill you."  So let's jump.  It's time.

My intention with this blog is that it be representative of who I am both personally and professionally.  I run a public relations firm by day (and night sometimes) but I'm also a husband, father, stepfather, grandfather, golfer, music, and movie lover, a political junkie, a rabid Kansas Jayhawk and sometimes I even find time to finish a book.  My challenge will be to find some common threads between all this and what is important to me in my profession now.

After 30 years in journalism, politics and public relations I believe the most important thing any of us as individuals or as representatives of our various organizations can do is give back.  And today that can take so many forms and can happen in so many different kinds of venues.  It is exciting.  Technology has made the world a small place and yet it can also put electronic barriers up between us.  The antidote to that is to take action and get involved and make a difference.

At my company we talk about helping organizations to become Citizen Brands.  A Citizen Brand is an organization that is ethical and responsible in its actions and is active in giving back to the society that is supporting it.  It can be a for profit company dependent on consumers to buy its products and services or it can be a not for profit organization dependent on donors to support its mission.  Either way, any organization is made up of its people and it can only be a Citizen Brand if each person is in their own way - a Citizen Brand.

So that is what I hope to explore here and hope that my view of the world is one that triggers ideas and opinions from those that read this.  We can only truly each be a Citizen Brand if we are open to learning from each other and from the world around us and everything that is in it.

There, I jumped off the cliff and the water is fine.  Fortunately, unlike the Sundance Kid, I can swim.