Citizen Brand

Seeing RED

My email rang yesterday with a request from my former colleague Andy and I am going to do my best to answer.  The subject is Product Red and my opinion about it.  I have been observing and thinking about this campaign as it has unfolded and here is what I think.

I'm disappointed.  I'm a little mad.  But I think cause branding as a strategy will survive the excesses of Product Red.  I believe that because if you step back from the edge of the cliff and view the campaign, Product Red is not cause branding.  It is a product promotion campaign.  Granted, it is a big product promotion campaign executed on a global scale.  But cause branding it is not.

When the news broke this week that Product Red had spent $100 million on marketing and returned $18 million to the cause of fighting AIDS in Africa, it was like a slap in the face to all of us who believe in cause branding not just as a marketing tool, but as a real way to make change in the world.  The Better Business Bureau says charitable efforts must return a minimum of 65 percent of all proceeds to the cause to be considered successful.  Product Red has a ways to go to meet the BBB minimum.

Product Red is all the rage right now.  We know because clients we are working with are constantly referencing it with envy and admiration.  It's big and bold and it has certainly captured the attention of the world.  But thus far too much money has been spent for too little return and the celebrities involved have outshone the cause itself.  That is why I don't want this program confused with true cause branding efforts.

Perhaps Product Red is creating a new category for which we will need to come up with a new moniker.  Maybe we call it marketing cause instead of cause marketing.  That may seem like semantics, but the simple juxtaposition of the two words illustrates that there is a difference between selling products to benefit a cause and creating a program that educates, enlightens and raises money for solutions to a societal problem.

I'm sure there are people who will disagree with my opinion.  I may have even offended a potential client out there somewhere.  I'm comfortable with that.  I know from the great organizations that we are now working with that there is a great understanding of the power of true cause branding. 

What do all of you think of Product Red?  Let's keep this conversation going.  I have my opinion, but I believe this is an important discussion for us to have if we care about cause, public relations and branding.

So now Andy, all we have to do is figure out how you can possibly dislike the Beatles. 

Goodwill or not?

No doubt I will return with some thoughts about my weekend in Utah at the Public Innovators Summit, but I need to digress right now and let you in on an evolving case study going on with Goodwill Industries in Virginia.

Andrea over at New Millenium PR reported this weekend about a situation  that raises all kinds of ethical and reputational issues for Goodwill.  I urge you to read it and either comment here or join the growing discussion going on over at Andrea's place.

Masks

It is said that we all have a mask or two that we use at times to hide our true feelings.  Or maybe we use them to protect ourselves from being hurt, either real or imagined.  No matter, masks are intriguing to us.  Masks also make up an entire category of art that spans generations and civilizations.  Masks tell us much about other people and other times.

I just learned about a great company called Masks Exhibition that ties masks and cause related giving together in a unique and powerful way.  Here is how they describe their purpose:

"Our fundraising concept is simple but powerful.  We produce an exhibition of clay masks that are designed by high profile celebrities.  The masks are shown along with paintings and prints from some of the most prominent artists in the world.  All the artwork is auctioned off and the proceeds from its sale are given to charitable causes."

"Behind every mask lies the beauty within."

A simple idea with an intriguing hook.  Check it out.

The Cause Generation

If you are between the ages of 18 and 30, then it is likely you are part of the generation that will tip the balance in moving cause and corporate social responsibility from a nice to have in business to business as usual.

Proof of this comes from the 5th Annual College Explorer Study sponsored by Alloy Media + Marketing and conducted by Harris Interactive.

Calling all brands.  Are you paying attention?

Lunch

As we head into a long holiday weekend in the States, check out this new magazine called Lunch.  Just when you thought maybe there were no new, refreshing magazine concepts left to launch, here comes Lunch.  What is it?

"LUNCH is a magazine for the smart, savvy (post)consumer aged anything between 16-60 years old; LUNCH is more an attitude than an age. Value-conscious but increasingly aware of living a lifestyle paradox: responsible, trendsetting but also trend-driven. Wears Blackspot as well as Converse. Loves shopping, buys organic food and drinks Diet Coke, wears People Tree as well as H&M, weekends in the country, frets about global warming but flies EasyJet, wore a MakePovertyHistory band, loves festivals, breaks into a trot when approaching Selfridges. Has probably boycotted Nike, Nestlé et al, albeit temporarily. Loved No Logo and Supersize Me, reads Vogue and Closer.
Recognise anyone?"

Thanks to Audeamus for pointing this out to us.

Talking to Customers

One key attribute of a Citizen Brand is open communication with everyone inside or outside the organization. Southwest Airlines is one of my favorite brands and it is a company that has always been open in all of its communications.

Right now, for example, Southwest has been in the news regarding a potential change in their open seating policy.  If you have never flown Southwest Airlines, then you may not know that there are no assigned seats.  You board in three groups - A, B and C - and you take whatever seat you want when you get on the plane.  It has become part of the Southwest culture and an important part of their ability to operate more efficiently than other airlines.

Not everyone likes it of course.  In fact, some people will avoid flying Southwest just because there are no assigned seats.  I personally like it.  But the fact that there are customers who don't means Southwest has to listen.

So what do they do about it?  Do they just suddenly change their policy and then try to spin some kind of announcement to make it sound good?  No, they don't.  Instead, the CEO of Southwest is discussing the issue on the Southwest blog.  There has been no decision made, yet here is the CEO talking direct with customers about the issue and its pros and cons.  Refreshing.

Too bad it seems refreshing instead of being the norm in business communications.

More on this at Andy's blog.

The best chair ever made

It may be the perfect combination of form and function ever produced - the Eames Chair.

It celebrates 50 years of exuding both comfort and style.  The Chicago Tribune tells the story.

 

I am the proud owner of an Eames Chair and the truth is that I love to both sit in it and look at it. 

If only more products were produced with the care and insight that produced the amazing Eames Chair.  Happy 50th birthday!

More on 100 Best Corporate Citizens

Andrea has a great follow up to my recent post on Business Ethics magazine's Top 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

One thing she talks about is the need for corporate social responsibility courses to become standard operating procedure in business schools at the university level.  What about it college and university presidents and business school deans?  Who wants to be a real leader?

For that matter, why don't journalism schools offer the same thing as part of a truly comprehensive marketing communications education.  This is the wave of the future.  Which university will be the one to recognize it and take action?

100 Best Corporate Citizens

It may not yet carry the weight of the Fortune 500, but it should.  Business Ethics magazine just released its seventh edition of its list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens.  The magazine declares this list a celebration of "companies that excel at serving a variety of stakeholders well."

It simply is not a matter of how well public companies serve their stockholders today, but whether or not they provide good jobs for employees; contribute to a cleaner environment; relate well to their communities; have good governance practices; and, produce reliable products for their customers.  All that in addition to being able to provide a return on their shareholders' investments.

The companies that live on the list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens are great examples of what we mean by Citizen Brands.  This is the list we all should be striving to be on in the future.  These are the companies that understand the new realities of being truly engaged with their stakeholders and not simply doing business as usual.

Two questions to consider.  Could your company or client make this list today?  What would have to happen to make your company or client eligible to be one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens?

A Walk in the Park

What does it say about your brand if you put the elements which make your brand unique and desirable in jeopardy?  Case in point:  the brand called the United States of America and what is being done by the "brand managers" in Washington to our National Parks.  Matt Stearns tell us in this Sunday piece from the Kansas City Star.

I visit Rocky Mountain National Park almost every summer and the people who staff our National Parks are not doing so because they want to retire fat and happy.  They run our parks because of their passion for nature and their desire to help preserve something that truly makes America special.  They are continually being asked to carry out their mission without any support from the politicians in Washington.  If you care about our National Parks, it is past time to begin to make some noise.