Citizen Brand

Don't end the cause party before it begins

It is encouraging to me how much more conversation there is about cause these days. For so many years, those of us engaged in the practice almost needed to bribe people just to get them to listen to us wax poetic about the wonders of cause marketing/branding. Today, the conversation has entered into the mainstream. And whenever that happens to a topic, it means the critics and skeptics increase in number.

The good thing about critics and skeptics is it makes those of us who believe in the core values of cause marketing check the mirror. That's a good thing. No idea lasts forever. No program can last forever without a constant commitment to keep it fresh. And with today's consumer dictating to those of us in marketing communications what content they want to hear and where they want to find it, our cause programs must be 100 % transparent.

Timothy Ogden wrote a piece for Forbes.com this week titled "How Cause Marketing Can Actually Backfire." In it Timothy underscores the importance of transparency and takes it a step further by imploring companies involved in cause to take transparency to a new level. His suggestions make sense. Ogden says companies must select charities based on their effectiveness.

Once they choose their nonprofit partners, he says companies should explain why they chose them and be specific about how much money is being raised. Most important, Ogden says companies must be exact about where the money is going and what it will do. Finally, companies should communicate after the program is complete to demonstrate to consumers that their commitment is ongoing.

I think Ogden is voicing the opinions of so many of us that work in the cause space day in and day out. I do have one caution for all of us. Since cause has just entered the mainstream of acceptability among a growing majority of companies, let's make sure we don't scare off those who have just entered the arena by making the cost of entry too high. We need to keep encouraging every company, large and small, to view cause as the win/win we all know it is. And we need to be willing to accept the fact all companies will not be ready to do it exactly how we would like them to do it from the start.

I just want to be sure that in the reality of the day to day battle that goes on in the marketplace, we don't discourage companies from employing cause marketing. Once we have them involved, we can make sure we show them the right way to do it. And what Ogden has spelled out is the right way.

 

The Death of Cause Marketing

AdAge has asked me to provide an occasional point of view on cause marketing and this is my latest effort. I am the last person on the planet who wants cause marketing/branding to die because I do believe in it when it is done right. I will let my column take it from here:

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The Day Cause Marketing Died

How to Keep Consumers From Getting Fed Up With Corporate Efforts

Posted by Mike Swenson on 06.01.10 @ 12:16 PM

         

Mike Swenson

It was a cool and calm morning the day cause marketing died. Its demise went largely unnoticed by all the online news aggregators. The only remaining television news network, ACNBCNN, ran a feature reminding us that it had broken the news the previous year that cause marketing was doomed.

It seemed to happen so quickly. One day the marketplace was full of companies and nonprofits working together for the common good. And then it was over. The blame game is in full swing. Various theories are being debated as to what happened. But looking back, it seems clear why cause marketing died.

It wasn't a natural death. It was murder. The very people who created and nurtured cause marketing through the end of the 20th century and into this century lost control of it at some point. Cause marketing was turned over to the promotions departments of agencies and companies and morphed into something unrecognizable. Cause was no longer about unique engagements with consumers. It had become just another homogenized marketing program fighting to grab its share of the consumer dollar.

From the moment consumers awoke each day until they fell asleep at night, they were inundated with opportunities to give back every time they made a purchase. In between, regardless of what store they were in, point-of-purchase shelf talkers virtually screamed at consumers every 10 feet to buy this or that product and help this or that cause. Consumers were under siege at every checkout lane of every store they shopped to give a dollar for this or a dollar for that. With online shopping continuing to overtake old-fashioned retail, cause banner ad after cause banner ad intruded on that shopping experience as well.

How do we keep this scenario from happening? Those of us engaged in cause branding in 2010 can't conceive of its demise. But as true believers, we also must avoid being naive about practices that can erode its effectiveness as a brand builder and a vehicle for societal change. A recent unscientific poll conducted here on AdAge.com asked for our collective opinions about whether or not cause marketing was doomed because of overexposure to the consumer. A wide margin of those who responded said consumer fatigue was going to happen. Are they right, or were they just the usual vocal minority of people who find it easy to criticize without offering suggestions?

What I do believe consumers will grow tired of are product promotions that masquerade as cause marketing programs. Product promotions are designed to do one thing: Sell products. Simply adding a donation from the sales proceeds doesn't qualify as real cause branding anymore. Cause has to be about engaging the consumer beyond the sale of one product. Companies need to demonstrate that they care about the cause every day, not just the day of the transaction.

Likewise, nonprofits need to be mindful of the types of corporate partnerships they pursue. While the money from a purely transactional cause-marketing program may be tempting, nonprofits should make sure the partnership makes sense. Is there a natural tie between the corporation and the nonprofit, or is it forced? Will the consumer remember anything about the cause once the promotion ends? And what will the money being donated specifically fund?

When cause marketing is done well, no explanation is needed. The partnership instantly makes sense. The consumer is engaged repeatedly throughout the year. And everyone knows where the money is going and what it will accomplish. The true power and reach of cause marketing is missed if companies are simply slapping a nonprofit logo on a consumer product and thinking the consumer will remember them after the transaction is over.

The fictitious dispatch from the future at the beginning of this column should remain just that: fictitious. There are enough companies and nonprofits today that are doing it right. But with increased scrutiny from both corporate and nonprofit watchdogs, we have to make sure we are all doing it the right way all the time.

As always, the consumer will be the ultimate watchdog. The cause formula for success with consumers is very simple: Engage, don't just sell. Educate, don't just market. Find a nonprofit partner that makes sense. And if consumer donations are involved, be open and specific about what they are accomplishing.

In the end, you might just sell some more product, too.

A sign of the apocalypse

CBS Cancels The Guiding Light

April 1, 2009

-By Marc Berman

Veteran CBS daytime soap The Guiding Light, the longest running daytime drama in the history of television, will broadcast its final episode on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.  

The serial debuted in a 15-minute format on NBC radio on Jan. 25, 1937 and moved to CBS (airing concurrently on broadcast and radio) beginning on June 30, 1952. The radio show ended in 1956, and The Guiding Light ultimately expanded to 30-minutes in 1967.

Ten years later it became a full daily hour.
 
“Guiding Light has achieved a piece of television history that will never be matched; it has crossed mediums, adapted its stories to decades of social change and woven its way through generations of audiences like no other," said Nancy Tellem, President, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. "This daytime icon will always be an indelible part of CBS's history, with a legacy of innovation and reputation for quality and excellence at every step of the way.  While its presence will be missed, its contributions will always be celebrated and never be forgotten."
 
There is no word at present what CBS will fill the weekday hour with.

(Courtesy: Mediaweek)

A Super Bowl idea....take II

The writers strike has impacted Citizen Brand.  It's rerun night.  I was thinking back to two years ago and the Super Bowl.  It was on February 7, 2006 that I suggested in this space that perhaps there might be an advertiser out there who would consider spending their money a bit differently on the Super Bowl.  Here is my rerun:

Really smart advertisers in the future might consider this scenario:  Budget enough money to buy four 30 second spots - say $10 million - but only buy one spot and donate the rest to a worthy cause.  Then take your one 30 second spot and promote that cause.  The company could start a campaign a week or ten days before the game promoting it through every avenue available to them and continue it right through the game and beyond.

Then imagine what a Super Bowl five years down the road might look like if it started a trend and think of all the good that could come of that approach.  And imagine what the public would think of the companies who took this approach.  And how it would make all the employees of those companies feel.

Who wants to start?

There is one difference.  The cost of a Super Bowl spot this year is $2.7 million.  Seems like an even better idea given the cost is going up.  I repeat - Who wants to start?  Anyone?

Simple enjoyment

I can always count on Ernie to find us advertising that works and that we can simply enjoy.  This new spot from Guiness does both.

As P&G goes.......

When the CMO of Procter & Gamble speaks, we should take note.  Especially now.  You can link to the entire story below and read it for yourself, but let me pull out an operative quote of interest from it:

"Mr. Stengel....used his platform to describe a different set of imperatives: the need for brands to be authentic, trustworthy and generous."

Stengel says the days of “telling and selling” are over and he began his presentation to AAAA this week showing his Second Life avatar visiting the Second Life office of P&G’s agency Leo Burnett.

If P&G is sounding and acting like this, we can assume there has been a seismic shift in the marketing world.  Creating authentic brands that care about the world, not just making an extra buck, is the world we live in today.

The full AdAge article is here.

Along those lines, what is to be made of the Product Red cause initiative.  Is it selling products successfully?  Is it raising money and awareness for an important cause?  I think the jury is still out on both of those questions.  Others think so too.  Witness this recent website called buylesscrap which suggests that people not buy the Red products and instead donate more money to the cause.

Authenticity and transparency are critical in branding today.  Same goes for cause programs.  Jim Stengel at P&G has it right - authentic; trustworthy and generous are what people want today.  How is your company doing?

The age of consumer philanthropy

As we prepare to give thanks in America this weekend, retailers are preparing for the beginning of their make it or break it time of the year. Tis the season to shop 'til you drop and if enough of us don't, then there will be a lot of slashing of prices and wrists in store aisles everywhere.

But let us remember it is the season of thanks and hope and charity as well. And as those of us involved in the cause arena know, the worlds of commerce and charity are colliding. Here is a great point of view from Tom Watson via the the Huffington Post.  (Not that Tom Watson golfers.)

If you don't feel like linking, read this excerpt which isn't news to us in the choir, but there are still people who need to hear this:

".....philanthropies and charities are quite naturally spending more of budgets on marketing. Brand-building is growing in importance, as is long-term cultivation and donor loyalty. And increasingly, partnerships with consumer product companies can open new paths to funds. For non profits, cause marketing brings more than money, after all - it brings exposure.

On the other side, there are companies that genuinely have a a mission to change the world, that clearly buy into the notion of doing well while doing good. But others are driven by a purer market motivation. As their own marketers understand that the strength of the brand in some way hinges on public perception of "doing good," they're looking for ways to harness the philanthropic impulse in American society. Buy my product, and help others. It's got a ring.

The problem sometimes lies in convincing shareholders; why are we giving away some of our profits, they rightly ask. Go to them with a pure message of changing the world, and they'll slam the board room door in your face. But pitch the notion of extending the brand, aligning the product with the growing world of consumer philanthropy - well, there you've got something, son. Let's tell sales about this right away. According to the IEG Sponsorship Report, American companies spent nearly $1 billion on cause related marketing campaigns in 2004."

The train is leaving the station.  Is your company going to be on it?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Staying inside the box

We are fortunate at our company to have Ernie Schenck as an outside member of our board of directors.  For those of you who don't know Ernie, he is one of those advertising guru types.  He would appreciate the use of the word types.

I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Ernie earlier this year driving to an off site board meeting.  He had just finished a book that is about to be published called The Houdini Solution.  In it, Ernie takes the long held notion of thinking outside the box and turns it on its head.  Hence the title of the book. 

You might recall one of Houdini's most famous escapes involved being chained, roped and otherwise tied up inside a big chest and heaved into a deep body of water.  (I can't remember if it was a lake, river or ocean.  Anyone?)

The point of Ernie's book is incredibly interesting.  Instead of always "pushing the envelope" or "thinking outside the box" - what if we take an idea and go inward with it and work it so hard and drill down so deep that we find just as many, if not more, insights and opportunities to move a brand forward.  That was my take away from our conversation anyway.  I'm anxious to read the book.

Ernie has a great blog called Ernie Schenck Calls This Advertising.  He recently posted one of his book's chapters.  Also, here is another great post he did that tells us why the chaos theory can teach us much about the marketing environment today.

Enjoy.  And here is a shameless plug for Ernie's book.  Go buy it starting September 15.