All RED all the time

Product RED is taking up a lot of the oxygen in the news and on blogs this week.  I only have one more comment to make and then I will also share some others I find interesting and instructive to the discussion.

My fellow cause marketer and blogger Joe Waters makes some good points in support of Product RED.  One thing he reminded me of is something I do believe strongly - any awareness, education and money raised for any cause is a good thing.  I have taken umbrage with the amount of money spent to market the RED products, but I agree with Joe that the $18 million raised thus far and the awareness of what AIDS is doing in Africa is positive.

But here is what I would suggest for the next round of Product RED marketing.  Tell us the stories of the people the money is helping.  Show us the good work that is being accomplished.  Talk directly to us about what our donations are doing.  I believe the most important dynamic for cause branders to focus on going forward is complete transparency of what benefits are being derived from financial donations.

Here are some other comments on RED at psfk.com.

And finally, let's let Bono have the last word.  He is a tour-de-force and I respect him greatly for his real commitment.  Watch and listen to his acceptance speech from the recent NAACP gala where he was awarded the Chairman's Award.  Watch here via YouTube.

This is a healthy discussion going on and the good news is that cause branding is front and center and part of the everyday landscape now.  I will close by saying this - don't just show me the money -- show me what the money is doing.

Comments

[Joe]

Totally agree with you, Mike. That is one area in which RED has fallen flat.

[Queen of Suburbia T-Shirts]

I agree completely, I think far more people would be prepared to contribute if they felt that their contribution was actually going somewhere useful. There are so many rumours out there about funds being used for arms not food. Real examples illustrating that aid reaches the hungry are long overdue.