Citizen Brand

KaBOOM looking for play spaces

What a cool idea that helps many good causes. KaBOOM is looking for 100,000 play spaces in the next 100 days. And if you identify one, you can help a cause of your choice too.  Check it out here.

Thanks to my Barkley colleague, Celeste, for the tip.

Fight Hunger

Sean Penn in a simple but powerful psa on hunger.

A model citizen

If I was looking for a poster child for Citizen Brand, one candidate would be Millard Fuller. I say was because unfortunately, Mr. Fuller died this week. If his name isn't familiar, I can assure you that his life's passion is very familiar. Millard Fuller was the founder of Habitat for Humanity.

Fuller was a multi-millionaire entrepreneur. In 1976, he gave up his business and wealth and with his wife started a charity designed to help people in need get decent housing they can afford.

“Millard Fuller was a force of nature who turned a simple idea into an international organization that has helped more than 300,000 families move from deplorable housing into simple, decent homes they helped build and can afford to buy and live in,” said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive of Habitat for Humanity International, in a statement. “The entire Habitat family mourns the loss of our founder, a true giant in the affordable housing movement.”

Fuller and his wife began Habitat in the small town of Americus, Georgia, also the home of former President Jimmy Carter. Carter became one of Habitat's greatest ambassadors. Carter said today, "Millard Fuller was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing."

As with most public figures, Fuller's life was not without some controversy.  He left Habitat four years ago after a dispute with the board. Since I don't know the details of what happened, we will leave that for others. Fuller didn't disappear from the affordable housing scene. Instead, he and his wife launched the Fuller Center for Housing. Through it, they raise money for Habitat affiliates.

His wife Linda said her late husband would not want people to mourn his passing. "He would be more interested in people grabbing a hammer and building a house for someone in need,"  she said. The couple was planning on celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary later this year with a global tour to build 100 homes. The tour is expected to go on.

Millard Fuller would want it that way for sure.

(Thanks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, ABC.com & the AP.)

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.

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?

Interwoven Threads

A Barkley alum has made good on his dream of starting his own company.  It's called Interwoven Threads and here is a very nice article about this unique t-shirt company in Present magazine.  Congrats to Andy Woolard for a job well done.

Another holiday gift idea from your personal shopper here at Citizen Brand.

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?"

Cause it's the right thing to do.....

Check out Razoo.com and their $10,000 contest to engage us to get more involved.  Razoo is a a new web platform designed to mobilize people for positive social change.  Or if you want to dip your toe in the Razoo water, you can check out their blog and see what they are all about.

This is also a great time to remind you that Lee National Denim Day is Friday, October 5.  This is the 12th year for this great grassroots program that has raised over $67 million dollars toward research and education about breast cancer.  There is a new way for you to get involved in Denim Day this year in addition to your workplace.  You can start your own team and get your friends, family or even strangers involved in helping to fight breast cancer.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Lee National Denim Day now is where your dollars are going.  The Entertainment Industry Foundation has launched its Women's Cancer Research Fund. Focused on early detection of cancer, the initiative is supporting EIF's Breast Cancer Biomarker Discovery Project—an ambitious, groundbreaking scientific project where a group of internationally recognized scientists and clinicians from some of the best scientific institutions in the world are collaborating to develop a blood test that will detect breast cancer in its beginning stages, when survival rates are highest.

I had the opportunity to hear a presentation from the group of doctors from the best universities and hospitals in the USA who are conducting this research.  The work they are doing will yield important results and it is so gratifying to be able to tell each person who donates five dollars and wears their jeans on Denim Day this year that their donation is making a REAL difference in the fight against breast cancer.

If your company has yet to sign up for Denim Day, please take the lead and get them to sign up and if you work from home - create your own team.  Either way, you will know you are doing something good.

The real reason to give back

Finally, we know the real reason why we should give back to society and do good.  It makes us feel better.  Thanks to Joe for the pointer.

This just in from Reuters.....

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Knowing your money is going to a good cause can activate some of the same pleasure centers in your brain as food and sex, U.S. researchers said Thursday.

People who participated in a study got a charge knowing that their money went to a charity -- even when the contribution was mandatory, like a tax. They felt even better when they voluntarily made a donation, researchers found.

Ulrich Mayr, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, said the research sheds light on the nature of altruism and could help people feel better about being taxed.

"It shows that in an ideal world you could have a tax situation where you could be a satisfied taxpayer," said Mayr, whose study appeared in the journal Science.

The women were shown their money automatically being transferred from their account to a local food bank.

When the money reached the food bank account, it activated portions of the brain -- the caudate nucleus and the nucleus accumbens -- known for pleasure. The effect was even greater when the people got to choose to give the money away.

"What is interesting is that these pleasure areas are for really basic needs, like food, sex, sweets, shelter and social connection," Ulrich said in a telephone interview. "It's the area that tells the brain what is good for us."

As it turns out, "That very same brain area not only tracks what is good for us, but what is good for others," he said.

He and colleagues were hoping to find out whether there was something in the act of giving itself -- and not just the social and egotistical reward of being a philanthropist -- that offers satisfaction.

"The fact that we find pleasurable activity in those mandatory tax-like situations strongly suggests the existence of pure altruism," he said.

Of course, simulating a tax is quite different from paying taxes to a government with policies you may or may not support, he noted.

"What it shows is that, in principle, we are capable of feeling good about doing our share," he said.

"The question is, 'Why is it that so often we feel bad about filling out our taxes?' Our study shows it is worth looking for an answer."

I always wondered what my caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens were for......

Lights; camera; cause

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers for my wife .  And thanks to my colleagues at Barkley  and our friends in Kansas City who are helping us during this journey we are on.  I am on a quick trip to New York City for a long scheduled speaking engagement at the Cause Marketing Forum.  Char insisted I keep this appointment.  My topic is causes and celebrities and here is a synopsis of what I will talk about to the Forum.

Cause and celebrities go together. It’s not new that the stars in movies, television or music get involved in issues that matter. Its been going on for a long time. Many point to Audrey Hepburn and her efforts on behalf of UNICEF as the opening act to today’s onslaught of celebrity cause involvement. In the intervening years, other notables that come to mind are Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John on behalf of AIDS. And what about Bob Hope and his tireless support of our troops as he visited America’s armed forces around the world? Today we have the much-hyped Bono fighting global poverty, hunger and AIDS in Africa. And so on.

In a sense you have to think of celebrities and cause today in two different ways. There are celebrities who are involved in what can be called issue causes—those causes that have political or controversial overtones to them. And there are celebrities who are focused on what I will call more mainstream causes—the ongoing causes that are always with us—health issues, hunger, housing, education. AIDS started out as an issue cause but has now become more of a mainstream health issue.

There is also a third type of cause that is caught in between and not receiving proper attention. There are issues that some don’t want to get too close to because of their perceived negative overtones. Violence against women and children is an example. It is a cause that everyone knows needs to be addressed, but some corporations do not want to associate their brands with family violence or other issues that don’t feel warm and fuzzy. Celebrities help in situations like this because their familiar faces and voices can help take difficult issues and create connections with consumers on behalf of the cause and the corporate partner.

That is just one example of how celebrities can be strategically used to enhance cause branding programs. The key word here is “strategically.” Partnering with a celebrity must be more than just a tactical decision to have a famous face show up at an event. Celebrity involvement must be a strategy. A celebrity alone will not make a campaign. Used correctly, though, a celebrity can be a huge boost to a cause campaign on all levels from awareness to education and, of course, fund raising.
Here are some guidelines for choosing and working with celebrities that will create a successful and strategic partnership:

∑ Establish clear objectives for how a celebrity will add value to the program.

∑ Create a list of the activities the celebrity will be asked to undertake and outline it in terms of number of hours or days of involvement requested.

∑ Identify a group of celebrities to contact.

∑ When making a cold pitch, approach the manager first, publicist second and agent third.

∑ Play fair. In many cases, the celebrity’s people do not all get along, so be careful not to get involved in the crossfire. Befriend everyone. Remember, you are building relationships for future celebrity searches as well.

∑ The celebrity should have a personal connection to the cause.

∑ As with any pitch, be succinct and clearly communicate what benefits the celebrities can expect for themselves.

∑ Be persistent in following up. And stay in touch after the current search is over. Agents call us all the time now with ideas for our programs.

∑ Always give preference to celebrities that have other activities going on simultaneously with their involvement in the cause program. It extends the reach of the cause effort if the celebrity has a new movie forthcoming, a hot new television show launching a second or third season, or a new recording. Their cause involvement will benefit their reputation as well.

∑ Once a decision is made, there should be an agreement drawn up whether or not the celebrity will be paid.

∑ The agreement needs to clearly spell out what both sides are providing each other.

∑ Educating the celebrity about the cause program and the key messages for the year is imperative. You need to conduct the training yourself and not rely on the celebrity’s people to relay the right information.

∑ Overall, remember that the people employed by the celebrity all are dedicated to serving their boss just as you are dedicated to serving your client. Recognize it, figure out how to cater to it and leverage it.

∑ Enjoy the journey while working with a celebrity. It can be painful at times, but it is also rewarding. When you find the right celebrity and have clear objectives for what you want to achieve, the cause is the beneficiary.

What we have learned is that celebrities can truly help a cause if the process is thought through in a strategic manner. There are always going to be critics of celebrity involvement in causes. It is certainly true that some famous folks do it to gain publicity or to improve their personal reputations. But the fact remains that if you take the time to think carefully about the objectives of your program and how a celebrity can fit into those objectives, the experience and the results will be positive.