Citizen Brand

PRWeek/Barkley Cause Survey

There is much going on at our company these days.  We simplified our name; added a rocket to our logo; and we are getting ready to move into new digs in a building that Howard Hughes once roamed around in when he owned Trans World Airlines.

We are now simply known as Barkley.  It's the name most people have referred to us for years.  And in mid-November, we move into our new offices in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City in a building that was once TWA's world headquarters.  Howard Hughes put a rocket on top of the building to signify his dream that someday TWA would take passengers into outer space.  We have put the rocket back on the building as we bring this classic retro modern building back to life.

For us the rocket signifies our company's desire to explore and discover new ways to help our clients succeed.  One of the growing ways we are doing that is through cause branding.  And for the second consecutive year, Barkley Public Relations has partnered with PRWeek Magazine to sponsor a survey on the state of cause branding.  If you have not seen it yet. you can read it or download it at our website - www.beappr.com.

This year, we tried something new.  We conducted a consumer survey, PRWeek's first ever.  We talked with members of three different generations - Gen Y; Gen X; and, the Boomers.  We learned that all generations continue to see the growing importance of corporations partnering with non profits to further causes through education, awareness and funding.  There are differences as you would suspect there would be.

Boomers are more trusting of companies in general while the Gen X'ers (30-41 years old) are the most skeptical and trust corporate motivations the least.  Two thirds of all respondents said it is important to know why a company has chosen to support a particular cause.  And by almost a three to one margin, all respondents said a company should support a variety of causes as opposed to supporting only a single cause.

Almost two thirds (64%) of all respondents said they have purchased a branded product because it supports a cause they believe in.  And almost nine out of ten said it is important for companies to support causes or charitable organizations.

I encourage you to take a look at the entire survey and accompanying article in the October 23 edition of PRWeek.  Please let us know what you think of the data and give us feedback so we can make the 2007 survey even better.

Lee National Denim Day - October 6

Lee National Denim Day is Friday, October 6.  So many people are lending a hand as we approach the 11th celebration of the largest single day fund raiser for breast cancer research.

In addition to our friends at Dunder Mifflin and Pierce Brosnan, now a number of other celebrities have taken time to design and decorate denim pockets and put them up for auction.  Find out more at CharityFolks.com

There is still time for you to join thousands of other companies and organizations everywhere to help in the fight against breast cancer.  Click here to go to www.denimday.com and register today.  Your donation will go to an incredible research project being done by eight of the leading cancer research hospitals in America through the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Programs.

Dunder Mifflin goes Denim

The cast of the Emmy Award winning comedy "The Office" is jumping in to help our clients Lee Jeans and the Entertainment Industry Foundation with Lee National Denim Day.  The cast took time out recently to produce this public service announcement that will run on the NBC network and on individual NBC affiliates between now and October 6.

If you, your company or other organizations you are affiliated with have not yet signed up to participate this year, now is the perfect time to join the fight to find a cure for breast cancer.  Just go to www.denimday.com to sign up.  Then on October 6, put on your jeans and donate five dollars to EIF's Women's Cancer Programs.

Through Lee's partnership with the EIF, the dollars donated through Lee National Denim Day will directly fund the early detection and treatment research and community breast cancer programs.  For the first time ever, seven of the leading cancer research institutions are working together to help dramatically increase the rate at which laboratory breakthroughs can be translated to more effective therapies for patients.

The seven institutions are:

Johns Hopkins University; Harvard University; M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; UCLA; University of Chicago; University of Washington (Seattle); and, Vanderbilt University.

Our company has been proud to be a part of the success of Lee National Denim Day for the past ten years.  I can't wait to once again wear my jeans for a great cause on October 6.

A better role than 007

I reported to you a few weeks ago that our client, Lee Jeans, has named a new beneficiary to begin its second decade of fighting breast cancer.  And today, one of the first benefits of that new partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation was announced.

Pierce Brosnan, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, will be the lead ambassador for Lee National Denim Day in 2006.  One of the things that is great about this is that Brosnan is currently the Honorary Chair of EIF, so his willingness to be spokesperson this year is a great way to kick off the new partnership between Lee Jeans and EIF.

If you or your organization have participated in Lee National Denim Day over the past ten years, we offer our thanks.  If you have never participated before, we invite you to check it out and consider coming on board in 2006.

For more details, go to DenimDay.com.