To earn a return on your cause marketing efforts, you must spread the word. It helps you and it helps the cause. It’s not a case of bragging. If you do good — share it. No one expects marketers to be shy — good corporate citizens maybe, but not self-effacing saints.

Earlier this year, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes used the Super Bowl to tell their cause marketing story, which is about as big a stage as one can find, featuring a TV spot for its “Earn Your Stripes” campaign.

The Earn Your Stripes campaign, first launched in 2004, according the website, “Aims to inspire kids to work hard, eat right and believe in themselves in order to achieve their goals and “be their very best” on and off the playing field.” The “Plant a Seed” spot which aired on the Superbowl, provides a warm-hearted look at how athletics help kids grow both physically and emotionally, thus rationalizing its effort to renovate playing fields. At the end of the spot, Kellogg’s invites viewers to nominate local playing fields for renovation at FrostedFlakes.com.

On this site, visitors are encouraged to “earn your stripes” by taking these four steps:
• PLANT A SEED. Nominate a field in your community.
• NURTURE IT. Show support for fields across the country.
• HELP IT GROW. Create your own seed packs and spread the word.
• STAY INVOLVED. BECOME A “plant a seed” SUPPORTER.

According to a spokesperson for Kellogg, “[they] are fully committed to supporting programs that encourage kids to be active and that have a positive impact in [their] communities.”

Kelloggs.com & Frosted Flakes enjoyed a substantial boost in traffic to its websites immediately after the Super Bowl. As you can see from this chart courtesy of Alexa.com, traffic tripled and continued to be strong long after the Super Bowl. In the three months since, an amazing 3,184 fields have been nominated.

Visitors are encouraged to email their friends about the contest, and since Frosted Flakes allows the consumer to vote on the nominees to select the 100 semi-finalists, there is a strong viral effect to this campaign. Kellogg’s also supported this effort with a major search buy to help steer interested parties to the Frosted Flakes site.

Because Kelloggs shared their story offline and online, they have ensured that a broad swath of consumers were made aware of the Frosted Flakes “Plant a Seed” program and had an opportunity to participate. Now that’s grrrreat.

I recently completed a brilliant (says me) speech on Cause Marketing that was recorded for release later this year. In the course of my research, I found a number examples of cause marketing that are worth sharing in bite sized blog chunks.

Brita has found a highly relevant cause with its Filter for Good program. While transparently self-serving, this program promotes the environmentally friendly case against drinking bottled water. The Filter For Good.com website encourages consumers to “pledge” to drink less bottled water, noting that one Brita pitcher filter can effectively replace as many as 300 standard 16.9-ounce bottles.  (Feel free to take “the pledge” like I did–it’s a quick and does make you think about buying less bottled water.)

On the site you can find out about all the layers of the program, including the recent Brita Climate Ride and The College FilterForGood Eco-Challenge, that solicited eco-friendly ideas from universities and from which Brita was so overwhelmed by good proposals that they elected to fund 5 of them.   The relevance of this effort is irrefutable, providing Brita a pure and simple way to do well by doing good

This example shows how Marketing for Good and Marketing as Service can overlap, as the cause is the service. From where I sit, its all good.

Add this one to your lexicon of “new” marketing approaches–”purpose-based marketing.” Somewhere between Marketing for Good and Marketing as Service, this one is being touted by former P&G CMO Jim Stengel which helps explain why it was prominently featured in last week’s Wall St. Journal:

Starting Monday, the 25-year P&G veteran is opening Jim Stengel LLC, which will try to persuade companies to buy into a newfangled way of selling. It’s called “purpose-based marketing,” which Mr. Stengel says is about defining what a company does — beyond making money — and how it can make its customers’ lives better.

I am truly excited to see someone as prominent as Mr. Stengel endorse what for traditional marketers like P&G would have been considered a radical approach just a couple of years ago:

The well-known adman maintains that the idea of “purpose” isn’t just the latest cooked-up marketing-speak. He says dozens of companies and brands have used this approach. He points to P&G’s Pampers brand, which several years ago decided it had a higher purpose: helping moms develop healthy, happy babies, rather than just keeping babies’ bottoms dry.

So I write this open letter:

Dear Mr. Stengel:

If you have a spare minute, we should talk. I’ve been gathering cases that support your thesis for the last 4 years and have no doubt what you say is true. More importantly, while having a purpose-based strategy provides a solid foundation, you still need an agency that can create a transformative 360° experience–an agency like Renegade.

Finally, as a fellow punster, I love the title of your upcoming book, Packaged Good, and can’t wait to read it.

Cheers,

Drew

CEO, Renegade

In the world of extruded potatoes, it is often difficult to find genuine goodness. Here’s how Pringles is attempting to bridge that gap, as reported by BRANDWEEK‘s Elaine Wong:

Beginning this week, consumers can go to Pringles.com to play with its new “Can Creator.” The application allows users to design and print their own creations, which they can then tape onto their Pringles can.

For every can created, parent company Procter & Gamble will donate $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network (up to $20,000). The campaign runs through June.

Up to $20,000? Come on P&G, with $265 million in sales for Pringles alone, surely you can do better than that. Are we really supposed to prefer Pringles given such a modest charitable commitment? While I’m sure the Children’s Miracle Network isn’t complaining, this is the perfect time to step up and make a sincere commitment. I’d propose donating up to $1.0 million and shame the rest of the marketing world into doing good on a grand scale.

Would such a grand commitment be good for Pringle’s sales? You bet. More from the BRANDWEEK article:

The 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study found that 79% of consumers said they would switch brands (provided price and quality were equal) to the one that is associated with a good cause. Eighty-five percent of respondents said they have a more positive image of a company when it supports a cause that is dear to them. And 38% have purchased a product associated with a cause in the last year.

I’m all for doing well by doing good. Just make sure your commitment is clear and sincere, otherwise there will be no pop in your sales.

As the markets retreat and marketers regroup, non-profit organizations, especially New York-based ones, are sure to feel the pinch. The Wall St. Journal reported on this last week:

Officials at charities are trying to devise creative ways to stand out. They are making urgent appeals through direct-mail and email campaigns and taking to the airwaves. Charities also are gearing up to tap their wealthy board members and other well-off supporters for extra cash. If they fail, charities may have to cut staff or seek loans.

As I’ve noted before, brave marketers will dig deep and keep investing in their marketing for good activities. These commitments don’t have to only be in cash. Marketers like Home Depot have learned that they can make a huge impact on their local communities by donating the time and expertise of their employees. Here’s an inspiring example followed by a happy video that should cheer you up:

On Friday, August 22nd, 2008 volunteers from WNY AmeriCorps, Home Depot, and Hands On Greater Buffalo came together to revitalize the outdoor space in front of the Henry J. Kalfas Magnet School in Niagara Falls. Projects included planting a new garden in place of dead or obtrusive plants, installing paver blocks on either side of the walkway, building two benches, and painting the flagpole. A community cookout following the project welcomed local citizens to become invested in their school. Watch the video of the project day below!

Lots of companies use cause marketing like a magic bat with which they hope to get a quick hit. The commitment from the sponsor is obviously insincere and ends after one at bat, a strike out with both consumers and the cause they supported. Marketers who support a cause should do so because they believe it is the right thing to do and plan on staying in the batter’s box season after season.

Major League Baseball has made this kind of commitment to Breast Cancer and is doing so in quite an innovative way. Here’s a bit about their program this year from MediaPost:

Major League Baseball launched a Mother’s Day campaign to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. A full-page print ad ran in USA Today on May 9 depicting a flower made from pink baseball bats. “This Mother’s Day, give more than just flowers,” says the ad urging baseball fans to support the Susan G. Komen For The Cure foundation by attending MLB games on Mother’s Day, or by watching MLB games on TBS and ESPN. Special pink baseball bats were available for purchase at the stadiums and MLB will donate $10 to the Susan G. Komen fund for every bat sold.

I know this is at least the second time around the bases for this effort by the MLB. And as far as I’m concerned, this cause marketing program is a hit. It’s good for Susan G. Komen since it raises awareness and money (the pink bats are auctioned off). It’s good for MLB because it brings a little good will into an arena of otherwise self-obsessed, absurdly-paid and questionably-muscled athletes. And its good for the baseball fan–I for one found the whole idea of these macho athletes swinging pink bats both hilarious and touching–reminding us all that these players have moms too.

Sedentary kids are a meaty social problem. Video games tends to exacerbate the situation, causing carpal tunnel and tooshie fatigue. Can WiiFit get these kids off the couch and help them burn a few calories? Dance Dance Revolution made some headway in this area and was even adopted by some school districts as a legitimate form of exercise (see previous post on DDR).

Here’s the blurb from Amazon about WiiFit:

Wii Fit features more than 40 activities and exercises, including strength training, aerobics, yoga, and balance games for play on Nintendo’s Wii. WiiFit will be released on May 19 and requires a Nintendo Wii game console to play.

Because the Wii itself has been such a phenomenal success on multiple levels, it should be a surprise that there is a huge buzz already building about WiiFit. Nintendo (at least I think it is Nintendo) has set up a very legit looking blog up called WiiFit.net that is even modestly self-critical:

The Wii Fit, meanwhile, sells the idea of the video game as a lifestyle solution. If, three years ago, a focus group had been asked whether they thought a video game could improve your memory or help you to lose weight, the answer would have probably been a rather bemused ‘no.’ Before Wii Fit, the idea of a fat-burning video game was an idea as outlandishly utopian as slimming beer or a carpet that reverses ageing.

But like it or not, Nintendo have pulled off an impressive marketing trick – they’ve convinced an entire untapped audience to buy their product, though it remains to be seen whether the nation’s waistlines will improve as a result.

Having worked up a sweat playing the regular Wii, I’m a big fan of this product and the lifestyle they are building around it. They have even created another support site called Wii Healthy that offers all sort of tips to eat and live a Wii bit better. This is quite a stretch for a gaming company but one that should embolden many other marketers.

I gave my first webinar on Friday to about 200 PR professionals. It was a rather bizarre experience as I talked into the great cybervoid for forty five minutes without any human interaction. If it weren’t for the handful of attendees who proffered their thanks via subsequent emails, the silence would have been downright deafening. Anyway, I bring this up because during my speech entitled “What Recesision? Nine Ways to Cut Through Regardless of the Economy” I take a swing at Diet Coke’s recent “Heart Health Foundation” promotional partnership. Here’s what I said in the section called “Find a Partner”:

Stretch your dollars and enhance your brand by reaching out to non-profits organizations. Non-profits are already feeling the pinch of the slowing economy as their supporters cut back on donations. This happens in every downturn and is really painful for the non-profits who continue to perform an incredible range of socially beneficial services. Mobilize your employees and your customers behind the non-profit you truly believe in and you will be amazed at the good will and good business you will do as a result. The non-profits will be so grateful for your support that they will bend over backwards to ensure you achieve your business goals not just now but for many years to come. It may seem counterintuitive to increase your CSR (corporate social responsibility) now BUT that is exactly why it is worth considering. Your employees will undoubtedly respond with increased loyalty that should also translate into higher productivity.

Of course, as with each of my suggestions, there is a right way and a wrong way. The right way starts by making a sincere commitment like MAC cosmetics and their Viva Glam products which generate thousands of dollars in donations to the MAC Aid Fund. The connection between MAC and Aids is long-standing and sincere. If you plan to partner with a non-profit, think in terms of five and ten year horizons, not a quick hit and run. Consumers have wised up to pretenders and can see an insincere commitment a mile a way.

The wrong way starts with the cry “hey we need a charity” like the one Diet Coke seems to have made with their highly advertising (they bought on the Academy Awards) women’s heart health program. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Okay, let’s see, a lot of women drink Diet Coke and a subset of them may be concerned about their heart health. Hmm. So drink Diet Coke and we’ll donate to the Heart Health Foundation. The link between brand and the non-profit seems tenuous at best and the commitment feels paper thin.

So, here’s the truth–while the Diet Coke connection to Heart Health Foundation feels fake to me, I honestly have no clue if indeed it is. If any of you know better, let me know. Unlike the webinar, blogs are a great way to find/get the truth–you straightened me out about Aveda and can do it again here.

In marked contrast to his more famous predecessor Jack Welch, about three years ago, Jeff Immelt set about to transform GE from a huge conglomerate into a huge conglomerate that did well by doing good. Here are the four “primary pledges” of his ecomagination plan that at the time seemed like pipe dreams:

• In R&D, the company has pledged to more than double the $700 million it spent researching cleaner technologies in 2005, to $1.5 billion by 2010.
• GE also seeks to generate at least $20 billion of revenue in 2010 from products and services that “provide significant and measurable environmental performance advantages to customers.”
• The third “ecomagination” commitment calls on GE to improve its operations’ energy efficiency 30% from 2004 levels by 2012.
• Finally, GE is planning to keep the public fully informed of these efforts through various means, including its website and advertising.

Three years later, GE is on track to deliver on all of its pledges, generating a reported $15 billion in revenue from “green” products in 2007 and decreasing internal energy consumption ahead of goal. This is a text book case of thinking big and executing bigger. The ecomagination program has way too many legs to cover here so let me just call your attention to two experiential components.

The first is an online game called GeoTerra that GE launched about two years ago that continues to draw a robust audience. Here’s what Future-Making Serious Gamer had to say about it:

Geoterra is an interactive GE-branded experience that presents game-like attractions that allow players to enhance the well being of an island’s inhabitants and environment through the diversity of GE’s ecomagination products and their ability to create a greener planet.

The challenge of the game revolves around the player’s ability to interact with three eco-challenges and not only score as high as possible, but recognize the best use for each of the GE products and effectively utilize them on the fictitious island. Optimal performance results in a higher Geoscore.

The second is the “imagination center” that is being built right now in Beijing for the Olympic Games. According to the New York Times report today, this two-story building in the middle of the Olympic Green is “half fun house, half museum.”

The exhibits are aimed at adults, with enough just-for-fun features so that a visiting executive need not feel guilty about dragging along the whole family. In the center’s wind energy room, children — or any adult whose inner child is clamoring for attention — can wave their arms to make digital projections of objects sway in the wind they create. In the water purification room, they will walk on a video projection of water, with each step creating ripples.

Meanwhile, GE is building windmills around the world faster than you can say Don Quixote. Here’s to dreaming big.

For 18 months, I’ve been making the case that marketers can do well be doing good. I still believe this. I have also tried to make Marketing for Good broader than CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) including quality engagements, product improvements, educational programs and even highly entertaining communications in MFG. One of the reasons for this is that CSR is one of those areas that feels like the right thing to do but is rarely held to the same accountability standards as other forms of marketing. I have no problem with CSR and in fact embrace it wholeheartedly as long as it represents a meaningful commitment by management and not just an insincere means of gaining customer preference.

Ironically, marketers that are doing well anyway tend to be the ones who have money left over for CSR. A short article in today’s New York Times called “Bottom Line on Doing Good” made this very clear:

“IT’S alluring and very much in vogue to connect social
responsibility with profitability,” an article in The Harvard
Business Review begins. “If you can make a business case for
positive social action, everybody wins — employees, shareholders and
society at large.”

That, of course, leads to the question: Is there such a link?

The issue has been studied to death. And after reviewing a huge
number of the studies, the writers say, the answer is that if there
is a link, it is “not a strong one.”

Joshua D. Margolis of Harvard Business School and Hillary Anger
Elfenbein of the University of California, Berkeley, say they
analyzed 167 studies conducted in the last 35 years that examined
the issue of whether social responsibility leads to increased
profitability and found that while it certainly did not hurt — that
is it did not diminish shareholder value — there was only “a very
small correlation between corporate behavior and good financial
results.”

And that minor correlation, they add, could be explained by the fact
that companies that have performed well over a long period of time
have enough money to contribute positively to society. Conversely,
corporate misdeeds, once they become known, do have a significant
negative impact on financial performance. So, intriguingly, it is
easier to prove the negative in this case.

“Perhaps the easiest way to communicate our findings is to say that
only 2 percent of the studies we reviewed showed that managers who
dedicate corporate resources to social performance — taking actions
that consider in the interests of society — impose a direct cost to
shareholders,” they write. “Companies can do good and do well, even
if they don’t do well by doing good.”

Recently a prospective client approached us about a CSR project. They asked about setting up a foundation that would support people who suffered from a disease their product could have helped prevent. This seemed like an interesting idea until we did some homework and found out a foundation already existed that met the same need. It was at that point we realized this client was not really committed to the problem but simply saw it is an opportunity to gain exposure. Ultimately we were able to talk them out of this avenue since the cost of setting up another foundation would really limit the dollars that actually went to help people in need. We also talked ourselves out of an assignment. In this case Good would not have been Great at all.