Monday, July 25, 2011 | Edited by Daniel Moores
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Consumers Are Drawn to Products With a Charitable Connection When 10-year-old Claire St. Peter of Kansas City, Mo., pointed out a pair of shoes she wanted to buy on a recent shopping trip, her mom was surprised. "It was this funny-looking pair of canvas shoes," says Anne St. Peter. "I said, 'Claire, they're strange looking. Why would you want them?'" But Claire thought it was clear why she needed the blue canvas Toms shoes. "I'd been seeing them on the streets," says Claire. "When my friend told me about their purpose -- how buying a pair of shoes sends another pair to a kid in need -- I thought, 'Oh my gosh, what a really cool purpose. I have to get involved in it!'" Not only was Claire inspired to get a pair, she persuaded several friends and cousins to get them, too. "It makes me feel really good to know that I and my friends are helping kids in need," Claire says. American consumers of all ages are increasingly motivated to buy products that have a connection to a particular charitable or social cause. In one recent survey, consumers ranked "purpose" as a significantly more important reason to buy a product than design, innovation or brand loyalty, when quality and price are the same. More tellingly, nearly half of respondents ranked "social purpose" as the No. 1 factor. "Americans seek deeper involvement in social issues and expect brands and companies to provide various means of engagement," says Carol Cone, a managing director of Edelman Purpose, the cause marketing arm of Edelman, a global public relations firm. "We call this the rise of the 'citizen consumer.'" Color-coded causes Over the last decade, the color pink has quickly become the banner color for the breast cancer movement, while green is responsible for generating millions in revenue for environmentally friendly products. There is even a new movement to encourage Americans to "buy veteran" by supporting companies owned by veterans. But too much of a good thing can have negative consequences. While consumers are seeking purpose from their products, they also are increasingly burnt out on more traditional marketing campaigns that rely on labeling to communicate a connection to a cause, experts say. "Cause-related marketing, as we know it, is dead. It's not about slapping a ribbon on a product any longer," Cone says. "Almost half of respondents to our most recent Goodpurpose annual consumer survey say they feel brands only support good causes for publicity and promotion, and not because they really care." Last year, KFC ran a-fowl with consumers for its pink-wrapped buckets of chicken. While proceeds from sales of the pink buckets went to support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's largest non-profit working to fight breast cancer, many questioned the connection, given the health concerns with fried foods. As for the "green" movement, cause-marketing experts have coined the term green-washing to describe the deluge of so-called green products that have weak ties to the sustainable business practices they tout. But for companies that get it right, the upside of cause marketing is big. Despite the recession, more than half of consumers say that they are willing to pay more for a product that supports a good cause, Cone's research found. The company surveyed more than 7,000 adults in 13 countries, including the U.S., in 2010. Which companies are getting it right? Respondents placed Pepsi, Newman's Own and Nike, respectively, on top, thanks, in part, to these efforts:
"The best companies are using a variety of models. But what they all have in common is a compelling and relevant initiative, and they're making it transparent through comprehensive communications off and online," says Cone. "They're authentic, in it for the long term and provide deeper engagement levels for consumers with the goal of leaving a legacy to the community." Scott Beaudoin, senior vice president of consumer marketing for the MSLGroup and 15-year veteran of the cause-marketing industry, agrees. "Consumers are willing to reward companies for their good efforts, but it has to make sense. Tide's Loads of Hope campaign, which provides clean clothes to victims of disasters, is a perfect example of a campaign that makes sense," he says. When it comes to supporting causes, according to Beaudoin, companies need to ask themselves: What is our reason for existence on this planet? What is our purpose in society? What do we want to stand for? "These questions are key to helping identify potential causes, and then non-profits that can help deliver on that purpose to society. Brands need non-profits just as much as non-profits need brands these days." Thanks to supporters like Claire, Toms has helped provide more than 1 million shoes to kids in need in the U.S. and abroad since its founding in 2006. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company employs a "one-to-one model." For each pair sold through more than 1,000 retailer partners in the U.S., they give a new pair to a child in need. Hoping to build on this success, the company recently launched its second one-to-one product -- an eyewear line whose sales will help provide improved eyesight to the poor. (Source: USA Today, 07/18/11) |
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Mountain Biking Effort Focuses On 'Trail Love' Mountain biking is huge, but riders are a solipsistic lot who would rather go it alone than join clubs. That is a problem the Boulder, Colo.-based International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) hopes to solve with its first new campaign in two years. Instead of focusing on tribalism, the campaign talks up how the organization and its network of clubs helps bikers do what they want to do most. According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation, there are nearly 40 million mountain bike participants annually in the U.S. alone (the organization says participation peaked in 2001 and has been pretty stable since.) The group says mountain biking constitutes about half of total bike participation, and is now much larger than other trail activities. But membership in the world's major club-based mountain biking organization, which has some 500 clubs in 50 states and 30 countries, is only about 35,000. Part of the problem, says IMBA's head of marketing Mark Eller, is that past efforts have focused on the emotional benefits of being a member of the club. "The end-game is still membership, but in the past we tended to focus on the club instead of the cause." The new "Trail Love" campaign via Denver-based Cultivator Advertising & Design, which won the account last fall, carries a "Support Trails" theme, superseding the club-centered "You Belong with Us." The latter was by former agency Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis. The new creative focuses on the organization's trail-building and -maintenance work. In fact, the IMBA name is not mentioned, and required membership is downplayed in the effort. Says Scott Coe, co-account director at Cultivator: "Psychographically, (mountain bikers) are probably less inclined to join groups. So for this effort, we pushed (the IMBA) to support the fact that they are also a cause-driven organization." The new campaign alludes to the volunteer nature of the club, with snapshot-style photography and hand-style typography and design elements, including rough-hewn "Love Your Trail" and "Ride It. Protect It" icons. Ads will run in August issues of cycling publications like Bicycling, Bike, Decline, Dirt Rag, Mountain Bike Action and Rocky Mountain Flyer and in outdoor lifestyle publications including Outside, Trail Runner, Elevation Outdoors and Blue Ridge Outdoors, plus others to be determined. Eller says the low-hanging fruit in terms of building up membership is a relatively new strategy of converting clubs to official IMBA-membership chapters, which would nearly triple the member rolls instantly. "We think there are 90,000 people in clubs, but who haven't joined IMBA. By offering chapter membership, we can expand to 100,000 members quickly," he says. "From there, we'd like to continue the growth trend." Eller notes that a sister organization, Bikes Belong, has ramped up social-media efforts in a push to enroll one million cyclists. "Those numbers are very obtainable in the industry, but it's about getting people interested in the mission and telling them about the benefits [to mountain biking] of membership," he says. "So with Cultivator we have tried to make the creative inviting, so that everyone from the enthusiast to the casual mountain biker will experience it as a fun campaign with lots of images." In-house research via a Leisure Trends Group finds that the typical IMBA member is an affluent white male in his mid-30's to early 40's with an advanced degree. There is also a small cohort of female riders, and young riders. Among the roster of 160 brands sponsoring the organization are non-endemic sponsors like Subaru, "which has been a big sponsor for more than 10 years," says Eller. Coe says ultimately the plan will go beyond ads to retail and potential alliances with bike manufacturers. "You might buy a bike or biking shoes and maybe part of the purchase goes to supporting trails (through IMBA). (Source: Marketing Daily, 07/20/11) What's In It For You: Even small properties can attract big sponsors and retail partnerships if the market is niche enough and the cause relevant enough to create consumer brand loyalty and spur sales. Small partnerships often resonate more powerfully in the local community, can be more flexible, and recur on a seasonal or annual basis. |
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What Stations Are Doing: WGN Listeners Raise Over $23,000 in 2.5 Hours After hearing thieves had stolen two air-conditioning units and stripped the copper piping from the two they left behind from Chicago's Animal Welfare League (leaving over 100 animals sweltering in the heat), WGN Radio midday host John Williams decided to take action. At the beginning of a recent show at 12:30 p.m., Williams launched a fundraising campaign, asking listeners to donate in hopes of reaching the $20,000 goal by 10 a.m. the following morning. An outpouring of support followed, resulting in $23,580 raised by 3 p.m. as John's show ended. In addition to the support of thousands of listeners, several companies came forward with contributions including the Chicago Blackhawks, the LaGrange Pet Parade and Mack Companies, a Tinley Park-based company that volunteered to install the units for free. The event was also coordinated on Williams' Facebook page. "It was getting hotter and hotter," Linda Estrada, director and president of the Animal Welfare League, told the Chicago Tribune. "We beg for everything, and now we don't have air-conditioning. We desperately need help and homes." Estrada said when she spoke with Williams on-air, "I am jumping up and down. I can't believe it." (Source: Radio Business Report, 07/08/11) |
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