Mobile Phone Fundraising Redux

I’m still in the holidaze, so today is another quick post.

mGive, which helps nonprofits raise money using SMS (mobile phone texting) has announced that in 2008 nonprofits using its service generated some $500,000.

Sound underwhelming?

Well bear in mind four things:

• While mGive had a soft rollout in February 2008 with a Super Bowl campaign for the United Way, the service wasn’t publicly available until April 2008.
  
• As the mGive press release points out, the first year of online nonprofit donations back in 1997, only generated $300,000 in donations. In 2007 online giving was in excess of $10.4 billion.
  
• Mobile phone penetration has higher penetration than either cable television or the Internet.
  
• Finally, in Europe and Asia, where this type of giving is commonplace, cell phone fundraising generated in excess of $100 million for tsunami relief in 2007.
  

This is a fundraising technique with a lot of room to run in 2009 and beyond.

Mele Kalikimaka, Cause Marketers

My affection for the music of Darlene Love, especially at Christmastime is well documented. Click here to listen to her rousing rendition of Baby, Please Come Home for Christmas on Late Night with David Letterman. 

For this Christmas Day post, I wanted to highlight something with humor from the Darlene Love oeuvre. Enjoy the clip above from Saturday Night Live called Christmas for the Jews Song.

Mele Kalikimaka, cause marketers, no matter your persuasion on the holiday!

(The clip comes from Hulu.com, so there may be an ad associated with it.) 

Radiothon Fundraising

Quick post today; ate something last night that doesn’t agree with me.

Two of the biggest cause marketing charities, Children’s Miracle Network and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital both do successful national radiothons, which are like telethons only broadcast on the radio.

What do I mean by successful? I’m talking about tens of millions of dollars raised a year.

But you don’t have to be a big national charity to pull off a successful radiothon. In my market the local homeless shelter called, The Road Home, does a radiothon with seven area radio stations with different ownerships and formats. Between them they generated more than $340,000 last year. 

How do you do ask a local radio station to do a radiothon at a time when stations are struggling for ad every dollar? Well, I’m going to share the secret.

Most radiothon stations do change their formats. But the time spent talking about the cause comes out of the music rather than the ad ‘budget.’ A delicate balance has to be struck, but by this means radiothon stations don’t lose in any ad revenue.

There’s more to a successful radiothon than this, of course, but I gotta get back to bed.

Grant a Soldier's Wish in Time for Christmas

Quick Post:

In keeping with Thursday's post on Current Energy and and my Dec. 5 posting on Sears Hero's At Home, I'm pleased to highlight SoldierWish.com, which allows armed service men and women and their families to post wish lists that you and I can fulfill. 

But do it now, secret Santa's. There's not much time before Christmas.

Tip of the hat to Jeremy Hanks for introducing me to Soldier Wish.

Buy One Give One Cause Marketing for Soldiers

Current Energy, a website which sells energy efficiency products online, is offering a buy one give one solar charger for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the latest example of a trend I noted back in January with TOMS Shoes. 

When you buy the $150 Solio for Soldiers Kit, which uses solar cells to charge gadgets like cell phones, iPods, and digital cameras, Current Energy ships a matching version to another soldier.

This promotion, therefore, differs from the other buy one give one promotions highlighted in the past in this blog in that you don’t get the product yourself.

Instead, it’s a two for one donation. Earlier this year I saw a similar campaign with harmonicas, of all things.

There’s no mention made of how this works. No testimonials from soldiers who have received one about how they feel about getting one. No indication of why Current Energy is doing this.

In a case where Current Energy is asking for a $150 donation, we need more details. The 120 words they give us just aren’t enough.

The Solio for Soldier isn’t the only cause Current Energy is supporting with its products. They also solicit a $1 donation for a tree planting by the nonprofit American Forests and sell a buy one give one solar-powered flashlight for $35. You get one flashlight and second goes to the Ikot Usen Secondary School in Nigeria. You can also buy a $100 Karito Kids Dolls, which generates a 3 percent charitable donation.

Finally, I’m not Mr. Language Person, that’s the immortal Dave Barry. But the website copy says the kits are going to ‘soldiers.’ Strictly speaking, in American English a soldier is someone who serves in the Army. But the term is often used to generically refer to personnel in all the military branches. So I presume when they say soldiers they mean Airman, Sailors and Marines, too, all of whom are on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq to some degree. 

For instance, my neighbor, a physician’s assistant in the U.S. Air Force, spent all of last year in Afghanistan seconded to an Army unit. Likewise, U.S. Marines in battle stations are always accompanied by Navy Corpsman. 

Cause Marketers, It's Time to Press Our Advantages

Today I stray a little way from cause marketing to address the topic of media allocation, but there is a relevancy and application for cause marketers.

Recently Prosper International released an analysis of the media mix the Big 3 automakers use against data collected by Big Research of what media people say influences them in their purchases weighted by consumption and cost.

To put it more simply, they asked people who said they planned to buy/lease a GM, Chrysler or Ford product in the next six months what media would be most influential in their decision. Then they sliced and diced the data to balance which media people said most influenced them to come up with the media allocation that would gave the most bang for the buck.

According to Ad Age, in 2007 GM spent its media allocation this way:

Magazine…..12.4%
Newspaper…5%
Outdoor……1.5%
TV………….39.4%
Radio………3.5%
Internet…….7%
Other……….31.5%

Prosper’s recommended allocation is above. As you can see, using Prosper’s modeling GM’s TV buy would be gutted, cutting it by more than half. Radio would pick up a huge chunk as would outdoor and newspaper.

Wow! Talk about flying in the face of conventional wisdom.

Newspapers are going into the tank, losing advertising dollars every single quarter since 3Q 2006. Radio’s only a little better and outdoor has been the red-headed stepchild of the major media for 50 years.

And yet as I look at this suggested allocation I love it. The fact is, if you’ve got the money to spend in today’s climate, you can buy substantially more space in newspapers, radio and outdoor for the same dollar this year than last because all these media have plenty of inventory just lying around. Supply and demand hasn’t been rescinded yet.

But TV has long been strangely exempted to the veracities of the market. Network TV audiences in the States have declined every year for the last 20 years and yet the upfront, the amount the networks demand from big advertisers before the season begins, grew every year until 2008. It was like network TV was somehow immune to gravity.

That would be defensible, I suppose, if the networks were selling highly targeted audiences. After all, if your company sells $20,000 watches you’d pay darn near anything to be in a media where the audience is nothing but would-be $20,000 watch buyers. Instead, through it all, the networks never quit selling TV as the last great mass media. ‘Sure the audience is smaller than last year and 20 percent lower than 5 years ago. But where else you going to get an audience this big?” the rather circular argument went.

I can’t vouch for the quality of Big Research’s data or Prosper’s manipulation of it, but I find the thinking behind it very savvy, especially given the current economic climate.

Here’s the relevance for cause marketers. For too long cause marketing has been like the 22 year-old still stuck at the kiddies table on Thanksgiving. This despite the fact that when done right cause marketing gets better results than almost anything at the ‘adult table.’ But because cause marketing has for so long been considered promotional gimcrackery, we have settled for sloppy seconds.

Now that every marketing dollar is so closely scrutinized, we cause marketers have the chance to press our advantages.

The Campaign to Redefine Christmas

In This Post I ‘Bury the Lead’ So Read the Headline Again.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve reached the point where I don’t need any more stuff. In fact, this Christmas I’d rather someone give me experiences or the chance to learn (or a massage!) than something I gotta find a place for.

[Diversionary but pertinent point: Can someone explain to me how in an age when the average square footage of homes has never been bigger, why there are so many self storage places in the United States? It’s perverse! Like the wag once said: “Sometimes you own your stuff and sometimes your stuff owns you.”]

Oh, there’s a few higher ticket items on my Christmas wish list: I’d like one of those new HD flip cameras. And I wouldn’t mind if Santa slid a new stereo digital voice recorder under the tree, either.

But I won’t get either of those things. And that’s OK.

I minored in economics in college and so I remember that in economic theory wants are considered to be unlimited, just as resources are limited. But as Benjamin Franklin, the great American patriot and sage, said: “Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”

Ben’s right. In this time… or really anytime… it’s economically prudent to be satisfied with what you have.

But still there’s the convention of giving people something at Christmas. It’s a wonderful impulse I hope never dulls. But in an age when many of us have enough, what should we give and what should we ask for?

Well several organizations, including Well Good LLC, JustGive.org, ChangingthePresent.org, the Dalio Family Foundation and others are suggesting that those of us with enough should rethink Christmas presents and instead start asking for and giving gifts to charity instead of gifting more stuff.

Called ‘Redefine Christmas’ it’s a multi-faceted media campaign. I won’t go through all the ins and outs because there are a lot or moving parts here. But there’s radio, and a Church-based outreach, celebrities, social media, and e-greeting cards. In 2007… in the campaign’s inaugural year… there was also a print ad element.

I’m not sure they’ve got the messaging right yet. The media mix seems just a little off. And the website is missing a certain je ne sais quoi. But by gum I hope this works!

The world just doesn’t need any more self storage units.


Tip of the hat to Jen, a Cause Marketing GoogleGroup member, for bringing this to my attention.

Give to the Salvation Army

In a sales circular that landed in my mailbox on Monday, Dec. 8, Wal-Mart gave three-quarters of a page to the venerable Salvation Army. Too bad it couldn’t have been much less useful.

In 45 swift words the page mentions that need will be great this year, that the Salvation Army will again provide a backstop for the nation’s neediest and that Wal-Mart encourages support of this worthy cause this season, all in a much too-short, unhelpful ad.

MIA is any call to action, like ‘support the bell-ringers with your donations.’ Or, go online to make a donation to the Sally Ann’s virtual red kettle. In this ad, the Salvation Army comes off like a Christmastime charity, as though it was just Toys for Tots for adults or families. Where’s mention of the Salvation Army’s 100-year history (in the States) of extraordinary work on behalf of the poor, the destitute, and the dispossessed?

Wal-Mart and the Salvation Army have been together for more than two decades, where’s a real sense of partnership in this ad?

Whether or not you follow the Salvation Army’s brand of Christianity, I can’t think of any charity that is more worthy of your respect. In the United States, the Salvation Army is pound for pound the most effective and efficient national charity with the homeless and the poor that I know of. The Salvation Army is staid and earnest and committed to the core. And they get my donations every year.

In 2007 some $32 million was collected in Wal-Mart doorways, about 15 percent of the total donated through all the Salvation Army kettles. In the Wal-Mart giving universe that puts the Salvation Army right about the same place as Children’s Miracle Network and several million dollars higher than their contributions to The United Way.

Now, to make that comparison fair, Wal-Mart doesn’t do much for the Sally Ann except provide space for the bell ringers. In 2008 they also seeded the kettle campaign with $1.25 million.

The money raised for Children’s Miracle Network is overwhelmingly raised in-store through their paper icon campaign called Miracle Balloons, which takes place each spring. The United Way comes year-round through employee payroll deduction.

To me this ad has the appearance of something that got fobbed off on a junior designer and approved by someone not much higher. To me it suggests that while Wal-Mart talks a good game about partnering with the Salvation Army, not many in food chain there actually believe it.

Cause Marketing Pastiche

Today’s post features a collection of all kinds of news relating to cause marketing, corporate giving and charitable donations. With my comments in italics.


Stationary for the Troops
For every $50 spent at FineStationary.com through the end of the year they will donate stationary, note cards and writing papers to members of the armed forces deployed overseas via Operation Gratitude. Hey, I appreciate businesses do what they can. But $50 is a pretty high threshold to trigger what amounts to an in-kind gift.


Corporate Giving up in 2007
The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy in New York released the results of a survey that found that corporations increased their giving in 2007 over the year prior when measured as median amount and when measured as a percentage of pre-tax profits. 2007 was a year of mixed economic news. Maybe this bodes well for 2008-9.


A Holiday Card that Gives
Network for Good offers a ‘Good Card’ this holiday season meant to serve as a client gift. You load the card with an amount of money… the increments are $10, $25, $50 and $100… and then via Network for Good the client can then make a donation to the charity of their choice. It’s pretty slick. I found the art on the card to be too clever by half. And it’s not clear whether or not the recipient could divide their gift between multiple charities. I also wonder who ends up with the donor data?


A New Online Giving Portal
Presently in beta is a new online giving portal called Razoo. As you make donations to charities Razoo creates a portfolio of your giving, compiling news items about the charities and the like. Razoo is also working on a private label option for corporations. My first reaction if I’m a charity is that there sure are a lot of outfits nowadays that are trying to get between me and my donors/potential donors.


Chocolate Truffles for Darfur
Los Angeles based Compartes Chocolatier offers truffles and other goodies, made with African ingredients, that benefit Relief International’s work in Darfur. Sounds yummy. I wish the website would have been transparent on the amount generated by the purchase.


Heroes at Home
Military Families sometimes go without while their loved ones serve abroad. This Christmas season Sears and Lands End are asking people to make donations to the 30,583 military families who have registered their needs/wishes at the Heroes at Home website. Singer Trisha Yearwood is the celebrity face of the campaign. I have a soft heart for the armed forces and those who ‘keep the home fires burning,’ so I have an special fondness for this campaign. If Sears wants this to grow, however, they’re going to have to do what General Mills did with it Labels for Education campaign and set Heroes at Home free.


Art Show LA
Make a donation to the Tereo School for street orphans in Helderberg, near Cape Town, South Africa and get free admission to the Art Show LA event on Dec. 17. A nice promotion well suited for Art Show LA’s audience.

(Non Paper) Icon Campaign from OfficeMax

Yesterday in OfficeMax I saw a new kind of icon campaign, this one a continuation of their efforts to benefit classroom teachers in the United States. There were three suggested donation amounts: $1, $2 and $5.

Unlike paper icons, it’s basically a tchotchke, similar to the Staples talking Easy Button, which benefited Boys and Girls Clubs of America. But the OfficeMax ‘refrigerator magnet’ is more utilitarian than cute; there’s a magnet on the back and you could use it hold photos, notes, bills, etc.

As I noted before, Staples Easy Button was notably light on information about the benefiting charity. The cause marketing element seemed like a last hour add-on. But with the OfficeMax refrigerator magnet, the cause is its raison d’être.

We get four swift sentences on the back of the card that explains what the cause is and why we should care. I spotted the OfficeMax refrigerator magnet in its own well-labeled POP box on the checkout counter.

The clerk did not ask me if I wanted to buy it. I expect OfficeMax does not have in place an employee incentive campaign to encourage sales of the refrigerator magnet, although I didn’t confirm that.

My usual problem with icon campaigns that feature iconography from the sponsor rather than the charity is that the company probably shortchanges itself in so doing. After all, the value proposition in most cause marketing is that the sponsoring company hopes to benefit from an association with a notable and respected charity, and in exchange the charity gets money. But in this case the money goes to OfficeMax’s in-house nonprofit, the OfficeMax Charitable Foundation and is used to fund their teacher support initiatives.

In high quantity print runs, paper icons might only cost a few pennies to print. I expect the Officemax refrigerator magnet cost more than that, meaning the donations margins are lower when people pay only $1. But OfficeMax is certainly betting that $2 is the new $1 donation for icon campaigns.

The label says it was made in China. In the States we’re reaching an era... inspired by the green movement... that isn’t so much openly anti-made-in-China as it is anti-shipping stuff from across the globe. Even in my little market I see a new emphasis on goods… especially pronounced in foodstuffs… that are ‘locally sourced.’ Locally sourced probably means within 150 miles or so. With a paper icon campaign, it’s easy to source a capable printer that fits those parameters.

I wonder about who the target market for OfficeMax refrigerator magnet is? I ask because, aside from filing cabinets, there’s not many metal surfaces in modern offices these days. I’ve consciously referred to it as a refrigerator magnet, because I think most of these are more likely headed for a refrigerator than a filing cabinet.

There’s a couple of tradeoffs in this campaign. When retailers post paper icons in their store, they generate a certain buzz during the length of the campaign. Customers notice them, ask about them, and are more likely to buy them. With this refrigerator magnet the customer takes it to the office or home and you don’t get that in this campaign.

By the same token, those campaigns are short and intense. They have a defined sales period which ends in 2-6 weeks, give or take. In this campaign, OfficeMax could probably leave the POP on their checkout counters year-round, restocking as needed.

I’m intrigued by OfficeMax’s campaign, which has gotten so many things right.

But as I’ve noted before, I’ve seen the future of icon campaigns and MDA is doing it.

Alden Keene and the Cause Marketing Blog are Wind Powered

Just got the window cling so now it’s official. Alden Keene and the Cause Marketing blog now are 'powered' by the wind.

That is, Alden Keene has purchased enough wind-generated offsets in a program called Blue Sky from Rocky Mountain Power to power our offices and the servers for this blog.