Cause Marketing Gallimaufry

A bunch of emails pitching various cause marketing stories have been piling up in my inbox and now it’s time to set them free in a giant gallimaufry.

One Eyed Rhyno, a Sacramento-based teen rock group comprised of brother and sister James (16) and Elaine (18) Hunter and longtime friend, Andrew Daniels (17), have released their single entitled, “The Bird,” inspired by the Exxon Valdez and made newly-relevant by the BP Gulf oil spill. Proceeds from the download of “The Bird” go to The Student Conservation Association.

Bisquick is making $250 grants to qualified nonprofits to put on pancake breakfast benefits. Now in its second year, Bisquick Pancake Nation granted nearly $30,000 last year to more than 100 schools and nonprofits to kickstart their pancake breakfasts.

Lights. Camera. Help., a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate “cause-driven films,” is holding a local event at the Olde North Charleston Picture House in Charleston, South Carolina on September 25, 2010 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online for a $10 donation and day of at the event.

Monday, October 4 is World Habitat Day, a recognition by the United Nations of the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and a chance to advocate, fundraise, and educate about the need for affordable housing worldwide.

Just in time for the holidays, Greyston Bakery… which makes the brownies for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream… is teaming with Ben & Jerry’s to introduce its Ultimate Brownie Sundae Kit which includes: ice cream bowls, Do-Goodie Brownies, an ice cream scoop, a recipe card, and a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Speaking of Ben & Jerry’s, VolunteerMatch.org… which inspired the flavor ‘Berry Voluntary,’ sold exclusively at Target… has issued a challenge to Stephen Colbert, the inspiration for the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor ‘Americone Dream,’ to see who has the better tasting and more popular flavor.

In time for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, retailer Kohl’s has released a line of products from Simply Vera Vera Wang priced at $5 and $10 and benefiting the fight against breast cancer. The merchandise is available online and at Kohl’s stores in Wisconsin.

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Cause Marketing: The All Packaging Edition

One way to activate a cause marketing campaign when the sponsor sells a physical product is on the packaging. I started my career in cause marketing on the charity side and I can tell you that back in the day we were thrilled to get a logo on pack of a consumer packaged good (CPG) or even just a mention. Since then, there’s been a welcome evolution of what sponsors are willing and able to do with their packaging in order to activate their cause sponsorships. That said, even today some sponsors don’t seem to have gotten the memo that when it comes to explaining your cause campaign, more really is more, even on something as small as a can or bottle. The savviest sponsors realize that their only guaranteed means of reaching actual customers with a cause marketing message is by putting it on packaging. And the reach and frequency of the media on packaging for certain high-volume CPG items is almost certainly greater than radio, print or outdoor advertising, and, in many cases, TV. More to

Why Even Absurd Cause-Related Marketing Has its Place

Buy a Bikini, Help Cure Cancer New York City (small-d) fashion designer Shoshonna Lonstein Gruss may have one of the more absurd cause-related marketing campaigns I’ve come across lately. When you buy the bikini or girls one-piece swimsuit at Bergdorf-Goodman in New York shown at the left all sales “proceeds” benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center . Look past the weak ‘ proceeds ’ language, which I always decry, and think for a moment about the incongruities of the sales of swimsuits benefiting the legendary Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Cancer has nothing to do swimming or swimsuits or summering in The Hamptons for that matter. And it’s not clear from her website why Shoshanna, the comely lass who once adorned the arm of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, has chosen the esteemed cancer center to bestow her gifts, although a web search shows that she’s supported its events for years. Lesser critics would say that the ridiculousness of it all is a sign that cause-related marketing is

A Clever Cause Marketing Campaign from Snickers and Feeding America

Back in August I bought this cause-marketed Snickers bar during my fourth trip of the day to Home Depot. (Is it even possible to do home repairs and take care of all your needs with just one trip to Home Depot / Lowes ?) Here’s how it works: Snickers is donating the cost of 2.5 million meals to Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief charity. On the inside of the wrapper is a code. Text that code to 45495… or enter it at snickers.com… and Snickers will donate the cost of one meal to Feeding America, up to one million additional meals. The Feeding America website says that each dollar you donate provides seven meals. So Snickers donation might be something like $500,000. But I like that Snickers quantified its donations in terms of meals made available, rather than dollars. That’s much more concrete. It doesn’t hurt that 3.5 million is a much bigger number than $500,000. I also like the way they structured the donation. By guaranteeing 2.5 million meals, the risk of a poor

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