BG US Challenge and St. Jude Childen's Research Hospital Part 2

A Business to Business Cause-Related Marketing Campaign that Brings Money & ROI... Part II

Cause-related marketing isn't always about the consumer audience. Just as there are businesses that sell goods and services to other businesses (B2B), it is possible... though not always easy... to put together cause marketing campaigns where the cause transaction occurs between businesses (B2B Cause-Related Marketing©).

The smartly-branded Memphis-based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, has just such a B2B Cause-Related Marketing campaign going on right now with the BG Corporate Challenge. And unlike the countless walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, eclair-eat-a-thons, etc., this one offers corporate participants real ROI.

Read the second half of my interview with Holly Thompson... the Liaison-Sports Marketing & Sponsor Development, and the person in charge of the BG US Challenge at St Jude... to see how. As a reminder, what follows are paraphrased answers from Holly, NOT actual quotes.

The event seems very physical. Does it give you any heartburn that only fit people are likely to participate?

The BG US Challenge measures teams mentally, physically and strategically. And
one of the things it forces teams to do is play to their strengths. If a team
has someone who can read, understand and memorize maps, the BG US Challenge
rewards the team when they build on such strengths.

It seems like there’s an x-a-thon for charity every weekend. How does the BG Corporate Challenge differ?

Teams come back from the BG US Challenge able to draw on and impart to internal
teams the lessons learned. It impacts the entire organization. There’s real
measurable ROI. Several companies have written case studies that demonstrate the
ROI.

St. Jude apparently fields several teams. What do those team members say about the experience?

We have two teams, the first is celebrity team comprised of All Stars from
reality shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race. They took first place last
year and represented the United States at the World Challenge last year. Our
second team is comprised of employees who are also former patients at St. Jude.
They are powerful reminders to the other teams of the mission and purpose of the
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

How does the intensity of the experience translate for St. Jude? That is, when participants are in the thick of the Challenge how does that reflect on (if at all) St. Jude?

Last year as one team crossed a finish line, which involved rigging a makeshift
stretcher, they were heard to say in effect; this is nothing compared to what the
kids at St. Jude go through every day!

What kind of presence do you have in front of participants?

All the teams wear a hospital-style bracelet with the name and condition of an
actual patient. We’re on all the signage at the event and all the marketing
materials and collateral in the lead up to the event including the ads in
Fortune. Last year the BG US Challenge aired on OLN and we got exposure there.
Since the Challenger World was purchase by IMG we expect the TV component will
be even greater this year.

Part 2: How Chili's Used Cause-Related Marketing to Raise $8.2 million for St. Jude

[Bloggers Note: In this second half of this post I discuss the nuts and bolts of how Chili's motivates support from its employees and managers and how St. Jude 'activates' support from Chili's. Read the first half here.] How does St. Jude motivate support from Chili’s front line employees and management alike? They call it ‘activation’ and they do so by the following: They share stories of St. Jude patients who were sick and got better thanks to the services they received at the hospital. Two stories in particular are personal for Chili’s staff. A Chili’s bartender in El Dorado Hills, California named Jeff Eagles has a younger brother who was treated at St. Jude. In both 2005 and 2006 Eagles was the campaign’s biggest individual fundraiser. John Griffin, a manager at the Chili’s in Conway, Arkansas had an infant daughter who was treated for retinoblastoma at St. Jude. They drew on the support Doug Brooks… the president and CEO of Brinker International, Chili’s parent co...

Chili’s and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

I was in Chili’s today and I ordered their “Triple-Dipper,” a three appetizer combo. While I waited for the food, I noticed another kind of combo. Chili’s is doing a full-featured cause-related marketing campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There was a four-sided laminated table tent outlining the campaign on the table. When the waitress brought the drinks she slapped down Chili’s trademark square paper beverage coasters and on them was a call to action for an element of the campaign called ‘Create-A-Pepper,’ a kind of paper icon campaign. The wait staff was all attired in black shirts co-branded with Chili’s and St. Jude. The Create-A-Pepper paper icon could be found in a stack behind the hostess area. The Peppers are outlines of Chili’s iconic logo meant to be colored. I paid $1 for mine, but they would have taken $5, $10, or more. The crayons, too, were co-branded with the ‘Create-A-Pepper’ and St. Jude’s logos. There’s also creatapepper.com, a microsite, but again wi...

Cause-Related Marketing with Customer Receipts

Walgreens and JDRF Right now at Walgreens…the giant pharmacy and retail store chain with more than 5,800 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico… they’re selling $1 paper icons for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). This is an annual campaign and I bought one to gauge how it’s changed over the years. (Short list… they don’t do the shoe as a die cut anymore; the paper icon is now an 8¾ x 4¼ rectangle. Another interesting change; one side is now in Spanish). The icon has a bar code and Jacob, the clerk, scanned it and handed me a receipt as we finished the transaction. At the bottom was an 800-number keyed to a customer satisfaction survey. Dial the number, answer some questions and you’re entered into a drawing for $10,000 between now and the end of September 2007. I don’t know what their response rate is, but the $10,000 amount suggests that it’s pretty low. Taco Bell’s survey gives out $1,000 per week. At a regional seafood restaurant they give me a code that garner...

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