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.

Comments

Batting Your Eyelashes at Prescription Drug Cause Marketing

I’m a little chary about making sweeping pronouncements, but I believe I've just seen the first cause marketing promotion in the U.S. involving a prescription drug. The drug is from Allergan and it’s called Latisse , “the first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough eyelashes.” The medical name for this condition is hypotrichosis. Latisse is lifestyle drug the way Viagra or Propecia are. That is, no one’s going to die (except, perhaps, of embarrassment) if their erectile dysfunction or male pattern baldness or thin eyelashes go untreated. Which means the positioning for a product like Latisse is a little tricky. Allergan could have gone with the sexy route as with Viagra or Cialis and showed lovely women batting their new longer, thicker, darker eyelashes. But I’ll bet that approach didn’t test well with women. (I’m reminded of a joke about the Cialis ads from a comedian whose name I can’t recall. He said, “Hey if my erection lasts longer than ...

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 ...

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...

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