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Activating Your Cause Marketing Via Old School Methods

Nowadays when every brand has a YouTube channel, and pages on Pinterest, Google+, and Facebook, it’s easy to think that when you activate your cause marketing on a social  network that you’re done.

Not so fast, Twitter-breath.

You still need to reach customers and prospects where they are and that can mean activating cause marketing on packaging, signage, and yes, placemats.

Black Bear Diner, a franchise with 56 locations in nine western states, went old school to help activate its Dec 2012 effort for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Black Bear Diner is one of those places where the ample portion sizes seem just about right for NFL linemen.

In the promotion Black Bear sold Make-A-Wish’s star-shaped paper icons (aka pinups) and donated $1 for each dessert sold from a select list. The total donation was capped at $50,000.

Using paper placemats was the right approach for this cause marketing activation. After all, once a patron is in the restaurant, the best way to reach them isn’t via Google+ or Facebook.

People look at their food while they’re eating, so having the activation within sight of  their meal may be the best possible way for Black Bear to demonstrate its support of Make-A-Wish.

And the placemat is well-formatted. It’s in color, it features Make-A-Wish kids and Black Bear’s branding. The offer is plainly made and the details are clear and understandable.

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