Cause Marketing

Because of the voluminous Alden Keene Cause Marketing Database I see hundreds of cause marketing campaigns a month, and one of the trends in writing headlines for cause marketing ads is to use a question. Here’s two from the database for illustrative purposes, but I’ve seen similar headlines for the RED campaign and in dozens of other campaigns. For more than a year you almost couldn’t avoid this ad from Ford Warriors in Pink, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The ad spent more time in more women’s magazines than did pictures of Angelina Jolie. It reads: “Will a T-Shirt Help Cure Breast Cancer”? The second example comes from Glad’s campaign for Cookies for Kids Cancer. It reads: “Can Lives be Changed With a Bake Sale”? Now normally, I’d say a question is a poor way to write a headline. A question makes it too simple for the reader to check out. It’s too easy to read “will a T-shirt help cure breast cancer?” and answer it with a ‘no’ and move on. But could there be method to a...

Exporting Caring and Dollars American Express’ Member’s Project , which will fund one member project to the tune of as much as $5 million based on the vote of American Express card holders, is now down to five finalists: National Parks Foundation, for the repair and refurbishment of the 391 National Parks. American Solar Energy Society to create a small solar-powered generating unit suitable for residential homes. US Fund for UNICEF Children’s Safe Drinking Water initiative to deliver clean, pure water to children worldwide. DonorsChoose.org, a web-enabled way to match school needs with outsiders willing to help. American Forests initiative called Plant a Million Trees, a global reforestation campaign to plant trees in the United States and around the globe. For those of you keeping score at home, two out of five of those projects have truly global reach. And as of this writing, the UNICEF safe water campaign holds a commanding lead in advance of the August 7 deadline. UNICEF’s lead ma...