Cause Marketing

Quick Post: In keeping with Thursday's post on Current Energy and and my Dec. 5 posting on Sears Hero's At Home , I'm pleased to highlight  SoldierWish.com , which allows armed service men and women and their families to post wish lists that you and I can fulfill.  But do it now, secret Santa's. There's not much time before Christmas. Tip of the hat to Jeremy Hanks for introducing me to Soldier Wish.

Current Energy, a website which sells energy efficiency products online, is offering a buy one give one solar charger for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan , the latest example of a trend I noted back in January with TOMS Shoes .  When you buy the $150 Solio for Soldiers Kit , which uses solar cells to charge gadgets like cell phones, iPods, and digital cameras, Current Energy ships a matching version to another soldier. This promotion, therefore, differs from the other buy one give one promotions highlighted in the past in this blog in that you don’t get the product yourself. Instead, it’s a two for one donation. Earlier this year I saw a similar campaign with harmonicas, of all things. There’s no mention made of how this works. No testimonials from soldiers who have received one about how they feel about getting one. No indication of why Current Energy is doing this. In a case where Current Energy is asking for a $150 donation, we need more details. The 120 words they give ...