Cause Marketing

I define cause marketing as a "relationship that bridges cause and commerce in a way that benefits both parties." By that definition the Cause Marketing blog isn’t about charity fundraisers per se. Still, I’ve come across a fundraiser in my home state… called Utah FastPass… that’s just so cool that I have to share it with you my faithful readers, even though it’s not precisely a cause marketing effort. In 2006 the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Highway Patrol closed a remote section of state highway and then sold access to wealthy drivers to drive their cars on the road at speeds the Devil himself wouldn’t chance, all for charity. The gimmick was that the Highway Patrol would give each driver a ‘ticket’ and they would pay the ‘fine’ to charity. Naturally the drivers had to have very good insurance and sign a ream of waivers. That first year one driver drove the closed course in a classic Ferrari Enzo like the one at the left and missed a bump or a turn or a sh...