Cause Marketing

On Nov 26, 2012 I posted the results of a survey that measured Canadian opinion on cause marketing. One of the findings was the 67 percent of Canadians would be willing to donate to a cause at checkout if the company matched their donation, thus reinforcing what almost any gray-haired nonprofit fundraiser could have told you. Namely, that when it comes to philanthropy people love playing with house money. Tripadvisor , the big travel website that aggregates opinions and reviews is offering a little house money for you to use at Kiva, the lender that provides microloans primarily in the developing world. For the next year, when you submit a review of a hotel, restaurant, attraction, etc. in one of the countries where Kiva.org is active, Tripadvisor will send you email that allows you to direct a $25 microloan in that or any other Kiva.org country. That $25 costs the reviewer nothing. No word on what happens if TripAdvisor meets the $250,000 cap before the year is up. The idea was inspi...

Howard Brodwin, founder of SportsandSocialChange.org , and I are both sports fans and we both collectively lamented that in forfeiting his Tour de France victories Lance Armstrong effectively admitted to doping during his career. I wrote to Howard, “A lot of us like sports/athletics because even though we know the best athletes are still human, we admire them because of their super-human performances. When they dope, however, it kinda takes the air out of that idea. I'm disappointed and sad.” Howard, wisely, responded, this way: “I know what might cheer you up, and it starts next Wednesday. http://www.paralympic.org .” You kinda have to hunt down the TV coverage, but the Paralympics, which wraps up on Sept 9 in London, has been just splendid. And, as Howard points out, individual Paralympians have been a terrific source for cause marketing gold. Television spots from Coca-Cola, Citibank, and British Petroleum all feature inspiring Paralympians, and even Special Olympians....