Cause Marketing

In honor of its 25th anniversary, Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) published a special 10-page insert in the June 9, 2008 issue of U.S. News & World Report, and on the last page was the sponsor recognition ad on the left. The insert was placed in U.S. News’ annual rankings of children’s hospitals in the United States. For those of you keeping score at home, there’s more than 70 current sponsors in that logo soup, several of which have been with CMN for nearly the full 25 years; notably Dairy Queen and Marriott. The logos are arranged roughly in order of current contributions. Since 1983 CMN has generated more than $3.4 billion, or on average, about $136 million a year. While CMN has a successful direct mail effort, it’s less than 10 years old. And the cause does little if any major gifts fundraising or planned giving. Therefore, it’s safe to say that all but a very small percentage of that $3.4 billion total was generated through cause-related marketing, grassroots fundraising, or ...

I don’t remember the last time I saw a cause-related marketing campaign for which the donation was predicated on consumers redeeming a coupon. But right now for every $1 off coupon you redeem for Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu multipurpose contact lens solution, they’ll give a $1 donation to Susan G. Komen For the Cure. The donation is capped at $400,000 and $300,000 is guaranteed. Back in the day, here in the United States, a plurality of cause-related marketing campaigns for packaged goods were based on coupon redemption. Now I’d say they’re the exception. But here’s the Web 2.0 twist. The coupon isn’t in this ad from the May 2008 Cookie Magazine , a parenting magazine for mothers. Instead the ad directs you to the campaign website renucares.com . To print the coupon you’re required to enter your name and email address. If you've already bought ReNu you can enter a code from the bottle to make the $1 donation. The website also has three short videos of people affected by breast cancer ...

I have watched the plentiful news coverage about Wal-Mart’s green turn and read many opinions both skeptical and convinced. Until now I have withheld judgment. Talk, after all, (mine included) is cheap. But it seems increasingly clear that Wal-Mart is not…as the doubters say… just ‘ greenwashing ’. How did I come to this conclusion? Well I read a number of feature stories in the American business press, for one. And one of the common threads is that Wal-Mart has discovered that by trimming packaging, excising unnecessary waste, and maximizing energy costs they are saving tens of millions every year. Wal-Mart’s unique business proposition is that they are the low price leader and their margins are razor-thin. “A penny saved is a penny earned,” the saying goes. And that’s truer for Wal-Mart than, say, Rolls Royce. To its bones, Wal-Mart is a cost-cutter. But I also keep coming across marketing efforts... ironically enough... that evidence Wal-Mart is serious in its greening. Above is a p...