Cause Marketing

“Now I don’t know what you do for your five-percent, but this man my husband has a whole plan, an image... we majored in marketing, Jerry, and when you put him in a Waterbed Warehouse commercial, excuse me, you are making him common. He is pure gold and you’re giving him “Waterbed Warehouse” when he deserves the big four -- shoe, car, clothing-line, soft-drink. The four jewels of the celebrity endorsement dollar.” The wonderfully watchable actress Regina King spoke those lines as Marcee Tidwell in the 1996 Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr. movie Jerry Maguire . The script was written by Cameron Crowe , but the sentiment probably came straight from legendary Southern California sports agent Leigh Steinberg . It’s said that Crowe, who also directed the movie, shadowed Steinberg for months while writing the script. Nowadays, there are two new jewels in the celebrity endorsement crown; an eponymous foundation and a luxury watch deal. Check here for a list of the charities ce...

Anatomy of a Multi-Phase Cause-Related Marketing Sponsorship Last weekend, May 31 and June 1, the Children’s Miracle Network aired their 25th annual telethon, called ‘ Celebration '. Now more than ever Celebration is a sponsorship vehicle and as it happens, I caught their recognition of Carmike Cinemas , a cause-related marketing sponsorship that even today is unusually well-rounded, if I say so myself. Here were the elements back when I sold the sponsorship in 1998: During the month of May in the lead up to the telethon, Carmike would broadcast on their more than 2,500 screens a movie trailer featuring then San Francisco 49er Quarterback (and now a member of the NFL Hall of Fame) Steve Young . Steve narrated the story of a kid who was desperately sick but had gotten better at on of CMN’s affiliated hospitals. The trailer was about 70 seconds long. Carmike would post movie-style and sized posters in their frames featuring the promotion the child and Steve Young. Carmike would sell ...