...I would be on my way to feed hungry families right now, thanks to Oscar Mayer's Good Mood Mission.
The Good Mood Mission is a partnership between Oscar Mayer (a Kraft brand) and Feeding America (the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization).
Visitors to www.goodmoodmission.com can help feed needy families across America by completing a Good Mood statement like, "It doesn't get better than...." or "The best cure for a case of the Mondays is..." By completing the statement "If I could ride shotbun in the Wienermobile, I'd...", they can also enter to win a ride in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile for a day.
For each of these "Good Moods" submitted, Oscar Mayer will donate one pound of food to Feeding America.
For each "Good Mood" shared with friends via Facebook or email, Oscar Mayer will donate five pounds of food.
For each person who becomes a fan of Oscar Mayer on Facebook, Oscar Mayer will donate ten pounds of food.
Plus, folks can visit ebay.com/oscarmayer to bid on the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The winning bidder will win the Wienermobile for a day, plus a catered Oscar Mayer cookout for 50, and a year's supply of Oscar Mayer wieners. All of the proceeds will be donated to Feeding America. As of this writing, the bid is at $1111.11 - the auction ends June 4, 2010.
This kind of initiative is why I love the idea of social cause marketing. Organizations support - and encourage their customers to support - a worthy cause, and build something fun around the effort. With the Good Mood Mission, people all over the world can contribute to the conversation, enjoy reading others' Good Moods, daydream about riding in the Wienermobile, watch a funny video of actor Ty Burrell with the Wienermobile, and have their days brightened in the process.
Not to mention that when they do so, they are also causing Oscar Mayer to feed hungry families.
If a company is going to make a contribution to a non-profit organization, why not give their customers a chance to get involved as well? And why not have fun doing it, and create a great experience for the customers who join in?
It has worked for Oscar Mayer and Feeding America so far - the goal for the Good Mood Mission was to donate 3 million pounds of food. As of this writing, 2,904,795 pounds have been donated.
As a corporation, find a way to help the world, and find a way to enable others to join in.
"...if I were an Oscar Mayer weiner, everyone would be in love with me!"
Showing posts with label cause marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cause marketing. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Freedom Stones: A Start-up with Good Marketing?
Last week, some friends of mine invited me to check out the website of their start-up non-profit organization, Freedom Stones.
I was blown away.
Oftentimes, when a non-profit organization is just beginning, its marketing and promotional efforts are rather primitive. Its web presence consists of a Facebook fan page, or perhaps a website that looks okay by 1995 standards. Its print materials are 8.5" x 11" flyers that were created and printed from the founder's home computer. Its advertising occurs at random through garage-sale-signs and word-of-mouth.
And we, the public, are okay with that. We realize that the people who found non-profit organizations are usually passionate and skilled in issues like social justice, and are rarely passionate and skilled in marketing. We are happy that they are investing their initial time and energy and precious start-up capital in the operations of helping people, even if it means that their marketing efforts lag behind for a while. All of this is par for the course with a new non-profit organization. If the cause is a worthy one, we will support the organization anyway.
So marketing efforts like those of Freedom Stones come as quite a surprise.
Freedom Stones was incorporated just last year, and the site went live just a few weeks before I first looked at it. When I visited the site, I was thoroughly impressed. The design is beautiful - great layout, great colors, great photos and texture, terrific overall aesthetics. The navigation and organization are tight and easy to follow. The site is full of thick, rich, helpful, purposeful information - about the organization, its work, its staff, the issues it fights, the people it helps, the products it sells, and the ways in which supporters can get involved. And the site has a functional shopping cart system - not just a Paypal setup - for purchasing items and making donations.
Plus, the Freedom Stones website links to social media - a Facebook cause, a Twitter account (@FreedomStones), and the Freedom Stones blog. One might expect these accounts to have been thrown together, and to contain only a handful of posts about Freedom Stones.
Instead, Freedom Stones seems to have strategically planned and implemented its use of social media. The Facebook cause already has 664 members, with regular posts over the past 10 months. The Twitter account seems to have begun in mid-January, but Freedom Stones has been faithful to tweet well and often since then. And the blog, while low on posts as of yet, seems to be off to a great start.
When I see marketing efforts that look like this, I feel more comfortable with and confident in the non-profit. It seems that the non-profit is already well-established; that the founders are serious about this cause; that they have been thoughtful and strategic, and that they understand the "business" of running a non-profit; that this non-profit is well-funded, well-supported, and well-stewarded - that the non-profit is not destined to fail in six months due to poor money management or poor operational decisions.
I certainly do not begrudge start-up non-profits whose marketing efforts have not yet reached this level of quality. However, it seems that the founders of Freedom Stones realize the importance of having supporters to bring the work and mission of Freedom Stones to fruition. They have given some thought to how they will reach, attract, and communicate with supporters, in order to provide the financial and emotional legs for their ministry to stand.
And I fully expect that stand it shall.
I was blown away.
Oftentimes, when a non-profit organization is just beginning, its marketing and promotional efforts are rather primitive. Its web presence consists of a Facebook fan page, or perhaps a website that looks okay by 1995 standards. Its print materials are 8.5" x 11" flyers that were created and printed from the founder's home computer. Its advertising occurs at random through garage-sale-signs and word-of-mouth.
And we, the public, are okay with that. We realize that the people who found non-profit organizations are usually passionate and skilled in issues like social justice, and are rarely passionate and skilled in marketing. We are happy that they are investing their initial time and energy and precious start-up capital in the operations of helping people, even if it means that their marketing efforts lag behind for a while. All of this is par for the course with a new non-profit organization. If the cause is a worthy one, we will support the organization anyway.
So marketing efforts like those of Freedom Stones come as quite a surprise.
Freedom Stones was incorporated just last year, and the site went live just a few weeks before I first looked at it. When I visited the site, I was thoroughly impressed. The design is beautiful - great layout, great colors, great photos and texture, terrific overall aesthetics. The navigation and organization are tight and easy to follow. The site is full of thick, rich, helpful, purposeful information - about the organization, its work, its staff, the issues it fights, the people it helps, the products it sells, and the ways in which supporters can get involved. And the site has a functional shopping cart system - not just a Paypal setup - for purchasing items and making donations.
Plus, the Freedom Stones website links to social media - a Facebook cause, a Twitter account (@FreedomStones), and the Freedom Stones blog. One might expect these accounts to have been thrown together, and to contain only a handful of posts about Freedom Stones.
Instead, Freedom Stones seems to have strategically planned and implemented its use of social media. The Facebook cause already has 664 members, with regular posts over the past 10 months. The Twitter account seems to have begun in mid-January, but Freedom Stones has been faithful to tweet well and often since then. And the blog, while low on posts as of yet, seems to be off to a great start.
When I see marketing efforts that look like this, I feel more comfortable with and confident in the non-profit. It seems that the non-profit is already well-established; that the founders are serious about this cause; that they have been thoughtful and strategic, and that they understand the "business" of running a non-profit; that this non-profit is well-funded, well-supported, and well-stewarded - that the non-profit is not destined to fail in six months due to poor money management or poor operational decisions.
I certainly do not begrudge start-up non-profits whose marketing efforts have not yet reached this level of quality. However, it seems that the founders of Freedom Stones realize the importance of having supporters to bring the work and mission of Freedom Stones to fruition. They have given some thought to how they will reach, attract, and communicate with supporters, in order to provide the financial and emotional legs for their ministry to stand.
And I fully expect that stand it shall.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Why Do We Do What We Do?
Gary Chapman would say that my love language is words of affirmation.
As such, few things brighten my day more than when someone pays me a sincere compliment or gives me a word of encouragement. In my work, I seldom feel more satisfied and useful and fulfilled than when a boss or a client or a coworker tells me that I've done an excellent job.
But sometimes, I find myself beginning to do things solely for the prospect of receiving praise for my work. Instead of giving 110% to a task simply because giving 110% is the right thing to do, I begin to give 110% because I want to impress my client, or because I hope that one of my dearest mentors will notice.
As marketers, do we act the same way?
Do we begin to strategize ways that our organization can be amazing, just so that our organization can achieve recognition and media coverage and positive word-of-mouth?
Recognition and media coverage and positive word-of-mouth are wonderful and worthy things, no doubt, but they should not be the reason why we do what we do.
Instead, we should strategize ways to be amazing, just because being amazing is the right thing to do. Because having radical customer service is the right thing to do. Because being dedicated to good stewardship of natural resources is the right thing to do. Because improving the lives of people is the right thing to do. Because designing innovative, aesthetically-pleasing, useful products is the right thing to do. Because creating a wonderful place to work and shop and do business and live is the right thing to do.
When we do amazing things out of a sincere conviction that those are the things we should do, then the recognition and awards and good press and outstanding brand reputation will follow.
When we do amazing things simply because we are pursuing those accolades, then our heart isn't right. And when our heart isn't right toward the things we are doing, sooner or later the facade will break down. Sooner or later customers will realize that our customer service doesn't really care about them the way it is reputed to. Sooner or later our brand experience won't match up to the stunts we pulled, and our customers will become disillusioned - and leave. Sooner or later we will cut a corner or two, and the media will find out, and the bad press will more than destroy the good reputation we had built.
Be exceptional in what your organization does, simply because being exceptional is the right thing to do. When you choose to be exceptional for the right reasons, the real praise and the real devoted customers will follow.
As such, few things brighten my day more than when someone pays me a sincere compliment or gives me a word of encouragement. In my work, I seldom feel more satisfied and useful and fulfilled than when a boss or a client or a coworker tells me that I've done an excellent job.
But sometimes, I find myself beginning to do things solely for the prospect of receiving praise for my work. Instead of giving 110% to a task simply because giving 110% is the right thing to do, I begin to give 110% because I want to impress my client, or because I hope that one of my dearest mentors will notice.
As marketers, do we act the same way?
Do we begin to strategize ways that our organization can be amazing, just so that our organization can achieve recognition and media coverage and positive word-of-mouth?
Recognition and media coverage and positive word-of-mouth are wonderful and worthy things, no doubt, but they should not be the reason why we do what we do.
Instead, we should strategize ways to be amazing, just because being amazing is the right thing to do. Because having radical customer service is the right thing to do. Because being dedicated to good stewardship of natural resources is the right thing to do. Because improving the lives of people is the right thing to do. Because designing innovative, aesthetically-pleasing, useful products is the right thing to do. Because creating a wonderful place to work and shop and do business and live is the right thing to do.
When we do amazing things out of a sincere conviction that those are the things we should do, then the recognition and awards and good press and outstanding brand reputation will follow.
When we do amazing things simply because we are pursuing those accolades, then our heart isn't right. And when our heart isn't right toward the things we are doing, sooner or later the facade will break down. Sooner or later customers will realize that our customer service doesn't really care about them the way it is reputed to. Sooner or later our brand experience won't match up to the stunts we pulled, and our customers will become disillusioned - and leave. Sooner or later we will cut a corner or two, and the media will find out, and the bad press will more than destroy the good reputation we had built.
Be exceptional in what your organization does, simply because being exceptional is the right thing to do. When you choose to be exceptional for the right reasons, the real praise and the real devoted customers will follow.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Volkswagen and the Theory of Fun
I feel slightly behind the times. Within the past five days, I have received links to this video series from three different people. When I did a Google search for the series, the first results page was full of blog references to the initiative. As much as I dislike following the crowd and talking about the same thing as everyone else, I must say something about this.
It is spectacular.
It is called the "Theory of Fun," and it is a new initiative by Volkswagen to persuade people to act responsibly.
The idea is that adding fun to a specific action will cause people to participate in that action - perhaps even changing their behavior over the long-term. This video shows how Volkswagen induced subway travelers in Stockholm, Sweden to take the stairs rather than the escalator, by turning the staircase into a working piano:
Climbing stairs is not the only thing that Volkwagen has made more fun. To see how Volkswagen put some fun into both recycling and throwing trash into the trash can, visit www.thefuntheory.com.
Volkswagen is also encouraging consumers to generate their own ideas for how to change behavior for the better by making things fun. People can submit their own videos from now through November 15 for the chance of winning 2,500 Euros.
Isn't it a brilliant idea? Changing behavior by making things fun? Of course, over the long-term, people should choose to do the right thing (i.e. exercise, recycle, refuse to litter) simply because it is the right thing to do. But why not use fun to start people on the path of building those good habits? It is like the scene in Mary Poppins in which Mary convinces the children to tidy up the nursery by turning it into a game. "Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," Mary would say.
So why is Volkswagen doing all this? First off, getting masses of people to start taking care of the environment is a wonderful, rewarding, and wise thing to do. A clean planet is good for everyone. Secondly, engaging in social responsibility and creating free fun for people builds goodwill toward the Volkswagen brand. And third, if people start being more environmentally conscious, perhaps they will become more interested in purchasing environmentally responsible cars.
Do you have a cause that fits with your brand, like environmental responsibility fits with VW? If not, get one. Explore the basic need being filled by your products and services. Find out what your people are passionate about. Discover the root principle behind your mission statement. And make that your cause. Your company should not just add more "stuff" to the world; your company should make the world a better place.
Once you have a cause that fits with your brand, see if you can make it fun for people to participate. Walmart could encourage kids to "save money. live better" by giving them free musical piggy banks. Schoolteachers could make studying fun by creating educational games for their students. Hospitals and restaurants could encourage people to wash their hands by installing synchronized, dancing, multi-colored lights over the sinks in the restrooms. Your human resources department could encourage employees to turn in their paperwork by singing every time someone places their papers into the inbox.
Find your cause, and make it fun for people to join in. You'll be helping society, helping your customers, and helping your brand, too.
It is spectacular.
It is called the "Theory of Fun," and it is a new initiative by Volkswagen to persuade people to act responsibly.
The idea is that adding fun to a specific action will cause people to participate in that action - perhaps even changing their behavior over the long-term. This video shows how Volkswagen induced subway travelers in Stockholm, Sweden to take the stairs rather than the escalator, by turning the staircase into a working piano:
Climbing stairs is not the only thing that Volkwagen has made more fun. To see how Volkswagen put some fun into both recycling and throwing trash into the trash can, visit www.thefuntheory.com.
Volkswagen is also encouraging consumers to generate their own ideas for how to change behavior for the better by making things fun. People can submit their own videos from now through November 15 for the chance of winning 2,500 Euros.
Isn't it a brilliant idea? Changing behavior by making things fun? Of course, over the long-term, people should choose to do the right thing (i.e. exercise, recycle, refuse to litter) simply because it is the right thing to do. But why not use fun to start people on the path of building those good habits? It is like the scene in Mary Poppins in which Mary convinces the children to tidy up the nursery by turning it into a game. "Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," Mary would say.
So why is Volkswagen doing all this? First off, getting masses of people to start taking care of the environment is a wonderful, rewarding, and wise thing to do. A clean planet is good for everyone. Secondly, engaging in social responsibility and creating free fun for people builds goodwill toward the Volkswagen brand. And third, if people start being more environmentally conscious, perhaps they will become more interested in purchasing environmentally responsible cars.
Do you have a cause that fits with your brand, like environmental responsibility fits with VW? If not, get one. Explore the basic need being filled by your products and services. Find out what your people are passionate about. Discover the root principle behind your mission statement. And make that your cause. Your company should not just add more "stuff" to the world; your company should make the world a better place.
Once you have a cause that fits with your brand, see if you can make it fun for people to participate. Walmart could encourage kids to "save money. live better" by giving them free musical piggy banks. Schoolteachers could make studying fun by creating educational games for their students. Hospitals and restaurants could encourage people to wash their hands by installing synchronized, dancing, multi-colored lights over the sinks in the restrooms. Your human resources department could encourage employees to turn in their paperwork by singing every time someone places their papers into the inbox.
Find your cause, and make it fun for people to join in. You'll be helping society, helping your customers, and helping your brand, too.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Marketing a Cause: Mandela Day
On July 18, in honor of the 91st birthday of the social activist and former South African president, the Nelson Mandela Foundation is hosting Mandela Day. The day itself will feature a grand concert in New York City's Radio City Music Hall, with performances by folks like Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban, Aretha Franklin, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Emmanuel Jal, and more. But the goal of Mandela Day is not so much a one-day celebration of a great man, but a re-commitment of people around the world to follow Mr. Mandela's lead by making a difference in their own communities.
To spread word about the event, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (with the help of ad agency Gotham - part of Interpublic Group) has launched a viral campaign. What a better way to inspire people toward a cause than to get passionate individuals to spread the fire to their friends?
TV, print, online, and web ads are being used to point people to the mandeladay.com website, where they can learn about Mandela Day, include themselves in a Mandela Day video, join the Imprint Wall (where they post their plans for serving their communities), read the Mandela Day blog, follow @MandelaDay on Twitter, join the Mandela Day fan page on Facebook, see Flickr photos of the Mandela Day art installation in NYC Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, and watch videos of celebrity support of the event. (Celebrities currently featured include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, and more.)
I have not yet seen whether the Nelson Mandela Foundation has done much to take Mandela Day mobile, other than allowing people to submit messages to the Imprint Wall via text message. Are there any iPhone apps? A mobile site? Could the Foundation develop a mobile e-card from the Imprint Wall, allowing folks to send an image of their own Imprint to friends?
People can use their phones to record their own Mandela Day videos; I don't know how streamlined it is to upload the video to the Mandela Day site from a phone.
I was surprised that I could not find a link to the Mandela Day YouTube channel on the Mandela Day website; the channel features quite a few videos about the event (with some starring various celebrities).
I do hope that these interactive strategies succeed in helping word about the event to go viral. And I hope that Mandela Day inspires people to make the difference of which they are truly capable.
To spread word about the event, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (with the help of ad agency Gotham - part of Interpublic Group) has launched a viral campaign. What a better way to inspire people toward a cause than to get passionate individuals to spread the fire to their friends?
TV, print, online, and web ads are being used to point people to the mandeladay.com website, where they can learn about Mandela Day, include themselves in a Mandela Day video, join the Imprint Wall (where they post their plans for serving their communities), read the Mandela Day blog, follow @MandelaDay on Twitter, join the Mandela Day fan page on Facebook, see Flickr photos of the Mandela Day art installation in NYC Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, and watch videos of celebrity support of the event. (Celebrities currently featured include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, and more.)
I have not yet seen whether the Nelson Mandela Foundation has done much to take Mandela Day mobile, other than allowing people to submit messages to the Imprint Wall via text message. Are there any iPhone apps? A mobile site? Could the Foundation develop a mobile e-card from the Imprint Wall, allowing folks to send an image of their own Imprint to friends?
People can use their phones to record their own Mandela Day videos; I don't know how streamlined it is to upload the video to the Mandela Day site from a phone.
I was surprised that I could not find a link to the Mandela Day YouTube channel on the Mandela Day website; the channel features quite a few videos about the event (with some starring various celebrities).
I do hope that these interactive strategies succeed in helping word about the event to go viral. And I hope that Mandela Day inspires people to make the difference of which they are truly capable.
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