This is such a great example of adding value to your partners! No, perhaps you offering some LBM "consulting" for free didn't result in direct dollars for your cause marketing programs, but you can bet they'll be that much more willing to integrate LBM into your next joint partnership. Plus, let's remember...partnerships are supposed to be "win-win". If one of the things you bring to the table is social media expertise, by all means, share the wealth!

@meganstrand

Great post, Joe - you raise some interesting points. While I agree that in the case of a huge event, consumers know a portion of their money is going to cover basic expenses (with the assumption that the cause has done their darndest to get as much donated as possible), I don't think most consumers expect there to be much overhead or expense associated with point of sale programs like coin collection efforts or pinups.

It reminds me of the Panera lawsuit (that I believe I heard about through you) where they tried to claim "expenses" against a coin collection campaign and the judge ruled against them in favor of the charity.

But I agree wholeheartedly with you, companies shouldn't be expected to soak up printing or other hard costs - the nonprofit should calculate those costs into their overall cause marketing budget.

@meganstrand

These are all great options, Joe. In my mind, the Common just screams out for some sort of collaborative corporate partnership among local businesses.

Why not collect stories of and about the Common and join them together in a collaborative book project to be sold by a huge handful of local retail outlets (or purchased by corporations to gift to employees) where the proceeds from the book go to Common restoration (if you're interested in doing this, do let me know...I've got some insider tips that may help). Or even a video montage of stories or video submission contest - the history is so rich!

Or, what about a commemorative ornament or partnership with the "Make Way for the Ducklings" story rights/licensing effort again to be promoted by local retailers?

Speaking of licensing, what about just establishing licensing rights to some sort of historical seal or emblem representing the Common that can be used on ANY locally produced product for a fee?

Or what if all the members of the Boston Chamber and other Main Streets retailers banded together and agreed to donate 5% of their gross receipts for the week of X to be donated to the Common restoration?

And, c'mon...really? Could you ask for a better name than "The Boston Common"? All sorts of plays on the word "Common" you could harness: Common Good, Common Ground, etc.

I love this opportunity and that you're thinking about it from a cause angle. Long live the Boston Common!

@meganstrand

Great post and overview of the Cone study, Joe, thanks! I love the separate NPO and business implications.

A few things I would add, primarily for the companies considering cause marketing (but NPOs should be aware as well):

-Causes should be part of a company's everyday business operations, not just a once-a-year affiliation. 61% of respondents reported that it was important that the company makes a long-term commitment to a specific cause that it supports over time.

-Communication is key. 80% of consumers want companies to give them the opportunity to learn about a social or environmental cause. So the education piece is just as important as the donation piece. In addition, 61% of consumers don't think companies are giving them enough details about their efforts, including amounts donated and length of promotion.

I'm curious to know from you, Joe, as the point-of-sale king - how you balance this need for consumer education with the need to craft a simple and compelling ask at the register since time is of the essence. Supporting information available online or posted somewhere within the store?

I highly recommend that, if you're interested in cause marketing, you read this study in its entirety as well as some of the research from Edelman, like their Good Purpose Study and annual Trust Barometer. While it's certainly true that consumers expect companies to be affiliated with good causes, implementing an effective and authentic campaign takes some thoughtful planning and research. An isolated or one-off cause campaign, event or partnership can be a good way to experiment with customer and employee receptivity, but consumers today expect cause to be involved with your business on a daily basis.

The best cause campaigns I've seen have figured out how to link cause meaningfully into the very fabric of their brand (e.g. Keen Footwear, Levi's, etc.)

@meganstrand

As a Portlander, I too will be watching the success of CauseOn closely. While I'm pulling for them, I do agree that "copycat" services like these don't have the best of track records.

I love your idea of co-branded deals like the Macy's/MFA example you provided. Leveraging companies that are already well-immersed in charitable giving activities makes good business sense. If CauseOn can become a broker of such cause partnerships, all the better.

I'm one of the fortunate participants from Joe's most recent 6-Figure Cause Marketing Course and I have to say, it was an amazingly comprehensive "how to" for cause marketing point-of-sale campaigns. One of the best things about Joe and his capable colleague Joanna (who co-hosts these webinars) is the level of creativity and experience they bring. I was beyond impressed with the materials and strategies they shared from more than a handful of their campaigns.

They truly shared their lessons learned so that your cause marketing campaign can benefit from their experiences. And, best of all, they are both incredibly generous with their expertise and willing to take time to answer questions and give specific ideas and advice on individual campaigns - golden! The value of having a live webinar was evident as I was frantically scribbling ideas from other participants, as well.

This course has given me credible evidence to present to the non-profit leadership I'm working with as I propose a more strategic, partnership-oriented fundraising strategy for the organization.

Highly recommended!

I love this post for several reasons, Joe. First, TisBest is a fabulous organization, I did a post on them around the holiday season - they're ranked the best charity gift card out there and really keep their standards high so kudos to Conifer for choosing the best.

Second, I love how you address Cause Marketing use in a B-2-B setting. I really appreciate examples of B-2-B application because a cause-related initiative can be an extremely powerful way to communication your mission to your employees, your customers and your partners. I think when we discuss B-2-B, we're probably in "Cause Branding" territory. But, at the end of the day, a company is made up of people and people make the decisions about which companies to work for, which vendors to choose, which strategic partners to align with, etc. By using a cause branding strategy, you're better able to communicate the mission of your organization in an understated way.

Thought-provoking post, Joe. A few comments:

-In this age of "slactivism", where consumers are asked to "vote" for a cause every time they turn around using the path-of-least-possible-resistance, I think point-of-sale cause marketing programs raise the bar a bit and ask consumers to participate with their dollars (not just their clicks) for a cause. No, it might not be a cause to which they would've thought to donate originally, but assuming they have a decent trust relationship with the retailer, it may open their eyes to that cause. A gift is still a gift. We've entered the age where we must vote with our dollars in support of practices and principles with which we agree. Is there any clearer way to send a message?

-While giving $1 at the register may not be the end-all-be-all gift, it also hopefully raises awareness. Maybe it's $1 at the register one day, but the corporate partnership lends enough credibility to the cause that their awareness of that particular cause increases and the next time they see the cause elsewhere, they're more inclined to give. It's about baby steps in awareness and in action. Cause marketing is a great way to make this happen.

-I couldn't agree more with your point, Joe, that consumerism happens anyway and that we might as well take advantage of it. Back to the point about voting with our dollars, the more we send clear messages to companies about which products and practices are important to us, the more we as a society move to higher ground.

Thanks for a great post, Joe!

Great review, Joe! I truly enjoyed the CMF conference this year and I honestly wish it was two full separate days, there were so many fantastic presenters that I was almost overwhelmed by my choices.

Love the suggestion that speakers are limited to 18 minutes and also heard someone say the entire conference should be focused on "lessons learned". It's fully awesome to hear about the programs folks are running, but it would be even more useful to hear what they learned and what they'd do differently next time.

I'd also like the opportunity to hear from more people like Chris Noble w/ Cause Media Group, who have been putting campaigns together for years and years across different sectors and different brands. While it's great to hear from brands themselves, they're much more singularly-focused and it strikes me that having that birds eye view might be useful as well (so more presentations like the one from Mike Lawrence from Cone).

And yeah, I do have to admit that the sunshine was calling my name during the HALO awards - that was the only time during the entire conferenced I stepped out because it ran a bit long. Let's just say I wasn't alone outside. :)

Great write up - great meeting you and look forward to more great CMF conferences in the future. Thanks to David for a job well done.