Just as with each passing day there’s less hope that someone will be pulled alive from its crumbled buildings, hope is fading that Haiti will live long in our consciousness. It’s only a Super Bowl and a major snowstorm away from being a segue to another conversation.
“Those poor people. Are the Oscars on next week?”
In steps American business, which can drive public support, instead of just following it. Don’t get me wrong, U.S. companies have given generously to Haiti, donating tens of millions to its aid and rebuilding. But no one entity can keep Haiti’s plight in front of the American people better than the businesses that feed, clothe, entertain and accessorize them.
Here’s how they can lead the charge.
Share their assets with the public. Donating cash is just a start. Businesses need to open their doors so consumers can leverage their assets to dramatically increase giving to Haiti. Take what Applebee restaurants has done for other causes.
Apple Gold Group is opening the doors of its 72 Applebee’s restaurants in North Carolina, Arkansas and Oklahoma to nonprofit groups on the weekends, inviting them to host a pancake breakfast fundraiser and helping them run it. The cost to the restaurants is minimal; fundraisers are held when they’re normally closed.
Giving consumers access to key assets turns the wheels of giving. Whether it’s Applebees opening the doors to its restaurants, a local sports team handing concessions over to volunteers for a day, or even Starbucks giving away its coffee beans so nonprofits can benefit from the sale of them. Access sends out ripples of giving that go well beyond a company check.
Tap the power cause marketing. I love the story about when Product RED was just getting started and U2′s Bono was pitching it to companies. I can’t remember whether they were really moved by what Bono said or just impressed by meeting one of the biggest rock stars on the planet, but a lot of companies offered to write a check on the spot for Product RED.
Bono turned them down.
He insisted that if they wanted to help RED they had to create a product from which RED would receive a percentage. Several years later, Bono has 130 million good reasons why he didn’t accept the easy check. Because that’s how much RED has raised through cause marketing pacts with corporate partners.
Bono didn’t look to the corporate checkbook and neither should we. The real money is in the access businesses offer for generous consumers to give. We all know this is true for big companies. But think of the potential for small and medium-sized companies that are just awakening to the opportunities of cause marketing and working with their customers.
I’ve seen this firsthand with my nonprofit and two longstanding corporate partners you’ve probably never heard of: iParty and Ocean State Job Lots. Combined they have 140 stores in New England (compare that to 8,000 Walmart stores). Despite being regional players in their respective businesses–iParty sells party supplies and Ocean State is a discount retailer–these two companies have raised close to $1.5 million for my charity over the past five years through cause marketing initiatives.
Both iParty and Ocean State Job Lots are committed to raising the most money possible to fund our mission. And while both companies have always supported us with their checkbooks, they knew their support was incomplete without their cashiers and checkouts and customers.
That’s the kind of commitment and drive we need from all businesses if we plan to keep the fire burning for Haiti and to raise more money. Companies need to be as hard-nosed and innovative in giving as they are in business.
It’s no longer business as usual. In the second decade of this century businesses of all sizes need to get off their assets and get serious about the business of giving.
Joe Waters (@joewaters) is Director of Cause Marketing for Boston Medical, publishes a popular cause marketing blog at Selfishgiving.com, and is founder of SixFigurcausemarketing.com.
Tags: Applebee's, Bono, Haiti, iParty, Ocean State, Product Red, Red, Walmart
Joe bravo. Thank you for not only demanding that companies do more but showing them how to and how they’ll benefit. Taking ProductRED, not only did Bono benefit by raising more money to pay for medication for more people, but RED’s retail partners like the Gap, Dell, Apple and Converse sold a lot of products under this partnership. As you lay out in “What is Cause Marketing?” it really is a win-win. [http://selfishgiving.com/cause-marketing-101/what-is-cause-marketing-2]
Joe – It seems like there are two main benefits to point of sale cause marketing:
1. The potential of raising more $$$ than a proposed check.
2. The awareness created around the check-out counter.
For the businesses, the benefit would be a zero cost of ownership.
Thoughts?
John
Exactly, John! But what you need to be careful of here with Haiti is that consumers need to know that your adding to the hat, not just passing it around. The message from the company is “We’re doing a lot to help Haiti. Would you like to support our efforts?”