Which of these cause marketing pros do you think will win the ‘Perfect Pitch’ competition (Sponsored by AOL Impact) at CMF12? Watch their campaign videos, vote for your favorite and share with your networks.
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Generosity: How Much is Enough?
Craig Bida brings more than 20 years of experience spanning the private, public and nonprofit sectors – successfully partnering with companies, government agencies and nonprofits to drive business growth, while addressing pressing societal needs and currently serves as executive vice president of cause branding and nonprofit marketing at Cone.
At the 2011 Cause Marketing Forum, Cone led two Powerful Discussion sessions titled, Generosity: How Much is Enough?, on determining cause investment levels. During the sessions, we explored Cone’s 10 Factors that Influence Your Investment in a Cause, critical variables we have identified to guide partners in determining the right level of support.
When building a new cause program, one of the fundamental questions companies and nonprofits alike confront is: What dollar amount should we commit to our social goals? This simple question has a not-so-simple answer: It depends. We advise organizations to resist the rush to pick a number. Instead, organizations should do a comprehensive self-assessment to decide whether to make a small, moderate or large investment. Cone’s 10 Factors are also useful for nonprofits that have their own cause programs or are looking to partner with corporations because savvy companies collaborate with their nonprofit partners to determine the level of investment needed to make a true impact. Continue Reading →
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5 Tips for Cause Marketers: Using Social Media to Identify, Influence and Engage
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Suzanne Zurn of Waggener Edstrom and originally posted on their blog on June 7. It is reposted here with permission from Suzanne.
Have you ever wondered, “How did that cause marketing campaign raise so much money?” or “Why isn’t my campaign getting those kind of results?” This past week Seema Bhende and I led a session at the Cause Marketing Forum Conference to help cause-marketers answer these tough questions and to learn how to create repeatable results for their cause campaigns.
In our session we revealed the 5 key principles for using social media to drive influence and engagement to achieve the maximum attention for a cause marketing campaign.
1. IDENTIFY: Get specific about the audience you want to engage with to achieve better results and save time and money.
“You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” -Harper Lee Continue Reading →
Cause Marketing 202: What’s Non-Negotiable In Cause Partnerships?
Stevan Miller and Clark Sweat taught a Cause Marketing 202 for Nonprofits workshop immediately following #CMF11. They began with a 10 Step Checklist to evaluate any cause marketing program. It’s a fantastic tool.
The most important and non-negotiable step?
Step One: Develop Measurable Goals and Outcomes
Ask yourself this question posed by Stevan: “If I called your cause marketing partner right now, would they tell me the exact same goals and outcomes for your partnership that you’re telling me?”
You might respond, “Sure, we both know the donation amount.”
Not enough.
What are the other outcomes besides the revenue? If you can’t answer that question, you’d better go back to your partner and obtain clarification – today. No partnership will have longevity unless each partner is crystal clear on shared goals, objectives and outcomes.
How to get this from your corporate partner? Start with this request: “Articulate for me what a successful cause partnerships looks like to you.” Is it increased awareness for their brand? How will you measure that? Is it public recognition for their contribution? How often? Where? Via which channels?
Prepare for A Moving Target
Many nonprofit professionals get frustrated when they spend copious amounts of time and energy doing the steps above only to have the corporate partner change their mind about priorities mid-stream. Whether precipitated by staffing changes or changes in senior management or simply overlooking an outcome, this is a reality. The best strategy to deal with this moving target reality according to Stevan? Be proactive in preparing for it and have a good attitude.
Be Proactive
It’s one thing to develop measurement goals and outcomes once. It’s quite another to continue the dialogue and keep it living. It’s critical to get all goals and outcomes in written format so you have something to revisit when the time arrives. Developing a common vocabulary referencing these goals and outcomes is also helpful and can be used even in the most basic of communications with corporate partners.
Have the Right Attitude
The reality is, corporate priorities will evolve and your partnership needs to be prepared to evolve along with them. As you get to know your corporate partner better, additional assets may surface from each partner that could be incorporated into the partnership. Accept that this is a reality and plan for the inevitable.
That said, ditch the “We’re just so grateful that you’ve chosen us!” attitude. Remember that your brand is as important as any other brand. Simply because your business model involves raising money does not mean you must or should agree to all requests. It’s more important to show appreciation – by identifying how partners like to be appreciated – than to blanket them with gratitude.
You need to maintain leverage in order to negotiate successfully with partners. Developing a relationship based on mutual appreciation and respect sets the stage for a long-term, enjoyable partnership.
What’s your opinion about what’s non-negotiable in cause marketing partnerships? Anything else missing?
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