Coke set itself up
Feb 8, 2010

Environmental demons Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are competing to make their own marks in the world through cause branding. While Coke hopes to increase sales through its questionable environmental efforts, Pepsi's approach is at least less vulnerable to outright criticism. The Pepsi Refresh Project is focused on social causes, which includes the environment but also includes other important social causes in the arts, culture, and education. A common myth in cause branding is that the strategy should be related to reducing corporate damage. But shouldn't we be able to expect Coke and Pepsi to clean up their environmental acts and brand around doing something more?

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Local Net Impact chapter?
Feb 8, 2010

Net Impact co-founder, Mark Albion, is giving a free talk here in Portland. I've seen him speak and would recommend this talk to anyone interested in making a difference in their world or through their work.

Here's the original post:

Business community invited to USM events on Sustainable Business (& formation of a Net Impact Chapter) February 25 and 26.

THURSDAY,  Feb. 25, 4:45–5:30 pm, University Events Room, 7th floor Glickman Library, Portland Campus.

Libra Professor Mark Albion will set the stage for the formation of a Net Impact chapter in Portland with his presentation, "More than Money: Building a Career That Reflects Your Values." Dr. Mark Albion is cofounder of Net Impact, a network of over 15,000 business leaders, students, and corporate sponsors who are committed to using the power of business to improve the world.  Using stories and humor, Mark will offer suggestions for the development of a personal, authentic 'destiny plan,' and he will illustrate the value of forming a local Net Impact chapter, in which business professionals, graduate students, andundergraduates leaders develop projects that use business skills to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.  Mark, the author of seven books, recently joined Babson College's Office of the President to implement the college's new strategy for every student to create "great economic and social value… everywhere," or as he says, "educating students to become the best for the world.

^{FRIDAY, Feb. 26: Those interested in forming a local Net Impact chapter are invited to return the next day from 2:15– 3:15 pm for brainstorming and discussion of next steps.}

The Thursday evening event is co-sponsored by the L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Colloquium Series.

RSVP for Thursday event: www.usm.maine.edu/~gramlich/colloquium/spring10/albion

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How not to differentiate a bank
Jan 18, 2010

I keep expecting to see more smart local companies maximizing the only (according to Ad Age) growing trend in marketing these days: cause marketing. Actually, what I'm really looking for are examples of cause branding -- companies making strong statements about their values that actually move people to change brands, rather than recycling old and increasingly meaningless selling points.

What bank, for example, is not convenient? Aren't customer service and community involvement baseline forall banks? Why do they keep touting the same basic attributes as if I'm going to go through the trouble of changing banks for the occasional smile?

Cause branding can make a genuine difference to new and untapped markets. I'm waiting for the day when I walk into the nearest branch of my bank and see photos and stories about underprivileged kids who have been "adopted" by my bank. Or a river bank that bank employees are working to clean up. I want to be offered opportunities to get involved, too. I want to walk away with a bigger heart than the one I walked in with, knowing that I'm part of the solution just by being a customer.

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Teaching kids about money—yours and theirs
Nov 24, 2009

Okay, I had this idea over 10 years ago: http://www.hrblockdollarsandsense.com/ so I think it’s about time someone in the financial industry is using it to make themselves look good while engaging young customers. The company has partnered with a student business organization and a personal finance publisher to educate high school students about money. Instead of tax code tutorials, the Dollars & Sense program is a kind of Sims knockoff that lets participants find their way through the financial challenges of young adulthood—rent, car payments, student loans, etc.

If I were H&R Block, I’d be thinking hard about demonstrating exactly this kind of engagement at every customer touchpoint, so we could become the financial literacy brand to America’s youth instead of being represented by storefronts in forlorn strip malls and the horrors of April 15.

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A truly friendly airline
Nov 13, 2009

Virgin Atlantic has started offering customers a beta service that lets them easily connect with other passengers to share a cab and split the fare. Although the service is available to other airlines, only Virgin is promoting it. It hardly makes up for the cramped seats, luggage restrictions, and carbon emissions, but it's a start. And it makes me feel like they care. Never one to miss a branding opportunity, the Virgin site also gives some space to the creator of this initiative to demonstrate how trendy and creative (and, to some of my girlfriends, cute) they are.

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Timberland initiates timely and smart partnership with CareerBuilder.com
Oct 7, 2009

Although the building trades have taken a huge hit this past year, Timberland has found a way to create some brand loyalty despite the dismal statistics. By partnering with CareerBuilder.com on its PRO work boots microsite to help visitors look for work, Timberland convincingly positions itself as a partner with working men and women, too. Like the best cause marketing, this seems not only sensible, but almost inevitable. Read the article in Marketing Daily.

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Because everyone knows the difference between fake and authentic
Oct 1, 2009

Here’s a Fast Company article that points out what we’ve known for years: that genuine emotional content actually sells better than the fake kind. What a surprise! Instead of the selling consumers the trumped-up shame of ring around the collar, why not provide them with actual help in meeting the challenges of daily life? With this kind of focus of a cause-marketing initiative, it’s not hard to see how engaging consumers on this level can produce both immediate and long-lasting benefits.

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Sonic figures out how to make fast food good for kids
Aug 31, 2009

This is a terrific example of what cause branding can be when it’s done thoughtfully and well. In this 30 second spot for the Sonic fast food chain, the viewer was asked to do nothing more strenuous than to buy a beverage, but, as the ad make crystal clear,  that purchase sets in motion a world of good things. In this campaign (from Barkley, in Kansas City), even the company’s tagline, “It’s not just good, it’s Sonic good” resonates, thanks to the quality of the production and casting. Besides, what kind of monster would want to see those adorable kids fail? Read article in Ad Age and view spot.

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