This blog profiles companies that are using a Double Bottom Line Cause Marketing Strategy to build their business. They are doing things that are socially responsible and benefitting in a way that significantly increases their ROI. This also allows them to build a strong tribe - internally and externally. This is THE differentiating strategy for 21st century businesses.
the last two years, Subaru owners have helped us donate almost $10 million to charity. So we’re doing it again this year. When you take home a new Subaru, we’ll donate $250 to your ice of five charities. Get a great deal and support a great cause.
Because giving back feels good.ver the last two years, Subaru owners have helped us donate almost $10 million to charity. So wOver the last two years, Subaru owners have helped us donate almost $10 million to charity. So we’re doing it again this year. When you take home a new Subaru, we’ll donate $250 to your choice of five charities. Get a great deal and support a great cause.
Because giving back feels good.e’re doing it again this year. When you take home a new Subaru, we’ll donate $250 to your choice of five charities. Get a great deal and support a great cause.
Xerox has put together a great Double Bottom Line project with Let's Say Thanks. They are thanking our overseas military men and women with an individual, random card. This is free and easy. Love it!
Great Double Bottom Line Cause Marketing Campaign: HostGator.com is proud to announce it will be participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year by turning “Snappy The Gator” pink on our website. We have also setup a special coupon code “PINK”, the coupon code will allow 20% off the first month of any hosting account we offer and we will donate the first month from every signup that uses this code to breast cancer research.
Within hours of the announcement that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was donating $100 million to the Newark school system, the 26-year old tycoon's net worth was the spotlight of the financial world and a not-so-flattering movie about him debuted in New York.
Coincidence? I think not. In this brilliant PR move, Zuckerberg is using one of the favorite techniques of all good parents - and presidents - the "redirect." A redirect is when someone attempts to deflect attention from a yucky thing is to something else. Just ask Bill Clinton about the bombing of the aspirin factory when the world was focusing on a stain on a blue dress.
Unlike President Clinton's efforts to divert, Mark Zuckerberg's new-found philanthropic nature - and corresponding positive press - is more likely to produce positive results.
What can we learn about this and how it relates to our own double bottom line strategy?
Choose your CAUSE (redirect) very strategically. Unlike President Clinton, Zuckerberg has done something very positive. With the exception of a few hard-core wacko types, bombing anything - including an aspirin factory with PEOPLE in it - is not likely to be viewed as a 100% positive thing.
Zuckerberg wisely chose to focus his donation on helping kids. It is hard to go wrong when you choose kids as the beneficiary of your support. After all, everybody either has one, loves one or was one. Kids and pets - notoriously tough in movies but fabulous in cause marketing.
Make it public - very public. According to reports, Zuckerberg considered making the donaltion anonymously but the mayor of Newark convinced him that it would be better for the cause to make the donation public. (Sure he considered keeping it a secret. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Ha.) Zuckerberg chose to "come out" with his donation on the most powerful marketing channel in the world (aside from Facebook) - the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Here's the thing about using a DBL strategy - if no one knows about it, it might help one bottom line (the cause) but it is not going to help the other (financial). In most instances, the donor's public endorsement can be very powerful in "ripple" endorsements and new supporters. At worst, it might spark others to do similar good things.
Timing is everything. Is it mere coincidence that the official announcement of the $100 challenge grant occurred on the SAME day as the public release of the movie that Facebook execs are denouncing as inacurate and unflattering? And, isn't it interesting that in its just-released list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, Forbes announced that Zuckerberg posted the largest gain in wealth during the last year making this 26-year old a billionaire 7 times over.
Make it count. Used wisely, $100 million can go a long way towards solving a problem - even one as monumental as public education.
Will this huge gift deflect some of the criticism Mr. Zuckerberg will inevitably receive as a result of the film or the Forbes 400 list? Time... and Facebook....will tell.
Although this is Zuckerberg's first charitable donation with his own funds, Facebook users have been using the medium for years to quickly and easily raise money for important causes. Indeed, Facebook is having an enormously positive impact on the world every moment of every day.
I applaud Mr. Zuckerberg's efforts to make a significant impact on a part of our society that is in great need of improvement. Used as a "redirect" strategy or as a fundamental way to do business, incorporating The Double Bottom Line is a very smart way to do business in the 21st century.
Target is a great example of social enterprise marketing. Since 1946, Target has donated 5% of its income to support education, the arts, social services, and volunteerism. Target's stated mission is:
Our mission is to make Target the preferred shopping destination for our guests by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and an exceptional guest experience by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand promise.
To support our mission, we are guided by our commitments to great value, the community, diversity and the environment.
Their execution of, and communication of, their double bottom line activities, positions them as a customer favorite in the field of retail sales.
To read all about it, visit http://www.target.com/community
When Michael and Susan Dell became parents, they did a lot more than make room in their house for their own children.They made room in their hearts for underprivileged children they might never meet. “Being a parent of four children and seeing many who are not so fortunate, we knew this was a great area to focus on,” says Michael Dell, the 45-year-old founder of computer giant Dell Inc. “When you become a parent, you are suddenly aware of how important good health and quality education are for the well-being and success of children.” (rest of the story at....)
Here is a great example of a local business employing the Double Bottom Line - doing well by doing good. The folks at John L. Sullivan Chevrolet in Scaramento, got creative in their efforts to increase Breast Cancer Awareness.
They took advantage of what they had - labor, cars, paint, social media marketing, and a lot of creativity - and did something that will really get them noticed in a world where there are way too many car dealers saying: buy a car from me, buy a car from me, buy a car from me.
Double Bottom Line Tip: Partner with a charity or several charities to increase loyalty to your product or service.
Result? Sales go up. Customer retention goes up. Customer recruitment by existing customers goes up. It's a beautiful thing!
This new Social Media platform, YourNight appears to be a great case-study in how to build a tribe where everyone wins - consumers, producers, and great causes.
I love the fact that they are putting 5% back into charitable causes. Their goal is to raise $1 million in 2010 for charities. Now, I call that a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal via Jim Collins in Good to Great).
Disclosure: the link below is an affiliate link to the site (that means I might make a few bucks if people spend money there). http://www.yournight.com/GinaCarr
If you don't want to use my affiliate link, then just go directly to www.yournight.com.
Cause marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a "for profit" business helping and giving to a "non profit business" for mutual benefit. The term is sometimes used more broadly to refer to any type of marketing effort for social good.
Numerous examples are available to show that cause marketing has helped to increase a company's profits. As an example, in the cause marketing campaign by American Express the company saw a 17% increase in new users and a 28% increase in card usage. By "doing good" American Express was well rewarded by the marketplace
Smart executives and entrepreneurs understand the wisdom : "Give the marketplace what it wants and you will get what you want".
I strongly believe however that "when you give you get" is not a marketing belief... but a law of nature, and of success. I have read Napoleon Hill for over 25 years and have employed in my life, and in my businesses the concepts in his book "Think and Grow Rich".
I teach his principles in my coaching at IDEAS-Institute and participate in two Master Mind groups. I know they work and I have seen them work for others. The core of his teachings are simple. "Think and you can achieve anything" you desire and then, "Do good- then get good." It is not the other way around despite the beliefs of most businesses. Think also of St Francis who said "it is in giving that we receive" . Notice the sequence.... first give then receive.
At Double Bottom Line we not only teach and consult with businesses on how to grow their bottom line by doing good, but we employ that strategy and belief in our own business. At the end of the day when you employ Cause Marketing you actually get much more than you give. And you find that the more you give to help others succeed- the more you and your enterprise succeeds.
In her latest book SuperCorp, Rosabeth Moss Kanter examines "How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good."
Although she doesn't use the term "The Double Bottom Line," the companies she profiles are clearly using a DBL strategy as I define it - doing well by doing good.
The book is based on a three-year investigation of what some of the most successful companies are doing to make the world a better place. In the process, they have increased their bottom line by building stronger tribes internally and externally.
I'm headed to Boston next week for my 20th Reunion from the Harvard Business School where Rosabeth Moss Kanter chairs the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. I met her when she was in Atlanta recently presenting the book to the Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta.
I had been talking about The Double Bottom Line concept for years but listening to her and reading her book inspired me to focus on it more intently. Thus it is now the focus of my marketing consulting business.
Wikipedia Link for Rosabeth Moss Kanter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosabeth_Moss_Kanter
Harvard Business Review: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter
Delta Airlines is in the midst of a public relations nightmare due to the way it has handled - or rather, mis-handled - the case of Paco, the mixed-breed dog that was lost en route from Mexico City to Detroit on May 3.
Paco, a cuddly Dachsund and Jack Russell Terrier mix was the new-found love of college student Josiah Allen and his girlfriend who had been vacationing in Puerta Vallarta.
After days of being given the runaround and what turned out to be false statements, Delta finally admitted that the dog had been lost.
Sadly, Delta did not come forth with the truth about Paco until a blog that helps consumers with problems, the consumerist.com, reported the story.
It appears that Delta made up for losing the dog by delivering extremely bad customer service.
Not a good strategy for winning the increasingly scarce travel dollars when consumers have many choices.
Over the years, Delta's "tribe" of loyal fans has dropped significantly from the glory days of the 1980's when people LOVED Delta.
If Delta execs are not careful, many pet-loving travelers are likely to add Delta to their "NEVER FLY AGAIN" list. Even if a pet lover never plans to fly with his or her pet, this socially conscious traveler will likely think twice before booking with Delta.
In a world where the consumer is overwhelmed with choices, ANY reason to take a company out of "the mix" and thus make the decision process easier is welcomed by many consumers.
The best way to combat this inevitable and irretrievable - once gone it is hard to get a customer back - loss of business is for Delta to use this public relations fiasco as an opportunity to show the world that they really love pets.
A great way to do this is to employ a Double Bottom Line marketing strategy that forges an alliance between Delta and a charity that helps pets. Delta can salvage it's relationship with pet owners by committing to donate money to a pet-friendly charity.
For example, Delta could co-venture with an existing animal welfare organization to donate a certain percentage of revenue to save pets in animal shelters.
Considering the reality that the world is filled with people who are absolutely passionate about their pets, Delta needs to pay attention to this significant opportunity to either gain or lose customers for life.
I don't think it was a coincidence that just last week, Frontier Airlines announced a new pet-friendly policy of allowing small pets to travel in the aircraft cabin for an additional $75. Clearly they are trying to win the hearts and purse-strings of the alienated Delta pet-loving flyer.
Will Delta take this opportunity to turn these lemons into champagne by developing an alliance that tells the world "we love pets"?
Or, will Delta find itself the "star" of a video similar to the one that severely damaged United Airlines' reputation when Dave Carroll's guitar was broken (Sons of Maxwell). As of this writing, Dave Carroll's viral Youtube video "United Breaks Guitars" has been viewed over 8 million times.
United's tribe has suffered greatly.
Will Delta do what is necessary to win back the hearts and minds of pet-loving travelers?
Only time will tell.
In the meantime, Delta execs better hope that Josiah Allen doesn't meet Dave Carroll.
Pepsi is using a powerful bottom line strategy for building a loyal tribe of raving fans.
Pepsi is looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. They are encouraging people around the world to look around their community and think about how they want to change it.
Pepsi is giving away millions to fund these great ideas. Pepsi makes it very easy to apply for the grants and to vote for specific causes.
Categories include: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education.
Pepsi has done a phenomenal job of marketing this campaign and growing a loyal tribe through the use of the social marketing powerhouse Facebook.
The core philosophy of microfinance is the double bottom line. It refers to the goals of the organization, which are a) to be profitable, and b) to be socially impactful. But there is another philosophy known as the triple bottom line, ...
Achieving a double bottom line - making financial gains while also contributing to social or environmental progress - is increasingly the objective of many institutions. Individuals are also interested in putting their money to good use financially in ways that they can feel good about morally, as evidenced in part by the rise of practices like peer to peer lending and microfinance.
But while institutions can make meaningful contributions, individuals are constrained by
***** This is a great example of a big business partnering with a college to do something great for the Double Bottom Line. If you don't have an idea to submit, you can get involved by going to the site and voting for your favorite. Gina *********
The University of Texas and Dell are looking for college students from around the world who want to improve areas of critical human need through innovation.
Providing a vehicle for taking student innovations from idea to reality, Dell’s Social Innovation Competition is a real-world exercise for perfecting your skills in:
Project/business plan development
Pitching ideas to investors
Building resource networks
Do you have groundbreaking idea in mind? With your fortitude and personality, can you mobilize people and resources to affect wide-ranging, scalable social change? If so, we invite you to register now.
Not an entrant? No problem.
You can still have your voice heard by checking out the ideas submitted and voting on those the ones you like the most Vote now. You can vote once on each idea during each round of voting.
See full post at: http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/
This is a great example of the Double Bottom Line in Action:
Do you know someone whose volunteerism is making a difference in your community? Tell us who and they could win a Walt Disney World� Vacation for four � and you could too! Imagine flying on an elephant, sailing with pirates and racing through outer space on the Celebration Vacation of your dreams from Southwest Airlines!
Chris Brogan at New Marketing Labs brings Robert Collin's article and quick podcast about how "digital fundraising" is making it easier for people around the world to raise money for good causes. This is a great example of the Double Bottom Line at work.
"...a host of initiatives in digital fundraising have emerged. This 60-second podcast showcases examples of mobile giving, social network philanthropy, online gaming for charity, and canvassing through text messaging. etc."
