Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns
Do You Follow Your Head or Your Heart?
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns | No Comments
I believe you can learn something from just about anything–including The Celebrity Apprentice (stay with me). I haven’t watched the show all season–but tuned into the finale by chance. On the finale, an interesting debate arose: In making decisions, including business decisions, do you follow your head or your heart? Here’s the gist:
THE FINALISTS: The finale came down to two people: Holly Robinson Pete and Bret Michaels. Holly–the top-notch, professional project manager who knows the foundation lingo and raised the most money ever for a charity on the show. And Bret Michaels–the rocker with a heart whose creativity has been a driving force, leading to strong results.
THE CAUSES: Bret’s cause is the American Diabetes Association as he himself was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was six years old. While on The Apprentice, Michaels also learned that his 6-year-old daughter is borderline diabetic as well. Holly’s cause is the HollyRod Foundation–originally inspired by watching her father struggle with Parkinson’s disease, Holly and her husband created the foundation to support families who might not have the means to support a loved one with a serious medical condition. When Holly’s oldest son was diagnosed with autism–the Foundation turned its focus to autism.
THE DIFFERENCE? Storytelling. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think Joan Rivers said it best when she said something along these lines: “If it were as it should be, it would be Holly hands down. But Bret has my vote–the emotion he’s brought to it–you got to go with him.” In sum: Bret shared his story and went behind telling us his story. He drew us in with his raw personality–sharing the effects of diabetes, living his passion and opening his heart. In the end, the crowd and Trump himself, wanted to be a part of that story–they wanted Bret’s story and his mission to be triumphant.
THE WINNER: Bret Michaels.
Holly’s story was personal–but she was more professional. At one point, she said, “I know how to impress executives.” That might be true, but at the end of the day, you’re selling yourself, your story and your mission. Holly impressed us from a professional perspective–she did everything right. But, Bret made it personal. Thus, the big question, do you follow your head or your heart? The case of The Celebrity Apprentice just goes to show–that there are times when the heart wins out, despite all the logic, Excel modules, planning and preparation.
So your challenge–Are you speaking to the head or to the heart? To executives–or to the people? Know your story and share it–real, raw and right to the core.
PS: Join us @read4change and our special guest Stacey Monk of Epic Change as we talk about how storytelling and its role in creating change.
Behind the Scenes of NBC’s Parenthood Project
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns | 1 Comment
In the midst of reflecting on Pepsi Refresh, Disney and other CSR efforts, I received an email about another project with a social message–NBC’s Parenthood Project that worked in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club. Curious–I responded to the email asking if I could interview someone behind the campaign to learn about the interworkings of business doing good.
Enter Cathy Goldman, NBC Vice President, Promotion & Brand Management. Cathy was kind enough to answer my questions. And while NBC didn’t answer all my questions, I find the answers fascinating. What I take away from both the Web site and Cathy’s answers is how integrated each facet of the project is–from the TV series, to leveraging social media through video, photos and text, to the universal concept of parenthood–all the way to identifying a non-profit that has a strong family strengthening initiative–it’s smart. Read for yourself and share your thoughts below:
SB: Where did the idea for the Parenthood Project originate and how did it evolve?
CG: Using our campaign strategy as inspiration, we wanted to give viewers an opportunity to participate in the dialogue that we began about what parenthood means to them. Considering this very relatable topic, we thought tying in a charity component would resonate strongly not only with consumers but with talent. The talent participation has exceeded our expectations as they were all willing to share in the cause.
SB: What are the goals of the Parenthood Project–What is NBC hoping to achieve?
CG: There were a few goals, including: to elevate the conversation on what parenthood means; establish a dialogue with our viewers to make them feel involved with this highly relatable topic; raise funds for a valuable charity that closely aligns with the show content, and tap into our talent to raise this topic into cultural relevance.
SB: How did the Boys and Girls Club get involved?
CG: We wanted to partner with a charity that had a national footprint, and after doing some research, we found that The Boys and Girls Club had a powerful family program (Family Strengthening Initiative) that provides viable resources for families
SB: How did you decide to involve people through social media–and how did you choose which social media to include?
CG: In all of our marketing communications, we look for ways to utilize and leverage social media tools. Since the main underpinnings of social media are meant to break down walls between people and their circle of friends and influencers, we concluded it was an important tactic that would elevate and amplify the messaging of this important project.
SB: More and more, we’re seeing an increase in social media for social good–especially in the arena of corporate social responsibility. Why do you think that is? How can we continue to improve upon past success?
CG: The heart of social media is the idea that people have their own online communities–and what better way to maximize those new connections for people than to incorporate a pro-social message.
The Fight for Good: Disney vs. Pepsi
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns | 4 Comments
Lots has been said about Pepsi’s Refresh Everything Project. However, not as much has been said about Disney’s “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” Why?
Both projects launched around the same time and both stand to do good. Thus, let’s match them up and see who’s left standing: Disney or Pepsi. Let’s begin.
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Disney: Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.
What: Inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service.
How: Individuals can sign-up to volunteer at participating community organizations in their area. In return, that person will be awarded with a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to the Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, free.
When: Jan. 1, 2010–Dec. 15, 2010
Pepsi: Refresh Everything Project
What: Award a total of $20 million in grants.
How: Engaging in a social good crowdsourcing experiment.
When: Early 2010
Round 1: Program
Disney: It’s simple–give a day, get a day. It’s easy to understand and process. It’s national yet local–and is on the tail of national calls to service and volunteerism. It’s also collaborative by working with organizations across the nation. It’s also customizable and has something for everyone as any person wanting to participate can type in their zip code and find volunteer opportunities in eight different categories: animals and environment, arts and culture, children and youth, community, education and technology, health and human services, hunger and homelessness, and seniors and elder care.
Pepsi: It’s innovative, creative and “sexy.” It’s also a big investment–$20 million big. Pepsi is also a heavy hitter, and has entered the social good space by doing something new and doing it first, which can work to their advantage. The project is also inclusive–where anyone can submit an idea and anyone can vote up projects and ideas. Pepsi, like Disney, has also divided up the entries into different categories for people to consider: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods, and education.
Round 2: Usability
Disney: The landing page for this initiative is a bit buried and there is no friendly URL. However, once there, Disney outlines the steps a person needs to take pretty well and makes the process relatively simple. The downside-there’s a lot of small print.
Pepsi: For both Disney’s and Pepsi’s initiatives, you have to create an account. However, for those less technical, the Pepsi site may be harder to navigate and understand–given the complexity of the competition.
Round 3: Authenticity
Disney: This is being promoted–but not as heavily or perhaps just more traditionally as I have seen TV spots. You can argue you this two ways: First, perhaps Disney doesn’t want to dedicate as many resources to a do-good promotion. Or secondly, maybe they don’t want to wave their do-goodness around. Out of the two companies, I’d say Disney has had a tougher road to climb to gain consumer’s trust.
Pepsi: For Pepsi, the Refresh project was a cheaper investment than the Superbowl, and some would argue, is having a higher return on investment. However, it may be too early to tell just what the return on investment really is. What I have noticed–is that they are definitely promoting it through blogger outreach, social media, celebrity endorsement, television ads and Pepsi was also a sponsor to the Superbowl Fan Jam that aired on VH1. Some have also commented that Pepsi’s set-up of the Refresh Project doesn’t express a true commitment to the social change community and dub it more cause-washing. Either way, we’re all talking about it.
Round 4: Impact and Sustainability
Disney: In the short-term, a lot of projects will be accomplished. In the long-term, hopefully people will be inspired to continue volunteering and giving back to their communities. In addition, the participating organizations have an opportunity to engage new community members to their cause and build a long-term relationship with them.
Pepsi: In the short term, people can be inspired by the dreams and ideas for a better world. In the short term, many groups and individuals will receive much needed resources to make things happen and take the efforts to the next level. However, it will be the responsibility of these organizations to put the funds to good use and create and drive the impact and its sustainability. One could also argue it’s the voter’s responsibility to vote for those projects that will be sustainable.
Winner: Disney
While I give props to Pepsi, I think Disney edges them out and this is why:
1. I understand it. My friends, who aren’t bloggers and aren’t techy, know about it, get it, and are participating. It’s simple.
2. It works for both the short-term and the long-term. In the short-term, it encourages volunteering, while working to inspire volunteering as a normal and frequent experience in the long-term.
3. Everybody wins. The organizations get help and an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with volunteers. The volunteer gets a free ticket to Disney. Disney gets people in their parks where they are bound to buy food, souvenirs and more–not to mention the engagement and positive press.
4. It’s collaborative. Disney found a way to not just talk about collaboration, but actually do it. The Huffington Post even claims Disney’s program “is beautiful on so many dimensions.”
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Where the Rubber Meets the Road
When defining the success of these initiatives, here’s the more important question:
- For Pepsi/Disney, did the project increase sales of Pepsi or encourage more people to visit?
- For the do-good community, what is the overall impact of these initiatives to our communities?
Now, what if it’s found that there is a larger impact to our community, but not an advance in sales? That is where I think the rubber will meet the road.. My hope, is that we can continue to learn from one another to make it a win-win so that more organizations think about doing good.
What are your thoughts–Disney or Pepsi?
Note, this write-up is without any specific background knowledge, research or documentation about these initiatives. Also, thank you Pepsi and Disney for embarking on these efforts, as I hope all of us continue to learn and discover new ways to make our world better.
flickr credit (in order): mrkalhoon, vrogy, Express Monorail
One Word of Advice for Voters of Pepsi’s Refresh Project
Monday, February 1st, 2010 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns | 5 Comments
Sustainability. In a fast-paced, 140-character world, short term and one-hit wonder thinking is rampant. But when it comes to making a difference and solving the great problems of our times, we need to be thinking for the long-term. This is why I hope the voters of Pepsi’s Refresh Everything Project will keep the concept of sustainability top-of-mind.
Let me first say that I applaud Pepsi’s jump into social good–and I hope more groups follow their lead. Perhaps if more did, then we’d have more case studies, a deeper set of lessons learned and more refined best practices. In a sense, we’d have more to talk about. This post is not for the folks at Pepsi. Rather, it’s aimed at the people who are engaging in Pepsi’s Refresh Everything Project.
For those not familiar, Pepsi is foregoing its Superbowl Ads and instead, engaging in a social good experiment. Pepsi will award a total of $20 million in grants over the course of the year. Who will receive the grants? That’s for you, me and everyone else to decide by voting–and a big reason why I hope, each voter, keeps in mind the concept of sustainability when reviewing the proposed projects. (More on how the project works.)
When reviewing the proposals, a thought kept pulsing, growing bigger and bigger inside me. Pepsi is awarding $20 million dollars in resources–but what if you had $20 million dollars or your organization did–how would you allocate those resource and why?
Sure–Recruiting people to help clean the highways is great–but what if we knew of a way to make it where people didn’t litter in the first place?
Sure–It’s great to offer a summer camp to kids to teach them to better appreciate the earth, but how can we scale this to reach more children in more places?
Sure–It’s great to find ways to get people up and moving. But, there are so many good people working to achieve this already. What strategies do they find working? Let’s invest there.
The Pepsi Refresh Project is a great initiative, but it’s just a start. I expect (and hope) we’ll start to see more of it. I also agree with Beth Kanter that, with crowdsourcing efforts, this is where having a key group of content experts involved is key. But, to me, the biggest take-away is that we, as a community, need to be thinking more strategically with our resources–this is why I love social marketing. It addresses both the short-term and the long-term. It looks at advocacy as well as promotion and a wide range of other various tools. It thinks both upstream and downstream. In other words, it offers a framework for us to create sustainable programs, products and services that truly can make a lasting change and a better world.
Thus, to all you voters, when reviewing, please keep in mind the idea of sustainability. What’s going to make the biggest difference for the amount of effort, resources and time?
What about you–what advice do you have either to Pepsi or to the fellow voters?
BloggersUnite.org Drives Earth Day Buzz
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 | Blog Talk, Blogging and the Blogosphere, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Changeblogging: NP, activism, social change +, Social Media | No Comments
Can you swallow this math?
According to Copywrite, Ink, there were 88,000 blog posts on Earth Day (April 22) that were added to the already existing 2 million written earlier in the week. What’s even more amazing? …About 10% of all those blog posts, came from bloggers on BloggersUnite.org.
In all transparency, I’m a participating members in both the BloggersUnite and BlogCatalog communities, and we worked on a project together in the past, but dang—they deserve a big pat on the back for accomplishing their exact mission, harnessing the power of the blogosphere.
As mentioned on the BloggersUnite Earth Day event page, Earth Day 2009 was held April 22nd and also marked the beginning The Green Generation Campaign, a two-year campaign that will culminate with the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.
More Green Goodness
- In honor of Earth Day, Colleague Mike Newton-Ward and fellow social marketer wrote a post on applying a social marketing approach to the environment and other green goodies that I highly recommend checking out. Bonus: He provides a slideshare presentation that outlines this even more! (But like a good blogging friend, I’m going to make you go to his post to access it. It’s worth it.)
- Looking for ways to take action? Check out EPA’s “Pick 5″ campaign to identify five ways you can start today to make a difference for our earth. Twitter tag: #p5e
One More Thought
So I say again, great job Tony, Rich and the whole BloggersUnite team–and count this posting just one more for the record book! And I ask you, the SB reader, how have you seen blogging communities drive awareness, change and/or action? I have some of my own ideas, but I’m more into hearing yours. =)
Crisis Communications is Hot, Hot, Hot
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Interesting Articles, Social Media | 2 Comments
Crisis communications has always been a tricky conversation. And when social media entered the picture, it fueled the fire.
Now, within the past week, I have been hit with “crisis social media communications” discussions almost EVERYWHERE it seems. (So much so, that’s it’s starting to make nervous that the social media angel is prepping me for something – what, I’m not quite sure.)
1. Risk 2.0. The American Public Health Association held a conference on risk communications earlier this week and though I didn’t attend, I followed on Twitter. I must say the tweets coming out of it were fabulous and really insightful. Seems like many are going beyond the “Ah! What do we do?” factor and more into, how do we manage this, be pro-active and be strategic while also transparent, factors. Check it: #risk2.0
2. The Peanut Recall Case. Wednesday evening I attended the Blogging & Cupcakes event at Baked and Wired in Georgetown where social media guy, Andrew Wilson from HHS, presented the peanut recall case study. The case presented discussed how HHS, CDC and the FDA utilized social media in response to the salmonella crisis.
3. 3-Legged Horse Race. Catching up on Livingston Communications blog today, Geoff recently posted about three sessions that are currently competing to present at the fabulous Blog Potomac event coming up shortly. It’s interesting to me that all these sessions are about, you guessed it, crisis social media communications!
(writing this, I just thought of a 4th sign!)
4. Economy Stress and Eek, oh my! I work in public health, and this past week there was also some mixed reactions to SAMHSA’s launch of their “Guide to Get Through the Economy.” Many of my colleagues and friends looked the flurry that unravelled in response to this, and guess what we talked about? Yup, crisis social media communications! (as well as reputation management…who is a close cousin to c.s.m.c.)
What are your thoughts? Have you seen a rise in these types of communications at your own water coolers , conference rooms and happy hours? In the meantime, I’m going to continue to get my typing fingers ready….you never know when the hot, hot, hot, crisis social media communications will come after you.
flickr credit: Cayusa
Technorati releases New Studyrati on the State of the Blogsphere
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | Analytics and Measuring Metrics, Blogging and the Blogosphere, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Interesting Articles, Social Media | 2 Comments
Geoff Livingston today created a post sharing how the blogosphere is not just for millenials and people aged 30 and under, citing that 50% of bloggers are 35 and over. Today, Technorati introduced it’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere report which support this assessment.
The report is divided into 5-days of coverage.
- Introduction
- Day 1: Who Are the Bloggers?
- Day 2: The What And Why of Blogging
- Day 3: The How of Blogging
- Day 4: Blogging For Profit
- Day 5: Brands Enter The Blogosphere
Technorati has been releasing its annual study that analyzes the current trends and themes of the blogosphere since 2004. The 2008 study is unique in that it marks the first time Technorati surveyed bloggers (1,079 according to TechCrunch) directly about the role blogging plays in their lives, the tools used, time and resources used, and more!
This study is one of various studies that have recently been revealed. Though there are fluctuations in the results, all lean towards the result that blogs are here to stay. Other studies include (as listed on Technorati)
- comScore MediaMetrix (August 2008)
- Blogs: 77.7 million unique visitors in the US
- Facebook: 41.0 million | MySpace 75.1 million
- Total internet audience 188.9 million
- eMarketer (May 2008)
- 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users)
- 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12%)
- Universal McCann (March 2008)
- 184 million WW have started a blog | 26.4 US
- 346 million WW read blogs | 60.3 US
- 77% of active Internet users read blogs
The numbers continue to change every day as more blogs are created. This is why I find Day 2′s of Technorati’s results most interesting so far. Day 2 shows statistics about the type of topics bloggesr are blogging about (i.e. 18% are blogging about health topics), their personality and writing styles, the motivations behind blogging, and the impact of blogging.
Social Marketing: Smokey Bear’s Makeover
Sunday, July 13th, 2008 | Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Social Marketing, Social Media, campaigns | 4 Comments
Get your smokey on. This is the tagline for a new campaign sponsored by the Ad Council, USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
It’s also the tagline for the first social marketing campaign highlighted in my campaigns series. I chose this campaign not only because of its relevance and timeliness, but also because of some of the social media promotional components integrated with the campaign.
Meet Smokey Bear: Born in 1944, a time when firefighters were serving in the war effort. Thus, fire prevention became a key wartime issue. In 1944, 22 million acres of land were lost with 9 out of 10 forest fires were accidental. Most of Smokey’s campaigns focused on specific fire-prevention behaviors with the message, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”
Smokey Bear’s Make-Over: Today, Smokey Bear wants others to “Get Your Smokey On,” encouraging others to take on Smokey’s characteristics of encouraging others to practice fire safety behavior and to even intervene if necessary.
Background Research: According to the Ad Council, an average of 6.5 million acres of U.S. land was burned by wildfires every year for the past 10 years. Research also shows that many Americans believe lightning starts most wildfires. However, 88% of wildfires nationwide are started by humans. The principle causes are campfires left unattended, trash burning on windy days, careless discarding of smoking materials and BBQ coals and operating equipment without spark arrestors.
Objective: To encourage the target audience to sign the “Get Your Smokey On” Wildfire Pledge,” where signers pledge to “Be smart whenever I go outdoors.” The pledge also outlines 9 points of safety behaviors and beliefs that the reader agrees to follow.
Audience: The primary audience are adults aged 18-35 who are causal campers, hikers and bikers.
Campaign Components
- Online
- Interactive Website
- An Online Pledge
- Downloads: Print your own Smokey Bear mask
- Educational Information
- A Mash-up Map showing where wildfires are currently burning in the U.S.
- A live tracker for how many acres have burned in the U.S. so far this year
- Online Kid’s games
- Campaign History
- View the PSAs online
- Commercials/PSAs
Evaluation: The Smokey Bear campaign has always been evaluated based by the reduction in the number of acres lost annually in fires and based upon the campaigns recognition. Smokey Bear is currently the most recognizable image in the U.S., after Santa Claus.
Creator: Made pro-bono by DraftFCB. In the close future, Smokey will also be featured in PSAs alongside Sleeping Beauty created in partnership with The Disney Company .
Social Marketing Rating: According to the social marketing wiki, this initiative meets the requirements for social marketing. However, on the wiki it is argued that it’s not very good social marketing stating that the online pledge mixes behavior and non-behavior objectives and is too long for readers to actually follow. It’s review goes on.
However, I think it’s a great awareness and promotional campaign. In terms of taking a complicated issue, research and statistics and communicating it, especially online. I think the campaign has two most powerful components:
- The mash-ups outlining statistics. This makes the issue real, alive, relevant…and local.
- The message that an individual can be empowered as an advocate.
What do you think? What’s your analysis?
How One Non-Profit Re-defines the Art of Story-Telling
Monday, July 7th, 2008 | Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Social Marketing | 1 Comment
Have you ever heard of Eglantyne Jebb?
Yea, me either. Until my friend Marc over at Osocio emailed me about a new stunning campaign: Lessons in Leadership. Made by the non-profit organization Save the Children for our Australian friends, the campaign highlights the story of Eglantyne Jebb, her mission and her legacy citing:
“A women born over a century ago, that you’ve probably never heard of, and whose achievements you will never forget.”
In brief, Eglantyne Jebb wrote the book Cambridge, a Study in Social Questions in 1906 based on her research and experiences. The book was well before its times and reflects many modern social marketing themes. Jebb went on to found the International Save the Children Union in 1919 and became a leading proponent for children’s rights.
A major cornerstone of Jebb’s work was her insistence of a planned, research-based approach to social welfare, war relief efforts and primarily children’s rights. She drafted the main declarations necessary for the international community to put priority on children’s rights. Later, these declarations and the Children’s Charter Jebb drafted became known as the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and was adopted years later by the League of Nations.
This interactive story takes you on a journey through 12 lessons in leadership, while also sharing with you the story of Eglantyne and how one individual can make a difference. I could describe more of the story, but the video does a much better job. Enjoy!
An Afternoon Conversation Calls Me Back
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Social Marketing, SocialButterfly | 3 Comments
I’m starting another series. Apparently, I like series. But I think readers do to, because it helps you know what kind of content to predict. Or, so Seth Godin tells us.
Today, I was fortunate enough to connect with one of SocialButterfly’s consistent readers at the Ad Council. I want to thank him through this blog as the conversation inspired me to start this new series: Social Marketing Classic Campaigns.

A month now into my ‘official’ new full-time role at work, I have slightly gotten a bit side-tracked in my enthusiasm for social media, that the true ‘social marketing’ aspect of my blog has been lacking. Thus, to complement the Social Media Highlight series I have, I’m starting this new one.
This afternoon’s conversation reminded me of what I think would be a DREAM job –> having the ability to brand social marketing, to further the field, to expand its practices and applications, to share its tool belt with those across industries and across nations, and to inspire more SocialButterflies…so to speak. =) But this can’t be accomplished alone, and we all play our part.
Thus, stay tuned as every other week I am going to showcase a classic social marketing campaign, and highlight movements in the field. Through this, I hope to elaborate on social marketing’s theory using real-world examples. As, I also realized this afternoon, that I’ve been focusing a lot on the promotional efforts of social marketing, which is a trend of the field and not just myself. Thus, I hope to highlight some really great campaigns.
It might be a small step towards the dream, but small steps can end up coving a large distance! If you have some ideas on some you’d like to see featured, feel free to post a note. Until then, social marketers unite!











