SocialButterfly

How a “Place” Strategy Can Change the World: Meet ColaLife

Monday, November 30th, 2009 | Changeblogging: NP, activism, social change +, Public Health, Social Marketing, campaigns | 2 Comments

Not too long ago, we talked about the importance of social products as part of the marketing mix. For review, the marketing mix is made up of the four p’s: product, price, promotion, and place. In the world of social marketing and social change initiatives, the “promotion p” has been stealing the spotlight for quite a while. This is why I want to highlight this amazingly wonderful place social marketing strategy–Meet ColaLife.

ColaLife, is a non-profit that is lobbying Coca-Cola to leverage its worldwide distribution channels to provide social products that help sustain life and improve public health. How exactly? –With some creative packaging in the form of “Aidpods.” With the help of these aidpods, Cola Life hopes to help achieve the following three goals:

1. Reduce child mortality in developing countries (= UN Millennium Development Goal #4)
2. Improve maternal health (= UN Millennium Development Goal #5)
3. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases (= UN Millennium Development Goal #6)

You can read more about the organization’s aims and objectives, but overall, I think the idea is brilliant. At just about any public health conference I’ve been to, someone always references Coca-Cola as having the classic place (distribution) marketing strategy. Now, that same strategy can actually be leveraged to make a difference. There’s just one hitch…

Coca-Cola, or a similiar corporate organization, has to sign on first. ColaLife has already had a successful trial of the program in Tanzania, and currently it’s focusing on spreading awareness of the project and gaining influence by talking with stakeholders and reviewing the strategy and overall plan. If interested, here’s five ways we can help:

1. Follow @colalife on Twitter.
2. Become a fan of the initiative on Facebook.
3. Create your own aidpod.
4. Watch the potential of this project by viewing ColaLife’s online videos.
5. Donate.

Take away: This is one example of using a place strategy to do social marketing and in effect, create social change for the better. Thought: What distribution channels currently exist in your community that can be leveraged for social good?

Tags: aidpod, aidpods, Coca Cola, Cola Life, ColaLife, developing countries, distribution, distribution channels, Marketing, marketing mix, packaging, place, place marketing strategy, Public Health, social good, UN Millunnium Development Goal

Is everything marketing?

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 | Blog Talk, Experience This? | 10 Comments

The other day I was having a conversation and someone made the remark that “Some people think everything is marketing!” This, as usual, got my brain thinking…..is everything marketing?

Backing up, you have to have a clear understanding of what marketing is and what marketing is not to make such a judgment. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as:

“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of process for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”

Now, let’s say you get that definition…and lets even go as far to say that you have some marketing experience and academic marketing background…is everything marketing?

What if you have none of these…what’s your perspective? What’s your view on marketing then and - is everything marketing?

I ask this question because of one observation I made the other day getting off the metro…

A homeless man stood need the escalator and asked for a quarter. Walking further along, I saw a homeless man sitting, with his cup on the sidewalk as he read a book. And it occurred to me, that the man by the escalator who asked for a quarter is smart - in a marketing way. But, I don’t think many people other metro goers would pick up on this…but this is why I found this man marketing-smart:

1. Place: He picked a prime location, where people are coming and going, so there is higher traffic and a greater chance that someone would give money
2. Price: He asked for a specific amount. If someone asks for money, nothing new. But, this was the first time I had heard a man ask for a specific amount, and I wondered if this saw a better return, a strategy so to speak that he had learned from experience.

So, I ask you…is this marketing? I would say yes. Is everything marketing?

From my perspective, because I’m so entrenched in my marketing world, I might say yes (though realistically and in academia, it is a big, no.) But, I would say that everything might be considered…strategic communication. My undergrad major is strategic communications. I think this might be a better way to approach the question…is everything marketing? No, but everything involves strategy.

This question is similar to other statements like…everyone is selling something or everything comes down to sales. I bet some of our corporate friends and corporate agencies would sure feel like its that way! In regards to how the infamous ‘Double-Ds,’ data and dollars, seem to drive many organizations.

(as a disclaimer, I know the dangers of using absolutes like everything, never, always…but I wanted to use it for dramatic purposes….perhaps dare I say, to be strategic?)

What do you think?? Is everything marketing?

Tags: four p's, homeless, Marketing, place, price, sales, strategic communication