Tag Archives: Marketing

Can We Do It? 7 Roofs, 7 Families, 7 Days… and 7 Questions

Questions Answered Here--Even Silly OnesMarketing and communications professionals can learn by studying, learning, training and from doing. In the next seven days, I am going to learn by doing and invite you to join me. What exactly do I mean?

In my last post, I shared news about an upcoming trip to Guatemala my mom, my grandma and I are making alongside fellow changemakers. Part of this trip is working to raise funds to provide seven roofs for seven families in seven days, a total of $1100 ($157 per roof).

7 Questions…

Over the next seven days, I also plan to answer seven questions based on things I learn during this process, insights you help me to discover, why I chose CrowdRise over other fudraising platforms, how fundraising relates to social marketing, the role of the free agent and any other items you may be curious about. I hope this seven-day adventure not only raises funds for those who need it–but also helps us grow as professionals.

So Sound Off:  What questions do you have when it comes to fundraising change?

flickr credit: Travelin’ Librarian

Behind the Scenes of NBC’s Parenthood Project

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 inter-workings 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 relate-able 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 relate-able 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.

Quote of the Week: A Call for More Marketing

I’m going to try out something new called the “Quote of the Week.” To kick-off this new series, I’m starting with the best, Beth Kanter.

In Beth’s recent blog post, one of the questions she asks us is: “Can solving complex social problems be done by popular vote?” In explaining her stance on this question, Beth shares:

“Let me say this. If brands want to be authentic in their social media for social good effort, they need a fusion approach that balances marketing with social change. I think there is a hybrid option for crowd sourcing–and that there is a need for expertise.”

You need to fuse marketing with social change. This is exactly what social marketing does, and as I wrote last month, I also agree that authenticity will be key in growing organizations for the future. I love that the wealth of social marketing is beginning to reach beyond the world of public health and further into the realm of social change. I’m right there with you Beth–thank you!

How about you–What role do you think marketing has when it comes to social change?

Beyond Marketing Gadgets, Thingymagigs and Gizmos

Define today’s concept of: marketing. Now, imagine yourself 40-50 years ago, and define marketing. Notice any big differences? Probably a few come to mind.

I bring this up because I was taught that to know where we are headed, we have to know and understand the past. Rewind back to 1969 when an article called “Broadening the Concept of Marketing” was published by Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy (remarkably–you can get a free copy online). My fellow social changers and social marketeers, it was this document that helped paved the way for careers, projects and initiatives we are doing today. It was this document that said marketing was a “societal activity” that can be applied for more than “toothpaste, soap and steel” but that marketing can be transferable to organizations (non-business organizations…aka, nonprofits), persons and ideas. IDEAS.

Fast forward to today, and we are still re-defining and evolving our concept of marketing. Take Seth Godin’s recent post about how we frame marketing.  Or better yet–he explains that marketing is what happens between the frames:

Marketing is what happens when you’re not trying, when you’re being transparent and when there’s no script in place.

With this sentence, one word comes to mind–authenticity. I see all the marketing, talk and chatter about the latest and greatest gizmo. I see people and organizations striving and racing. In between all that, there is authenticity. We must find it, and we must connect with it again if we are to truly be successful–and if we are truly going to make a difference. Makes me think, how will the idea of authenticity broaden marketing for future generations? Discuss.

flickr image credit: planigan412

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

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.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8gqgZQPS28

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 similar 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?

Where Have All the Social Products Gone?

The debate between marketing and sales is not an old one. In fact, we’ve looked at this debate here at SB before. But one thing both sides can agree on: is that both have a relationship with products and services. Thus, if we are talking about social marketing, you don’t have to go far before you start wondering: Where are all the social products?

I’m not the first to ask this question, as I was inspired a bit back by Bill Smith of AED who challenged us social marketers to balance the scales more between the promotion side of marketing and the product side of marketing. And it was again highlighted in the Social Marketing Quarterly’s Summer issue.

Now, some people when they hear products–the hairs on the back of their neck raise. How can marketing products be in line with social marketing behaviors? This is because some people align a “product” with “revenue.” Then, it just gets sticky–often, these arguments are short sighted in my opinion. Before I get completely side tracked from my original purpose of this post, let’s keep moving forward.

I like the concept of “social products” also because it’s a moment to be creative. What products could exist that would help us live healthier, happier? Thus, instead of creating yet another 30-second PSA, take time in the conference room to consider the product side of marketing.

There’s more research available about leveraging products in a social marketing strategy, but I like how Nedra Weinreich sums it up on her company Web site:

“In order to have a viable product, people must first perceive that they have a genuine problem, and that the product offering is a good solution for that problem. The role of research here is to discover the consumers’ perceptions of the problem and the product, and to determine how important they feel it is to take action against the problem.”

Some Examples

  • The Red Card. Bill Smith shared this example with us at the 2008 World Social Marketing Card. Rather than just create a PSA to curb sexual pressure and abuse among young girls in Madagascar, AED created the red card–a product–that girls could use as an added to tool to say no.
  • FDA’s Peanut Recall Widget. In addition to creating press releases and sending out Tweets, the FDA and CDC worked together to create a tool in the form of a widget–a product–that people could use to find recalled food items they should avoid purchasing.
  • Road Crew. Services can also be part of the “product” piece of marketing. In Wisconsin, Road Crews offer rides to those who have drank too much to drive as a way to curb drunk driving.

Do you know where all the social products have gone? Feel free to share examples or future ideas.

How-To Go From Good to Great

Caveat: I am an outsider looking in, and like the title says–I think this initiative is a good thing. It just could have been great. Let me explain.

Project: Variety’s Power of Women Awards Recognition in Collaboration with the Lifetime Network

Good: Gathering together some of Hollywood’s greatest women, recognizing their contributions to some powerful nonprofits (Save Darfur and ServiceNation amongst them) and engaging the interest and attention of numerous influentials.

How it could have been GREAT: Involving the rest of us. Lifetime in and of itself has a huge audience base, and many of these watchers–I would presume–are also powerful women doing amazing things. What would have been great, would have been a contest of sorts that asked ordinary women to submit the story of everyday women who are working to better and change the world. The winner? Well, she gets to wine and dine with the A-listers at the described event above and gets to be recognized right alongside Anne Hathaway and company. How great would that have been?

Apply this to your own work. Many of you are doing awesome, notable, and persistent work. Good work. Just remember to pause and ask yourself–how can we make this GREAT? If Variety and Lifetime might have made the event bigger, just think of the blog posts, the camaraderie, the buzz, the views, the downloads–but most importantly, the community growth and involvement that could have resulted. It’s good, but it could have been great.

5 Ways to Prep for the CDC Conference

*This post was originally published on the blog of iQ Solutions, a health communications and health IT company. Disclosure, iQ Solutions is also the place of SB’s current employment.

Buzz has been building for a while now as delegates, organizers and presenters make their final preparations for next week’s National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media. Hosted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Marketing and the Office in Enterprise Communications, the conference is packed with discussion about health marketing, health disparities, new frontiers in technology, and collaboration.

iQ Solutions’ own VP of Health Communications, Jennifer Isenberg Blacker, will also be presenting on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse about the use of new technologies to engage youth. Senior VP of Communications and Social Marketing, Kim Callinan, and myself will also be there to cheer her on and gain insights from other presenters, as well as share in community with other health evangelists.

As the iQ team preps for our journey down to Atlanta, I’ve identified five ways to prepare for this year’s CDC Conference:

1. Network. Nedra Weinreich has set up a community on NING, a social network that lets you create your own social community. Already boasting 60+ members, this public platform enables us to network before, during, and after the conference, and is how I learned that the CDC program book was available for download.

2. Follow the conversation. Whether you are signed up for Twitter or not, you can still follow the conversations that are happening there. Using the tool Twitter Search, type in the hashtag “#NCHCMM09” to see what people are saying about the conference. I will also be live-tweeting certain presentations and added insights through IQ Solutions’ new Twitter handle, @iQSolutions.

3. Create your own conference dashboard. If you want to be a real superstar like Chris Brogan or Christopher Penn, you can even create your own conference dashboard using iGoogle, Netvibes, or PageFlakes. The dashboard, Brogan explains, is a one-stop online location “to see the elements you might want to know about at a conference…and you can get a fast scan of a lot of data that might prove useful during the event.” Example information may include adding some Twitter search strings to your dashboard, integrating a local map, local clock, local weather information, and much more. See an example below.

4. Meet-Up and Tweet-Up. They say at conferences that some of the best insights and conversations are those you have with colleagues in the hallways or over a great meal. Don’t miss out on these nuggets of opportunity for sharing. Already, CDC’s Justin Williams has organized a Tweet-up for Wednesday, August 12th from 7:30-10:30pm at STATS. This is one more opportunity to gather and meet with colleagues. Already attending are Craig Lefebvre, Andre Blackman, Susannah Fox and myself. Join us.

5. Study. It’s always good to know what you’re getting yourself into. Thus, I recommend checking out the conference’s Web site, seeing who’s who, as well as downloading and reading through the program book. Studying may be overkill, but as I mentioned earlier, this conference is packed with powerful presentations-so much so, that if you’re like me, you’re going to have to prioritize what you can attend. It’s not possible to see every single presenter, even though you’ll want to! (This is another good reason Tip #2 and Tip #3 come in handy-you can catch what you may be missing during concurrent presentations.)

Your Turn: What other tips might you offer to prep for this year’s conference?

Twitter Follow-and-Fundraise Follow-Up with @ChildFund

Say that title 7-times fast…Recently, I published a post based on my observations about recent “Twitter Follow-and-Fundraise” initiatives and offered “7 Tips” to successfully recruit and retain followers.  My purpose in this article was to bring social change communicators together about this increasing communications tactic to share lessons learned and gain valuable insights to apply to future initiatives.

This post grabbed the attention of friend and respected colleague Geoff Livingston, including his colleagues at ChildFund International who, at the time, were in the midst of such a campaign. Graciously, through conversations via email and Twitter, Geoff and I agreed that it’d be great to have ChildFund International share its experience and thoughts as they develop @ChildFund on Twitter, and establish their rejuvenated brand online. Therefore, I invite you to hear from David Hylton (pictured below), the voice behind @ChildFund’s Twitter, in the following interview. Geoff contributed some insights as well.

Alex: What are past Twitter-Follow initiatives that changemakers might look-up to gain insights about how to conduct their own strategy?

Geoff:  The one we looked at for @ChildFund was the UNEP tree for a follow campaign. We thought that it was a great strategy to incentivize followers. With that campaign, we (UNEP) had set an ambitious end goal of 10,000 followers, which in retrospect, we think was not realistic given the re-branding of UNEP, our lack of a community manager, and that we were national.

Further, we wanted to give folks something to 1) strive for and 2) to report back to them on so they can see the program in action. So, with UNEP, it was to get us 10k followers. For @ChildFund, we wanted to raise our visibility because as part of our strategy, we had a new name, and we wanted people to know about us and that if they followed us, we would show them specifically what we’re doing with the gifts donated by a donor, especially for Twitter followers.  It’s a commitment.

Alex:  Using @ChildFund’s latest Twitter strategy as an example, what were your initial objectives and how did the use of Twitter help you meet them?

David:  Our primary goal is to 1) launch the ChildFund brand on the Internet and 2) drive awareness of our activity among new stakeholders. We think we’re successfully doing that. Keep in mind that in addition to the opt-in follower,s tens of thousands of people are seeing the ChildFund International brand online.

3) In addition, the changeblogger space has noted that we are online. This was also a critical aspect of our effort.  We see other nonprofit bloggers as vital community members that we want to develop relationships with, and we hope we can help some of them in their efforts, too. So from that standpoint, it’s been a successful effort.

4) Lastly, but not the least, we want to develop an international community of people online that care about the well-being (I know it’s not much different, but as part of our new brand, we must be positive) of children. This is the beginning, and really, people are giving us an opportunity to start a conversation with them, but have not yet necessarily committed to that community.  We hope to be worthwhile additions to their Twitter experience and to evolve that experience into something more meaningful and rewarding.

Alex:  How did @ChildFund go about promoting its Twitter-follow initiative?

David:  We hired CRT/Tananka to develop the strategy, and then used Geoff Livingston to be an initial voice for us. Given a very limited budget, we thought getting someone who was established with an existing community, and some experience dealing with bloggers was the best way to go. And Geoff did a lot with a very limited amount of time and resources available to him.

Alex:  We know it’s only been a few days, but what are some initial results of the @ChildFund campaign on Twitter? Overall?

David:  We’ll probably have helped out six or seven African communities and their children by week’s end. By the end of the campaign we expect it will be in the neighborhood of ten communities. That in itself is great. We want to be up front that the items will be mailed at the end of the campaign. And once the items are received, we’re going to post about how the items impact the recipients lives. We want you to see how the money is used and how just a little goes a long way. More importantly, is the new community members we are developing, all the awareness of the new mission and brand name and ChildFund’s work with children. Plus, people will get to see our work in action AND participate even further as other elements of our social media effort continues, including the hire of our community manager. This was exactly the right start to something we see as an ongoing activity.

Alex:  In my initial post, I listed “7 Tips” for changemakers to consider if they want to create their own Twitter-follow strategy for their organization. I recognize different organizations have different needs, roadblocks, etc., but what additional tips might you recommend others consider?

David:  The seventh follow-up tip is critical. We’re not just trying to get a number count for Twitter followers, we’re trying to build something – a relationship. In that regard, we have a long-term plan in mind.

The other thing we’d add is to put a real voice behind the Twitter account. Who wants to follow someone and the only communication they receive is asks for donations and links? Even organizations have people working for them. Make sure a real person is working there and that they can interact with their followers freely.

And for those who are following and supporting us as sponsors or donors and decide they want to engage further with others, we’ve created a section on the ChildFund Web site that provides that opportunity.

Alex:  Twitter is Twitter. How can changemakers increase awareness of their efforts outside of Twitter?

David:  One of the things you’ll notice is that we’ll start referring to our blog, or our Facebook page, or videos to report back to the community. Real stakeholders who care about us will want more information and have deeper dialogue. That’s where the real social media effort begins, and we look forward to having those conversations with our core stakeholders. And from there, they can get even further involved if they  choose to.

The key is if “they  choose to.” By providing opportunities to opt in and permission to engage further via links to other media, a true relationship is forged. And that’s how you get beyond 140 characters.

Alex:  Thank you David and ChildFund for your willingness to share with us fellow changemakers. I wish you the best in your endeavours and will be sure to stay posted as I can see just from a quick scan of the new Web site (ps-I highly recommend checking it out based on design alone) that you have many more great initiatives, stories and real change programs in the works. Props to Geoff as well for coordinating and recommending such a great idea!

Social Change: Art or Science?

When explaining social media, I find myself, at times, explaining how it is half art and half science. Last week, marketing guru Seth Godin brought up the age-old question again in terms of the marketing field, stating that marketing is both. He explains:

“Some marketers are scientists. They test and measure. They do the math. They understand the impact of that spend in that market at that time with that message. They can understand the analytics and find the truth.”

“The other marketers are artists. They inspire and challenge and connect. These marketers are starting from scratch, creating movements, telling jokes and surprising people. Scientists aren’t good at that.”

A solution Godin gives is that we must wear hats, and be willing to switch hats. A mental image of my boss immediately flashed in my mind as he loves Harvard’s creativity tool “6 Thinking Hats.” There is a heap of value from this exercise that I too have become quite a fan, but that is a blog post for another day.

On the social marketing list serv, Godin’s post inspired a discussion on how this debate applies to social marketing. Though social marketing, is in many ways, the “science behind social change,” my favorite perspective came from thought leader and the mother of social marketing herself, Nancy Lee:

“Personally, I think we need the scientific approach for the situation analysis, determining desired behaviors, selecting priority audiences, and identifying the competition, barriers and motivators. Then, the artists uses this input to inspire the strategy. Then, the science comes back to measure outcomes and impact and what to do better the next time.”

Applying this to Godin’s “hat” analogy, Lee offers us insight, as social marketers, when to wear which hat. Brilliant.

Applying this debate to social change, I believe it is both part art and part science, along with some sweat mixed in, buckets of perseverance, one strong vision, a diverse set of hands and a dash of luck. And, this is a good thing. Take architecture for example. There is no denying that there is a science to building strong foundation that support people, systems, and communities. But on the same note, there is no denying that certain places–the Sear Tower, Sydney’s Opera House, the Great Wall, the Eiffel Tower–emulate an artistic vision and ring a certain bell of inspiration upon viewing. It takes many, many types of hats at different times. The key, is knowing which hat and for what purpose.

Thus, to me, it’s not a question to debate, but a question that expands your closet (and your horizons!)

flickr credit: doc.holiday41