Cause-related Marketing - Strategies with the News Media

In the "The Ten Commandments of Cause-Related Marketing", Kurt Aschermann, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director Corporate Opportunities Group, Boys & Girls Club of America (B&GCA) described cause-related marketing (CRM) as "a partnership between a for-profit and a nonprofit where each has something to offer the other, and both realize a benefit". 

This strategy has been used to promote awareness and value for both the non-profit and the for-profit company with great success.  The 2009 IEG Sponsorship Report predicts that in 2010, cause marketing will be the fastest growing category of sponsorship spending with corporate cause sponsorship rising to 6.1% to hit $1.61 billion for the year (or about 9% of all sponsorships monies spent).  Perhaps even more important, the 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study found that 79% of those surveyed would switch to a brand associated with a good cause, assuming price and quality are about equal, making cause-marketing a smart strategy for corporations.

What does that mean for non-profits in 2010?  It demonstrates that businesses are looking to align with good causes to build their brand and highlight their good corporate citizenship; these businesses include news media stations.

Full Capacity Marketing, Inc. has utilized this highly effectively strategy in building relationships and partnerships with the news media to champion a specific cause. President/CEO Celina Shands Gradijan said, "The news media are viable cause-marketing partners in building awareness around a non-profit or government agency's mission."  For example, City and County workforce investment boards in the Cleveland region successful partnered with The Cleveland Plain Dealer to raise over $90,000 in sponsorship monies to host a workforce summit that built collaborative partnerships, and improved brand awareness of the organization from 14 to 46 percent.  Another example is Virginia's Workforce Development Month. For one-tenth the cost of customary campaigns, local workforce investment areas hosted 29 public relations events across the state that attracted over 7,600 participants, and increased awareness about the workforce system from 20 to 47 percent among Virginia businesses.

There are several key factors to consider when building a cause-related marketing partnership with the news media.  

Minds That Manufacture - Initiative Launches in Greater Charlotte Region

1. Your first point of contact with the news media should be through sales and marketing.  
2. Understand that this team must sell advertising and make a profit. They can't give it all away, but they can leverage production and other costs to build a campaign.
3. In building a proposal, research and understand what causes the station has supported in the past, the length of their campaigns and the type of partnerships.
4. Set clear parameters for the campaign and what your role/support will be.
5. Develop specifics of what the media's role will entail.
6. Outline the value proposition for the station's participation - - specifically why your mission and cause is relevant and critical to the community, and how the station will benefit as the cause's champion.
7. Listen to their goals and objectives in your first meeting and make sure the proposal is structured in a manner to add value and meet their needs.  For example, can you provide contacts that may support your campaign through sponsorships or promote a discounted advertising schedule to your current customers as part of the campaign to build their profit?
8. Ask what goals they would need to achieve in order to make the campaign a success.
9. Develop a collective scorecard that demonstrates how both teams are meeting their campaign goals.
10. Create a project plan to manage all partner responsibilities and have checkpoints along the way to celebrate milestones and successes.

Do you want to build on your existing media relationships and turn them into a CRM campaign?  Contact us for more information.

Marketing Training: Webinars, Conferences, Training Events

Responding to Budget Challenges in 2010

With many State budgets in crisis, and the economy affecting non-profits across the country, what are the strategies that you are using to effectively leverage your dollars in 2010? Click here to take our poll. 

 


Social Media and Website Optimization

Q: "How can I use social media tools to improve our search engine rankings for our Website?"

A:  Put a search term such as "composting" or "donation" into the Google search bar and you'll notice that the top results are often videos, physical locations (on a nearby map) and real-time news.  The results garnered by searching via engines is no longer just about Search Engine Optimization--there are multi-media categories bringing in high ranking results, which means "eye balls and clicks".

Social media tools and the companies that run them play a large part in where search engine placement is heading.  Fortunately for end users, the social media companies (like Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and YouTube) have special partnerships with search engine companies--meaning data that you've stored and permitted them to annex in search engines is clearly translated to the engines.

Blog articles, which typically fare well in search engines due to their keyword-specific nature, Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn profiles, and Twitter Tweets all register with the search engines.  Changing your thinking from "search engine visibility" to the more comprehensive "online visibility" will help guide your efforts in developing a holistic approach to what you offer clients, partners and your community.  

Perhaps even more of a sign of things to come, just last month Google launched their "real time" search function--instantly pairing searches with relevant Tweets, posts and status updates.  By spreading the word about how important these tools are to your organization, and empowering your team to consistently reference ongoing activities, successes and calls-to-action, you'll be able to take the greatest advantage of technology that continues to hurdle forward.

And of course, don't forget to add a link back to your Web site in blog posts, tweets and your Facebook Fan page.

Have a question?  Contact us below.