"The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things."

--Charles Schwab, entrepreneur

Excerpt from a recent AdAge article by By Bob Liodice

As we begin a one-year celebration of the ANA's 100th anniversary, we have created the Marketers' Constitution, which contains 10 essentials of marketing for the next 100 years. Its purpose is to ensure that our industry continues to thrive and contribute to the growth of the U.S. economy and to the well-being of our society.

BE INDISPUTABLY SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE
Consumers must have trust that the companies they choose to do business with respect their personal values and are sensitive to larger societal issues. As an industry, we must continue to commit resources to socially responsible endeavors . The future of marketing depends upon us behaving and acting in the best interests of society.

I’ve found myself sharing the same two universal truths a lot lately as I consult on cause marketing: the need for transparency and tangibility.

Transparency:
In addition to new legal requirements, consumers are now demanding extreme transparency on any partnership with a cause or nonprofit for fear of cause-washing. So “portion of proceeds” no longer cuts it. It really needs to be a % or dollar amount. The more specific the better. And if your capping the donation at a predetermined amount then say that. In general there are 3 different cause marketing transactional communication models: 1. “Lump Sum”: In support of nonprofit we’re donating $X as part of our campaign  2. “With Purchase”: During this limited time only $X or %Y of every purchase will go to nonprofit. 3. “Contingency”: Every time a consumer does X we’ll donate $Y to a nonprofit.  Of course there’s probably more and these can be combined in various forms for additional models. Which is right depends on the specific program, partners involved, and complexity of other messaging that needs to be shared.

Tangibility:
The more tangible you can make the help, you (as the brand or the consumer) is making with their action the better. As cause marketing has appropriately moved from feel-good halos to trackable change results, we must connect the dots on HOW each person’s participation, whether in the form of sponsorship, purchase, advocacy or awareness makes a difference. $5 feeds 2 people for a day. 1 click = 1 book donated. Tangibility empowers the notion of many small things adding up to a very large thing. And preemptively rewards behavior at the critical decision point by answering the looming question within – ”Will this really make a difference?” As a side benefit, these easy to remember explanations become rally cries easy to share in advertising, word of mouth and social media.  

Happy to share news of this special upcoming event on cause marketing collaboration by the Advertising Women of New York.

Top marketing, advertising research, and non-profit executives discuss how marketers, ad agencies, media and non-profits can effectively partner in this "Reset Economy.”

What makes this event uniquely helpful is that it provides a forum for both the advertisers and non-profits to have a public dialogue to discuss how best to work together; what is each sector expecting from the other and how can media help.

Panel includes:
Celeste Bottorff, VP Living, Coca-Cola North America

Patricia H. Clemency, President and CEO, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York

Robin Reibel, SVP Media Relations Cause Marketing, Macy’s

David Shiffman, SVP Media Research Director, MediaVest

Moderator:
Jayne O’Donnell, Money Section Reporter,USA TODAY

Date: December 10, 2009

Time:7:45 a.m. -- 9:30 a.m.

Place: USA TODAY
535 Madison Avenue at 54th Street
31st Floor

Tickets: AWNY Members: $35 / Guests: $75

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196411716634&ref=ts

Tickets can be purchased via AWNY website or by phone.

AWNY: www.awny.org Phone: 212-221-7969

Click here to download:

Thanks2c.pdf (3.66 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Thanks2c.pdf (3.66 MB)

We’re kicking of a United Way capital campaign at my agency, TracyLocke, tomorrow with a guest speaker and breakfast tacos (as only Texans would do). You can see here what we’re doing. Any innovative United Way or any other company fundraising campaigns out there you’d like to share?

From THE NEW YORK TIMES

Advertising Council, New York, is teaming up with Zinio, San Francisco, and Hearst Magazines, New York, part of the Hearst Corporation. Zinio will create interactive digital editions of public service advertisements, interweaving video and radio, for all 12 Hearst digital magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.

Landscapers were working at my gym today and made me reflect on my college summer jobs. All college guys should have a summer job with manual labor as a graduation requirement. Instills work ethic, pride of making things with ones own hands (not just ideas or digital creations), value of teamwork in the real world. Better yet create a nat'l program with Habitat For Humanity or a similar non-profit underwritten by large corporations recruiting for entry level talent. 
 
 
 
 

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. 
 
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. 
 
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.  

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.  
 
Meanness don't jes' happen overnight. 
 
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
 
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. 
 
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.  
 
You cannot unsay a cruel word. 
 
Every path has a few puddles. 
 
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.  
 
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
 
Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway. 
 
Don't judge folks by their relatives.  
 
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 
 
Live a good, honorable life.. Then when you get older and think back,
you'll enjoy it a second time. 

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.  

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.  
 
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. 
 
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches
you from the mirror every mornin'. 
 
Always drink upstream from the herd.  
 
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad
judgment.  
 
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back
in.  
 
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin'
somebody else's dog around.
 
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.  
 
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
 
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight,
he'll just kill you.