‘Tis the season to give and be merry, but as marketers, how often do we get to really get to give? Isn’t it always about driving revenue? How can we be more charitable marketers? During the holidays, we run from sale to sale, buying up presents and food and other things, and sure we give a few dollars to the Salvation Army Santa Claus and donate a little extra to a cause we love, but how much do we really do compared to what we could be doing?
This holiday season, what if instead of running a half off sale, we run a “50% goes to charity” promotion? Or for every book you sell, you donate one? It may seem like these kinds of promotions might not be as effective, but what if they are?
We had a speaker in April at our Reno Marketing Workshop that has a book about the effectiveness of adding meaning to work. Companies who market with a cause generally do better than ones who don’t, he calls it the next evolution of marketing. If you are curious to read it, his name is Stan Phelps and the book is called Red Goldfish, great read!
We may not always see it, but think of companies like Warby Parker, Panera, and Toms. People gravitate to these brands not because their product is great (although it is in each of these cases!). They gravitate to them because it makes them feel good to know that their purchase actually made a difference.
Every year the Reno AMA, along with all of the other marketing communities in Reno, get together for Mingle Bells. Mingle Bells is our holiday party where all the proceeds go towards a local charity, voted on and chosen by the boards of each organization. This year, we had the pleasure of raising money for the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation. We definitely want to have fun, but it makes all of the planning and costs so worthwhile when we know it is going towards such an amazing cause.
So this holiday season, we challenge all of you in the Reno marketing community, including ourselves, to try something new and help a local cause. You may just find it is even more successful than your typical promotions!