Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Cause Marketing Forum conducted its 10th and largest annual conference in Chicago last week.  Below are some insights relevant for any cause communicator.

1. People are channels, too.  Talking about integrated marketing is so 2000-late.  The most successful campaigns take for granted that every vehicle the corporation or the NGO partner have at their disposal is fully engaged in their cause communication.  That includes employees–a group that gets much lip service but is only starting to be taken seriously by internal marketing leads.  Their importance is more obvious to retailers such as ANN INC.  Their breast cancer research T-shirts and cards didn’t take off until store associates were completely on board with the effort.  They even contributed to the shirt designs.
2. Can we watch a movie? Video has been big for a while, and it is getting bigger. YouTube is a default search engine for youth.  Online videos are getting longer–a sign of growing audience appetite.  Even blockbuster multi-media campaigns like Coca-Cola and World Wildlife Fund’s Arctic Home use online video as a way to use edgier or humorous approaches to serious issues.  But, videos aren’t just for corporate marketers–they are a powerful tool that non-profits should employ.  As Joe Waters noted, “Most non-profits don’t yet realize they are in the publishing business.” An interesting trade show observation: every case study presenter on the main stage at CMF used video.
3. I laughed, I cried.  How to build an emotional connection with your audience was a hot topic of conversation. While this is a goal for all marketing, it is particularly important when trying to connect a product or service to a cause.  Because causes are, by nature, focused on serious problems–health, child protection, environmental protection, animal rights, etc.–campaigns often strike a grave, even scary tone to shock people to action. But, we know that too much negativity can frighten people away.  The opportunity is to move people through hopeful or humorous messages.  Humor is high risk/high reward in cause communications, so tread carefully.
4. You had to be there!  Field tours have been around for a long time and for good reason.  In the age of video and social media, it is tempting to believe that we can forego on-the-ground visits, particularly for busy executives or celebrity spokespeople.  But, nothing generates enthusiasm for a cause like a first-hand experience, and that passion yields dividends in both corporate investment and public relations.  The savviest campaigners, like Kenna from Summit on the Summit, contract a broadcast partner and make sure TV cameras capture it all.
5. KISS. Even smart people occasionally overcomplicate a project.  The folks at Pizza Hut realized when they saw great customer engagement coupled with lackluster giving results that their Share a Slice of Hope game developed with Zynga required one step too many. Coke also got feedback that texting product codes was too complex for some.  Keep it simple (stupid).

One other observation from CMF that doesn’t quite merit the list: health cause representatives were everywhere.  We know that when the economy struggles, environmental concerns move down people’s priority lists.  If participation at this particular even is any indication, health is what moves up.

Stay tuned for a post later this week that explores the evolving relationship between cause marketing and traditional corporate social responsibility.