The Engage For Good Podcast

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213: This Company Has a Sweet Solution to the Bitter Problem of Child Slavery in West Africa May 02, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Peter Zandee, U. S. Sales Manager, Tony's Chocolonely, about their efforts to fight child slavery in the chocolate industry in West Africa.

On the show, Megan, Peter and Joe discuss:

How Tony's got started by a Dutch journalist who was appalled by the slavery in West Africa.
The founders had no experience making chocolate or working in West Africa. But they had a powerful commitment to the cause.
The problem of childhood slavery in West Africa and why it's getting worse.
How Tony's is trying to address the problem of child slavery by paying cocoa growers a living wage and adding traceability to the supply chain. Tony's want to be a model for the industry.
Other companies Tony's is working with to eradicate child slavery.
How Tony's communicates its mission with stakeholders.
The importance of leading with great tasting chocolate and then the social impact.

Links & Notes

212: Nissan Teams Up with Habitat for Humanity to Launch 'Home is the Key' Apr 25, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are talking to Erich Marx, Director of Marketing, Nissan North America, about their participation in Habitat for Humanity's new cause marketing platform Home is the Key.

This month, Nissan is aiming to raise $250,000 for Habitat by donating $1 for each time the hashtag #HomeistheKey is used online.

On the show, Megan, Erich and Joe discuss:

How Nissan got started with Habitat for Humanity back in 2005.
Nissan's first impression of Habitat's new cause marketing platform, Home is the Key.
How Nissan is supporting Habitat in April with a hashtag fundraiser to raise $250,000. They are also doing a special build in Atlanta with Heisman Trophy winners.
How Nissan is partnering with iHeartRadio to promote Home is the Key.
How employees have participated in the partnership with Habitat.
Key facts everyone should know about Habitat houses.
How Nissan is the number one car among Millennials!

Links & Notes

211: JetBlue's Cause Marketing Soars with Reading Initiative Apr 18, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Icema Gibbs, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, for JetBlue Airways, about JetBlue for Good.

The goal of JetBlue for Good is to inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground. It's focused on giving back in meaningful ways in the communities the airline serves and to inspire others to do the same.

On the show, Megan, Icema and Joe discuss:

How JetBlue for Good got started.
JetBlue's signature program, Soar with Reading, that was created six years ago. It's goal is to bring books and reading to poor communities.
The innovative approach JetBlue took to delivering books via vending machines.
Why JetBlue chose to focus on youth and education.
How JetBlue communicates with its employees about their cause initiatives, and rewards them for their efforts.
The importance of cause initiatives to younger employees and how it keeps them engaged with the company.
How JetBlue engages consumers inflight with their different cause-related programs.
Why it's important for businesses to be involved in public/private partnerships.
Learn how you can win two roundtrip JetBlue tickets!

Show Notes

210: This Company's Street Teams Panhandle for Change for Alzheimer Patients Apr 11, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Scott Goldberg, President of Bankers Life, a national life and health insurance brand, about their work with the Alzheimer's Association. In their 14 years of support, the company has raised more than $4.5 million to support the Alzheimer care, education and research. And they've done it by asking their agents to hit the streets and collect donations from passersby.

On the show, Megan, Scott and Joe discuss:

How Bankers Life got involved with the Alzheimer's Association.
Why they decided to take to the streets to raise money and "Can for Change."
How Bankers Life designed the program to make it easy for employees to ask people for money.
What surprised Scott on who donates the most to their street campaigns.
How the program has evolved through the years. It's expanded across the country.
How Bankers Life and Alzheimer's Association communicates the impact of the program.

Links & Notes

209: Habitat Launches First Cause Marketing Platform, 'Home is the Key' Apr 04, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Colleen Ridenhour, Senior Vice President Resource Development for Habitat for Humanity International, and Tracy Cioffi, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sur La Table, about Habitat's new cause marketing platform, Home is the Key.

On the show, Megan, Colleen, Tracy and Joe discuss:

After 40 years, Habitat for Humanity is launching its first signature campaign, Home is the Key. Why now?
What can stakeholders expect to see when the platform launches in April?
How Sur La Table got involved with Habitat.
What are the biggest myths surrounding Habitat? Do they really give away homes? Habitat is so successful, do they really need the money?
What's happening in Sur La Table stores in April to support Home is the Key?
How Sur La Table educated their employees on Habitat and prepared them for their first national cause marketing program. They've got Habitatitis!
How Habitat engages volunteers beyond building homes. Habitat is very active after disasters.
How Sur La Table is rebranding itself with its support of Habitat and communicating that new brand to customers.
What Sur La Table looks for in a charity partner, and what it hopes to gain from cause marketing.
What have Sur La Table and Habitat learned in their rollout of Home is the Key?

Links & Notes

208: Amway's Nutrilite 'Power of 5' is Fighting Malnutrition Around the World Mar 29, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jeff Terry, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Amway Corporation, about Power of 5. This campaign is designed to build awareness of childhood malnutrition and address the critical need for proper nutrition during the first 5 years of life and offer a way that everyone can help.

On the show, Megan, Jeff and Joe discuss:

The background of Power of 5 and its tie to Amway's nutrition brand, Nutrilite.
How Amway's One-by-One program evolved into Power of 5 as Amway realized it could do more than give money. They could apply their expertise to address the problem of malnutrition in the world.
How Amway works with its business owners around the world to involve them in Power of 5.
How Amway uses its internal website to raise money directly from business owners. They've raised $11 million just in the past year.
How Amway works with 20 NGO's, especially with CARE, which is its global partner.
Joe tests Jeff knowledge of Amway with trivia! Megan was thrilled!
What's Jeff's biggest challenge in rolling out a global program like Power of 5?

Links & Notes

207: Aflac's Cause Marketing is Model for Other Companies That Seek Purpose with Profit Mar 22, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Buffy Swinehart, Senior Manager, Cause Marketing for Aflac, on the company's Duckprints campaign to fight childhood cancer. One of the components of the campaign included rallying people across America to create or share posts related to childhood cancer using the hashtag #Duckprints on social media. For each social media activity, Aflac pledged to contribute $2, up to $1.5 million. All told, there were more than 900,000 social media engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, making this the first time that the program, which began in 2013, has reached its goal of $1.5 million in contributions.

On the show, Megan, Buffy and Joe discuss:

How did Duckprints get started? A fundraiser's cold call on Aflac's foundation led to a $3 million gift, a corporate commitment to fighting childhood cancer and Duckprints!
How Duckprints evolved to a social media fundraiser with the hashtag #duckprints.
How Aflac is a great model of how traditional corporate giving can evolve to something much greater when companies involve employees and customers.
How Aflac raised money through social media, peer-to-peer fundraising and selling duck-related products.
The business benefits of the Duckprints campaign. Really aids recruitment of employees, and one of the reasons Buffy joined Aflac.
What Buffy would recommend to other companies that are interested in creating and growing a cause marketing program.
Aflac's plans for Duckprints in 2017.

Links & Notes

Aflac Duckprints Website

206: 98% of Corporate Sustainability Programs Fail. 4 Proven Ways to Boost the Success Rate Mar 15, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jenny Davis-Peccoud, a partner with Bain & Company who leads their sustainability and corporate responsibility practice, about a new report that finds that only 2 percent of corporate sustainability programs achieve or exceed their aims. To get sustainability efforts back on track, the report offers four guidelines to deliver lasting gains.

On the show Megan, Jenny and Joe discuss:

How Jenny defines "sustainability."
How data was collected for the report. 300 companies from around the world completed a survey and Jenny's team followed up with interviews.
Was Jenny surprised that the success rate was so low?
Employee reaction to sustainability. Employees weren't convinced that sustainability wasn't a real priority for their company.
Four things companies can do to make their sustainability efforts more successful.
1. Make a bold, public commitment to sustainability.
2. CEO's need to lead by example.
3. Highlight the business case.
4. Use process and incentive changes to reshape behaviors.

Links & Notes

205: This Waste Disposal Company Gives Nonprofits Trash Bags Full of Money Mar 08, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to James Mitchener, Marketing Manager at Waste Industries, about the Full Circle Project, a customer-driven fundraiser that to-date has donated nearly $1 million to charities.

On show, Megan, James and Joe discuss:

How the Full Circle Project works. Customers get to choose which charities Waste Industries supports.
How did Waste Industries educate customers about the program? It took some time to engage customers and convince them that Waste Industries was adding the donation to their bills!
Focus of the program is on local charities and Waste Industries identifies charities within nine "need" areas (e. g. cancer, animal rescue, veterans, etc.).
Waste Industries works with local nonprofits to communicate the success of the program. They'll even prepare media releases for the nonprofit.
How the waste industry is learning from James and his team on how to create win-win cause marketing programs.
What has surprised James and his team most about the Full Circle Project?
How does Waste Industries choose the charities? What's their criteria?
The impact of the program has been intergenerational. Millennials, Baby Boomers and everyone in between love the program.

Links & Notes

204: How This Restaurant Turned a Dessert Into a $200k Cancer Fundraiser Feb 28, 2017

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to co-founders Kevin Finn and Mark Edelson of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a privately owned restaurant known for their handcrafted beers and New American cuisine. Iron Hill is also known for its cause marketing, having raised $200,000 for children's pediatric cancer.

On the show, Megan, Kevin, Mark and Joe discuss:

How Iron Hill got involved with CureSearch and fighting children's pediatric cancer.
How Iron Hill decided on a dessert to benefit CureSearch.
To Joe's delight, Kevin and Mark describes the Triple Chocolate Hill, a double fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter-caramel sauce, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Since 2004, Iron Hill has raised $200k by selling the dessert at 12 locations.
Kevin and Mark discuss their partnership with CureSearch and what a great partner they've been.
This fundraiser is unique in that it's promoted year-round. How does Iron Hill sustain the enthusiasm for the fundraiser, especially with employees.
What's the business benefit to Iron Hill of working with causes like CureSearch?
People have high expectations of restaurants when it comes to giving back. How does Iron Hill deal with this challenge?
What advice would Mark and Kevin give a restaurant about supporting a charity.

Links & Notes

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