The Engage For Good Podcast

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153: Larabar Supports Feeding America, Asks Consumers to #ShareRealFood Feb 15, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rosanne Ranta, associate marketing manager at snack bar maker, Larabar, about #ShareRealFood, a new cause marketing partnership supporting Feeding America.

With the help of The Real Girl’s Kitchen star Haylie Duff, Larabar kicked off the initiative with a $150,000 donation to Feeding America. Consumers can support the effort by donating or volunteering and sharing the activity online with a photo, video or a tweet with the hashtag #ShareRealFood.

On the show, Megan, Rosanne and Joe discuss:

The history of Larabar. It started with a real person and founder, Lara! And the partnership with Feeding America stems from the company’s commitment to real food.
Along with a donation, Larabar is asking consumers to start talking about hunger issues by using the hashtag, making a donation and/or volunteering at a food bank.
Did Larabar ever consider rewarding positive consumer behavior with an additional donation to Feeding America?
The social channels on which Larabar is promoting the campaign.
How consumers are communicating with Larabar on the types of social initiatives they want the brand to be involved in.

Links & Notes

152: A Cause Marketing Lawyer Explains the Legal Side of Win-Win Partnerships Feb 08, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Karen Wu, a leading authority on cause marketing law at Perlman & Perlman, about the 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law, a new infographic from Selfish Giving and Perlman & Perlman.

This graphic will help cause marketers stay on the right side of the law!

Megan, Karen, and Joe discuss these ten commandments:

Thou shalt comply with the law.
Thou shalt not mislead.
Thou shalt clearly state donation amount.
Thou shalt meet Better Business Bureau Standard #19.
Thou shalt register/file, if required.
Thou shalt enter into a written agreement.
Thou shalt avoid unintended endorsements.
Thou shalt be aware of UBIT.
Thou shalt not wait until the last minute.
Thou shalt seek advice from good advisors.

Links & Notes

151: Organic Valley Boosts Sales with Spoof on Cause Marketing Feb 01, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clovis Siemon, video marketing manager, at Organic Valley about their Save the Bros campaign, a spoof on the traditional charity PSA. The initial Save the Bros video attracted over 2.4 million views on YouTube and generated a “significant increase” in product sales following the launch.

After the initial video’s success, Organic Valley followed up by announcing the Brononymous Hotline, a way to anonymously send a coupon for Organic Fuel and one of seven video messages to a “bro” you know on Twitter to encourage them to “protein responsibly.”

Megan, Clovis, and Joe discuss:

What is Organic Valley? Short answer: it’s a billion dollar company!
The different approach Organic Valley took to promote its new protein shake with 26 grams of organic protein.
How Save the Bros didn’t happen overnight. Organic Valley worked with two different agencies and went through 29 rounds of creative that took months and months!
To enter into a new category, Organic Valley focused on “shock and awe” appeals. They considered some crazy ideas.
How the campaign was disruptive but still on-point and on-trend for the brand.
How Organic Valley distributed Save the Bros. They started with Upworthy, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Facebook was the best performer.
The follow up to Save the Bros was The Brononymous Hotline. They launched it on Twitter.
The irony of the Save the Bros is that bodybuilders aren’t the target audience.
What were the marketing takeaways for Organic Valley following the success of Save the Bros.

Show Notes

150: CHC Rolls Out New Workplace Giving Strategy for Millennials Jan 25, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Thomas Bognanno, President and CEO of Community Health Charities (CHC) about its High Impact Causes to raise money and awareness for groups of health charities supporting similar issues.

Through High Impact Causes, employees can support the work of multiple charities with just one donation. Research from the Millennial Impact Report shows millennials tend to be more loyal to causes and issues than to individual organizations and institutions. This product can help revamp workplace giving campaigns.

On January 20th, CHC launched its first High Impact Cause – EveryKidDeserves, merging leading children’s health charities improving the health, wellness and quality of life of children in the U.S.

On the show, Tom, Megan and Joe discuss:

The history of Community Health Charities. CHC represents 2,000 health charities nationwide with the goal of soliciting support for these organizations in the workplace.
How the Millennial focus on causes rather than institutions has forced workplace giving programs to adapt and change.
How EveryKidDeserves allows donors to give to a group charities that are making a difference in the area of children’s health (e.g. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for cancer care and care; the Alliance for Healthier Generation to teach kids healthier habits, etc.)
How High Impact Causes includes more reporting, communication and engagement features that employees want and expect. It’s also less campaign focused and more year-round.
How CHC innovates as an organization so they can stay current AND effective.
Other funds CHC plans to launch, including one to fight the top five chronic diseases that are impacting companies.

Links & Notes

149: A Better Way for Selfish Givers to Give Socially Responsible Gifts Jan 20, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business about our favorite topic: selfish giving!

Lisa, along with Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) and Gavan Fitzsimons (Fuqua School of Business) wrote When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts.

Megan, Lisa, and Joe discuss:

How it was Lisa’s own giving of socially responsible gifts that sparked her interest in exploring why they are given and how they are received.
How the positive reception of a socially responsible gift depends on the social distance between you and the person that’s receiving the gift.
Just how egocentric we are when choosing gifts for others and the importance of empathy for giving gifts the receiver will love.
Other research Lisa has done and the power of one emotion: LOVE!
Lisa’s advice for giving socially responsible gifts.

Links & Notes

148: Brian Reich on the Power of Emoji Cause Marketing Jan 12, 2016

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brian Reich, Director of Project Hive, the UN Refugee Agency’s innovation lab, about a new engagement campaign called Refugee Emojis.

The goal of Refugee Emojis is to spark discussion among Americans around the daily struggles faced by refugees, while also establishing a fun and common language for people of all countries to connect around the needs of refugees.

On the show, Megan, Brian and Joe discuss:

How Brian, a longtime cause consultant and author of two books, got involved with Hive.
How Brian created a fast-moving, responsive team to battle American perceptions on refugees.
Why Hive isn’t interested in traditional metrics like “awareness.” They are driving engagement and donations to the issue and having a real impact.
Hive’s most recent campaigns involved Major League Baseball and the Pope’s visit to the United States. The goal is to bring the refugee issue to people where they are.
The goal behind Refugee Emojis: to give people a timely, fun and popular language to discuss refugee issues.
How companies are supporting the global refugee crisis and how they might support Refugee Emojis.
What Hive will be focusing on in 2016.

Links & Notes

147: Cause Marketing Faves for 2015, Predictions for 2016 Dec 29, 2015

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe take a look back at our favorite cause marketing programs from 2015, and make a few predictions for 2016.

On the show we discuss:

Our favorite campaigns, which include H&R Block, Cheeky Home, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, Doritos, Starbucks and Dave’s Killer Bread.
How cause businesses will flourish in the New Year - and how traditional businesses will pave the way for these new enterprises.
How product packaging will play a more important role in cause marketing in 2016.
How businesses will take bolder stands on controversial issues 2016.
The rise of company-lead cause marketing in 2015 and why we will see more of it in 2016 - and the peril it poses.
Is there a future for point-of-sale programs in 2016?
Our plans for CauseTalk Radio for 2016!

Notes & Links

146: Retailer Box Lunch Serves Up Hunger Relief for Feeding America Dec 21, 2015

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Robert Thomsen, Vice President & General Manager of Merchandising & Marketing for Box Lunch, a civic-minded specialty retailer with an online site and eight physical stores.

With every $10 spent on the site, Box Lunch will help provide a meal to a person in need through its partnership with Feeding America.

On the show:

How Box Lunch got started - it's only a year-old and focused on Millennial shoppers.
Why Box Lunch chose Feeding America and whether they will add additional charities.
How box lunch donated over 70,000 meals in its first 30 days of operation.
The success Box Lunch is having telling the Feeding America story in stores - and how it trains its employees to tell that story.
What other cause businesses did Box Lunch look to for inspiration?
Why did they decide to embed cause marketing in right from the start?
How much has cause contributed to Box Lunch's success? Can they put a percentage on it?
How Box Lunch is involving their vendors in supporting Feeding America.
Critical lessons learned as Box Lunch has ramped up their business.

Links & Notes

145: How H&R Block Uses Cause Marketing to Cultivate Tomorrow's Clients Dec 07, 2015

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kathy Collins, Chief Marketing Officer for the tax preparation company H&R Block, about the company's Dollars & Sense financial literacy program. Founded in 2009, the program gives kids of all ages the understanding they need to manage their personal finances.

On the show, Megan, Kathy, and Joe discuss:

How H&R Block created Dollars & Sense specifically for teens. High schoolers are not financially ready for the real world when they graduate.
How the decision to create the program was a personal. Many members of the H&R Block's senior team had teenagers.
The three audiences for the program: teachers, parents, and students. Parents find it harder to talk about financial planning than they do sex!
H&R Block's launch of the Budget Challenge a 10-week classroom program that students do on their phones to make real-world financial decisions. The winners received a $20,000 college scholarship. H&R Block gives away a total of $3 million n scholarships!
How H&R Block got into public schools - not an easy feat!
How H&R Block is involving employees and customers in the program, and the benefits of the program for local H&R Block reps.
How Dollars & Sense is another example of a company leading with their own cause as opposed to partnering with a nonprofit.
How to sell a cause marketing program to the c-suite.

144: Carol Cone on What's Next for Her, Cause Marketing & Purpose Dec 01, 2015

Show notes

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Carol Cone (aka The Mother of Cause Marketing) about her new venture Carol Cone on Purpose!

Carol has been a cause leader for decades and is set to disrupt the field once again with a new venture that combines partner collaboration with idea acceleration to take the field of purpose to new heights.

On the show, Carol, Megan and Joe discuss:

The growth of purpose and Carol's launch of what she calls Carol Cone 4.0!
Carol Cone on Purpose has two purpose engines: The Purpose Collaborative and The Idea Accelerator.
How Carol is adopting the "Hollywood Model" to run her business. She also names some of the "Stars" she's working with.
Is the big agency model for purpose broken? How can it be fixed?
How The Idea Accelerator is aimed at finding, curating, sharing and funding the very best social enterprises.
How Carol plans to continue contributing to the cause, sustainability and purpose community.

Show Notes

Carol's New Site: The Purpose Collaborative
CauseTalk Radio Ep11: Carol Cone, "Mother of Cause Marketing," Talks Power of Purpose

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