Doing good and feeling great: Keeping up with the clients' mindset
If you have any doubt that your clients are walking in your door with social impact on their minds, just take a look around! Doing good is everywhere! It's critical that you're aware of this trend so you can maximize social impact as an emotional hook to build client loyalty and next generation retention.
To test your social impact savvy, try this pop quiz.
Massage Envy, Macy’s, Best Buy, Vans, Staples, Bank of America, Ameriprise, Zappos, H&M, Samsung, Sprint, GameStop, Old Navy, and Humana. What do these companies have in common?
Here’s a hint: The answer is related to these charities: Arthritis Foundation, Clothes4Souls, Americans for the Arts, DonorsChoose.org, Special Olympics, Feeding America, Best Friends Animal Society, DoSomething.org, Autism Speaks, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
If you guessed that these companies are the winners of the 2016 Halo Awards and the charities listed are the causes the companies supported, you are correct! (Your social impact IQ is off the charts, by the way.)
The Cause Marketing Halo Awards are North American cause marketing’s highest honor. The awards are bestowed by the Cause Marketing Forum, Inc., a group founded in 2002 to increase successful company cause alliances.
You know a lot about cause marketing whether you realize it or not. That’s because the idea has steadily become a powerful consumer dynamic ever since brands began aligning themselves with charities to benefit not only the brand but also society as a whole. Early cause marketing efforts included the Marriott’s campaign with the March of Dimes in 1976, which was coordinated around the opening of a new hotel in San Diego, according to the Cause Marketing Forum. In 1979, Famous Amos Cookies launched a campaign with Literacy Volunteers of America, featuring Wally Amos as the spokesperson for increasing literacy rates across the country.
Since then, the techniques known as “cause-related marketing” and “cause marketing” continue to grow in popularity. The Cause Marketing Forum estimates that cause sponsorship will reach $2 billion in 2016, a 3.7 percent increase from 2015. In addition, 80 percent of global consumers agree that business must play a role in addressing societal issues.
Now you're caught up on cause marketing!
The point is, you can count on the Community Foundation to know what's going on. Staying current on social impact trends is our responsibility at the Community Foundation. We'll make sure you're informed about timely topics such as cause marketing, charitable giving, community needs, volunteering, and other topics of interest to your socially-conscious clients.
IDEAS FOR USING THIS ARTICLE
Along with this article, consider offering links to credible third-party sources to reinforce your knowledge of the social impact culture mindset that has defined the contemporary approach to philanthropy. For example: