disease, hypertension, liver disease, certain cancers and diabetes,” said Klish. ” Type 2 diabetes once was considered an adult disease; however, because more …
May 11, 2005, Market Smart - The Appleton Post-Crescent
By Greg Linnemanstons
Weidert Group - President and Partner
Getting Your Company Behind A Good Cause Is Good Business 51105
Last Saturday, the day before Mothers Day, more than 6000 people gathered
in Appletons City Park to run or walk as part of the Sole Burner run for
the American Cancer Society Next Saturday, May 21, thousands more will
rally in Riverside Park in Neenah to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundations Walk To Cure Diabetes Aside from being great
opportunities for individuals to make a difference, what do these events
have in common?
From a marketing perspective, both are good examples of Cause Related
Marketing CRM events CRM typically refers to the public association of a
for-profit company with a non-profit organization or cause to promote the
companys name and raise money for the organization In this case, Affinity
Health Systems and The Boldt Company are the respective name sponsors for
the two events, and as such each received public recognition for their
support
And theyre not alone Theres a growing local list of usual suspects when
non-profits need help Companies like Secura
Insurance, Kimberly-Clark,
Thrivent Financial, ThedaCare, Bergstrom, Virchow Krause and Banta are all
regularly recognized as major financial supporters of everything from
United Way to The Boys and Girls Club to The Big Picture With apologies to
the many other companies generously involved
Whats driving all this wonderfully benevolent behavior? In The State of
Corporate Citizenship in the US, a 2004 study conducted by The Center
for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, 75 of 515 executives of
American companies said that founding traditions and core values were the
biggest factors in deciding how a company invested in causes It often
starts with one committed person taking up a cause for personal reasons,
and becoming the impetus for their employers involvement
Bob DeKoch, President of Boldt, explained how they got involved with JDRF
It started with Paul Coenan, a Boldt Project Manager, whose daughter Laura
has diabetes According to Bob, Paul pretty much told Bob that Boldt was
going to get involved, and they have been an enthusiastic supporter ever
since
Being committed to deserving causes doesnt necessarily mean companies
dont expect some benefit for their generosity On
the contrary, 82 feel
that being a good corporate citizen is good for business 59 believe good
works enhance a companys image and reputation, while 53 think its
important to their customers, and 74 believe the public has a right to
expect good citizenship from corporations
Several common ways for corporations to give to needy causes are through
establishment of a focused community foundation, or initiating programs
that will regularly contribute cash, goods, services, or even equipment
directly to a cause
Do you have a formal cause related marketing strategy? If youre
considering making a more concerted effort, here are some things to
consider:
Establish an internal screening process to help focus your efforts in a
direction most consistent with company values and traditions
Identify employees eager to be cause champions, and give them some degree
of ownership Theyll view it as a perk, so make sure you treat it that
way
Dont over-commit Once you start supporting a non-profit, theyll expect
and need you to continue, so increase your level of support carefully
Celebrate and publicize your involvement, both internally and publicly
Employees want to be associated with a good
corporate citizen, and so do
customers Think about the incredible good will the NFL gets from their
involvement with United Way
Cause related marketing makes sense for all the right reasons Make it a
part of your plans, and see all the good you can do for your community, and
your business
Click here to download hi-res images
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL
Mary Schmidt, Weidert Group
920-731-2771 x285
mschmidt@weidertcom
