Corporations, Causes and Marketing to Women
During my recent discussion with Katya Andresen, I realized that there was a resource many corporations might not be aware of - one that could help them better plan/organize/develop their own cause marketing efforts. Katya is the VP of Marketing for the Network for Good - and, though, at first glance, the site seems to be all about, and for, helping get nonprofits set up for online giving, there’s a hidden gem in the work they do with corporations, as well.
The short and sweet definition of what they do, as per Katya:
"We enable
giving and fundraising to ANY of the roughly 1.5 million charities in the US. We
therefore enable corporations to let their customers choose their own causes to
support."
While they are known for their online/interactive tools to enable charitable giving/donations, Network for Good may also be the best source for a corporation interested in better, more efficiently leveraging their "goodwill" and cause connections for both consumer and employee relations. Among the reasons you, as a corporate marketer, might want to partner with them:
- Build consumer relationships: Increase consumer affinity by tapping into the emotional ties consumers have with their favorite charities.
- Create positive image: Halo effect for corporate brand through highly visible, transparent and tangible involvement in philanthropy.
- Collect audience data: Gain data on and insights into audiences with thorough reporting on their giving habits, levels and geographic locations.
- Show responsiveness in crisis: Provide instant response to humanitarian crises.
- Boost employee morale: Create giving programs that inspire and bolster pride.
Since you’ve all been reading about, attending conferences and studying up on marketing to women for years now, you already know that women include social cause awareness/involvement on their brand checklist. It is one of the many things they may consider as they move toward a purchase.
But, you have to do it right and authentically (in keeping with your established brand message) or women may see disconnects and lose trust. It is not as easy as simply proclaiming you give money to a cancer organization and calling it good.
So - after learning more about what NFG did, I thought I better let you all know this resource existed. They’ve got experts like Katya Andresen on staff to really help you fine tune and make your cause marketing efforts effective and powerful.
P.S. I was by no means paid for this plug. My enthusiasm came from learning about NFG’s services from Katya and from the realization that a lot of companies could use exactly this kind of help and might not know it was "out there." Of course, I’d love to know if any of you end up going to NFG for such help - for future blog post fodder…
P.P.S. Check out the recent MarketingProfs Book Club interview with Katya Andresen for more.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Thanks Andrea for posting this! If people would like more information about what our nonprofit does for corporate partners, we have a presentation on that at http://networkforgoodpartner.blogspot.com/