I’ve written a few times about the importance of activating your sponsorships lest they become mere donations. The same thought process holds true for your corporate donations and workplace campaigns. They can be a win-win-win when you apply a little creativity. Sure, you can just write the check and walk away knowing that you have helped a charitable cause, but you’re missing out on a larger opportunity — both for the charity and for your company. Activation matters because it transforms a simple act of giving into an experience people remember, talk about and feel connected to. Whether you take the cause marketing approach that directly benefits your sales or you prefer a more subtle giving style, you can still see great benefit internally and externally.
One of my favorites has been Dawn dish soap and their Dawn Saves Wildlife efforts. Not only does Dawn actively support multiple environmental advocacy nonprofits, but their brand is also elevated beyond their competitors. The message is that their soap is strong enough to clean oil and hazardous materials from animals (those little ducks!) but also gentle enough not to harm them. Cleaning products are known to be harsh on human skin, yet theirs is gentle enough for a newborn baby seal.
My company is a longtime supporter of United Way. For almost 20 years, that support has been, in part, through a chili cook-off and street party that we call Carne Diem. Not only do we raise funds for United Way, we also bring a lot of awareness to their brand and their mission — hopefully opening opportunities for further support for them. They win, and the charities that they support also win. However, because we do our philanthropy in a unique manner, our company wins as well. The event has nearly 1,000 people attend, and yes, the VI brand shows up with intention and purpose. Plus, we do a lot of promotion for it in our community, so even if you don’t attend, you’re aware of the event. We like the brand association between United Way, VI, and the downtown Oklahoma City community. Finally, it takes a lot of chili to feed that many people. So, we make that a win for our staff with a chili-cooking party (emphasis on party) a few days before the event. It’s a great culture builder, as each employee is involved in making the event a success.
There are hundreds of ways that you can support your brand. I encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity, especially if other brands benefit as well. You just need to think a little bit outside of the crockpot.
