Marketing

Highlight Reel

A couple years ago I had a friend who upon viewing the first Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise remarked, “my life would be even more exciting if there was a theme song playing everywhere I went.”  Imagine for a second if the social sector had ESPN producing television highlights every evening on the accomplishments of nonprofit organization.  What would a two minute SportsCenter clip spotlighting your organization look like?

Does your organization have a highlight package?  A YouTube link that showcases your enterprise performing its world class talents.  An advocate who tells the most inspiring stories.  The client with a testimonial about how your services transformed their life.  A self-published book with vivid images of your mission in action.  An email audio file with a voices so full of character that it captures the listener and they think of five people to forward it to immediately.  Where do you direct people who want to know more about your programs?  If the local evening news called tomorrow to do an inspirational piece on your cause, would you panic or celebrate?

Urgency and Attention

Yes! magazine’s Winter 2010 issue had an excellent article titled “Why We Find it so Hard to Act Against Climate Change.”  The portion I believe is applicable to many nonprofits outlines the conditions under which an individual’s response to a threat is strongest.  Or said differently, what gets our attention in a world with so many people claiming the sky is falling.  A study from George Marshall title, “The Psychology of Denial” outlined the following criteria as being most influential in getting people’s attention:

  • Visible
  • With historical precedent
  • Immediate
  • With simple causality
  • Caused by another “tribe”
  • Direct personal impacts

When you take these conditions into account and measure them against past events there is an opportunity to see the criteria in action.  Hurricane Katrina with 2,000 fatalities in the Gulf Coast region of the United States vs. Cyclone Nargis causing 138,000 deaths in Burma.  In response the public gave $4.25 billion for relief efforts versus $47 million pledged from the US government for supplies to aid Burma.  There are many factors involved in any response to a threat but clearly an event being visible, historically significant, immediate and having direct impact alone elevated the American public’s response.

When you consider framing a case for support around an impending threat, consider the aforementioned criteria.  When climate change experts started talking about the threat of ice sheets melting from the perspective of Polar Bears it captured the imaginations and attention of school children.  How can you position your case so it sticks.

Megaphone or Flute

Social media applications are offering an interesting shift to marketing and promoting causes.  The more you shout about yourself, accomplishment and ask for immediate attention the less likely followers are going to stay in-touch (the exception seems to be celebrities or organizations that are hard to duplicate).  Have you seen organizations start their Twitter experience by promoting everything they do.  Tweets always focus inwardly on their programs, people, accomplishments, deals.  Interestingly, according to a number of social media leaders this does not appear to be the most effective way to build a base of followers.  Customers and fans who you already have a relationship with outside of social media may follow you but new users may not be as quick to be part of the ‘all you, all the time’ network.

The strategy that appears to have the greatest success comes from those individuals who can serve as connectors.  These networkers are spending far more time promoting the work of others, sharing memorable resources and links.  They are acting like a whitewater river rafting guide.  As a passenger in the raft your eyes are focused down river but these social media guides are helping steer you towards the most memorable rapids.  You develop a trust and are more likely to click on a link or read their posts.

Are you using a megaphone to shout about your services?  Is it all you, all the time?  Are you a champion of your partners?  Do you help rise all boats by raising the tide?

I believe social media is teaching us how to be a Pied Pipers, playing a memorable tune and leading others along the way.  Looking for more specifics, here is a great article by Tamara J. Erickson.

 

Celebrity Gold(dust)

Everyone has been following the top celebrity endorsement deal this past week- of course I am writing about Stephen Colbert’s sponsorship of the US Speed Skating Team. When the US Speed Skating Team lost Dutch bank DSB as its primary sponsor, creating an immediate shortfall of $300,000 to the association and $50,000 to the athletes, Colbert Nation pounced. Online they raised around $250,000 and the sponsorship deal was inked on the show. A donate now button is prominently displayed on the Colbert Nation website’s homepage. Additionally other sponsors have jumped on the Colbert PR coat tails.

No all is well with the Colbert Show’s endorsement deal. One of the leading US speed skaters has Olympic gold medalist Shani Davis referring to the new patron of the sport as a “jerk”. Most of the team has readily accepted Colbert’s fundraising assistance, media spotlight or at least tolerated the attention with humor. What was slated a PR stunt as much as an awareness campaign is bringing out an ugly division within the team.

With the endless details in the Tiger Woods saga changing daily, anything I post will be outdated by the end of the day. I will however suggest that the charities supported by Tiger Woods both directly and indirectly are pondering new ways to position their partnership with the world’s number one golfer. Those that have hooked their funding train and image to Tiger now must considering the future in ways that most have never been unimaginable weeks ago.

A celebrity endorsement of your cause is a powerful tool. It brings media and attention, things most nonprofits can only garner when they are in middle of turmoil or receive a ridiculously large donation. Managing celebrity partnerships requires a unique set of expertise and lots of communication. Most celebrities become well know for something other than their work in the social sector. ‘A List’ individuals tend to be magnets. They can attract a lot of postive attention but they also attract less than desirable press (either in rumor or fact).

How can you position your enterprise to partner with the right celebrity? Do you add them to your Board (what decision-making talents can a celebrity bring that currently missing from you Board)? Is there a role that is best suited for a celebrity within your organization? If the celebrity cloak falls off tomorrow, would you still want to have this person associated with the organization? What would be the one thing that a celebrity could do for your organization? Are you focused obtaining that primary objective?

The New Fan$

An article by Wright Thompson published on ESPN.com shares his journey into the priciest seats at the new Yankee Stadium. He gives a behind the scenes account of the experience at the ballpark. What is most compelling is his discussion about the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ and their role as fans. If you know your audience and have a business plan then you can cater to a very limited audience. Take a look and see if you think the Yankees have made the right decisions.

An excerpt from the article:

A recent poll discovered an unsettling trend emerging for the first time. American families whose household income is $75,000 or less now have zero dollars of discretionary income. According to Luker, that means about 75 percent of the country can never responsibly afford to go to a live professional sporting event. Franchises want them to be fans, to buy the gear and pull for their teams and watch the telecasts the leagues are paid billions for. But they don’t need them to come to their stadiums. There are, right now, plenty of rich people who love games. The prices reflect that. The reason sporting events cost so much now, Luker’s research shows, is because they are designed to be affordable only to those making $150,000 or more a year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=091005yankeestickets

Something Bigger Than Yourself

Walked past the television this morning and the kids breakfast dishes were scattered, the TV was on and nobody was in sight. I took a glance at the TV and saw that Nickelodeon was advertising World Wide Day of Play. An announcement and scrawl at the bottom encouraged viewers to turn-off their TV, computers, mobile phones and to head outside to play. Programming was closed so move on. Not everyday do you see a business suggesting you do something more productive with your time than take advantage of their offerings.

Being part of a world-wide effort is noble and offers a striking contrast to the usual marketing.