A Brave New World

My company, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. is celebrating our 20th year of involvement with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I call it our 20th birthday, because when it comes to our cause marketing efforts we're very much like a 20 year old kid. We started out partnering with Komen because it seemed like a good thing to do & our associates liked the cause.

Over time, we realized the marketing potential, but the relationship was still viewed as a philanthropic effort that had some nice benefits with sponsorship of the Race for the Cure® Series. A few years went by, we grew as a company & expanded our involvement. We took our first step beyond the RFTC into true cause marketing & launched Lace Up for the Cure® in 2002. We didn’t always do cause marketing well – too many “pink” products & a cumbersome “fill out a card after your purchase & mail it to us” donation trigger, but a genuine care for the cause was always at the core of our involvement.

Since then we’ve trimmed the product line & moved to a new donation trigger. This one isn’t dependent on additional action from the retailers & consumers, more closely linked to sales & is trackable (15% of wholesale sales, min of $500K, max of $1 million). We’ve also started talking to consumers much more than we ever did in the past through marketing, PR, etc.

Even with the above, we still have issues. We’re moving to a % of MSRP next year so consumers know the actual amount per product is. We’re adding stronger packaging to educate & raise awareness. We’re trying to make the product available globally. Throughout it all, our goals are to be genuine, transparent and consistent with our program. But as many of you have recognized in this forum, we have to be even better.

"The consumer is a dying breed and in his/her place rises the “citizen.” Armed with information and choice, citizens demand a social benefit from their employers and those they purchase from. In an age of empowerment, citizens want the option for engagement, from a portion of proceeds at checkout, to full blown, hands-on opportunities to help solve social issues."

The above comment from Carol Cone in response to Angela Eikenberry’s article: The Hidden Costs of Cause Marketing last week was an absolute “A-HA” moment for me and gives clear direction on where we need to go:

1. Companies should think of themselves as citizens as well. They must decide what they are about at their core and how they will choose to make a difference in their chosen social issue(s). Our current economic and cultural climates are calling out for this desperately. Citizens want brands and companies that they can trust. I’m advocating for a deep dive here, not a dip in the pool. All companies should be taking a lot of time to thing about this deeply and then put a stake in the ground to say “here’s how we’re going to make our world better – come join us”.

I believe that New Balance at its core is about helping people live healthy and active lifestyles. Living a healthy lifestyle has been shown to reduce your risk of breast cancer. New Balance can make a difference and reduce new cases of breast cancer by getting people out and exercising.

2. We must always think of consumers as citizens. We must give them an opportunity to engage in dialogue about what they want from us and how best we can provide it for them. We must offer them all the options in the cause toolkit that we can. Sponsorships, point of purchase programs, products, corporate philanthropy, CSR and all the rest. Again, throughout it all we must be genuine, transparent & consistent. Companies should stay true to their committed cause and think long term in regards to that partnership, but the tactics should be constantly reviewed, discussed and updated based on what our fellow citizens are telling us.

It’s ambitious, heady and, for most companies, scary stuff. To go back to the original analogy, it’s a lot like when we were 20 year old kids getting ready to be adults. The good news is we’ve got lots of new tools, enough knowledge to be dangerous, and lots of good friends to help us get there.

Looking forward to exploring it together!