More than 140 characters are needed to share key info and insights from the 2011 Cause Marketing Forum Conference. To that point, here is an expanded version of Michele Egan Sterne’s @Formomentum #CMF11 posts. Stay tuned for similar posts from Amanda and check out Mollye’s and Kim’s posts too!
@ForMomentum #CMF11 Tweets by Michele Egan Sterne (^MES)The ART of picking a charity defined by @ScottPansky is Authentic, Responsible, Transparent. #CMF11^MES
Scott Pansky from Allison & Partners is an awfully good educator with a soothing voice, approachable presence and easy-to-recall acronyms! (He teaches courses on public relations, sponsorship and cause marketing at UCLA.) During his remarks, he tossed out one of my #CMF11 favorite quotes – NOTE: I’m paraphasing here, but he said the ART of picking a charity partner can be defined as Authentic, Responsible and Transparent.
Scott tied this message in nicely to the closing remarks made by the stellar corporate panel (ConAgra Foods, Office Max and Walt Disney) as together they explored what really stands in the way of great cause marketing and put the final point on this year’s #CMF11 Theme: Opportunities.Challenges.Solutions.
We all know that consumers are smart and seek authenticity in the cause partnerships they choose to support. Yet numerous cause-related activities pop up in the market place that feel unoriginal at best with unclear connections between mission and corporate brand values and less-than-full disclosure to consumers. Scott and the corporate experts shared some great insights on this subject.
It did make me wonder a bit about the absence of nonprofit partners represented on the #CMF11 closing panel mix…after all, the fine art of cause marketing lies in bringing the two perspectives together, understanding and acting on the needs of both partners.
I just signed up to follow frogloop on Twitter and to receive their monthly email. If you’re unfamiliar with care2, it’s a social action network with over 16 million “do gooder” members. They got their start waaay back in 1998. Operating as a B Corporation, care2 believes that people can connect on a deeper level if they are passionate about an issue.
Justin Perkins, care2’s Director of Business Development and Nonprofit Marketing Strategy, and I have been running into each other a couple times each year at CMF, the annual AMA Nonprofit Conference and other gatherings of enlightened nonprofits interested in increasing their marketing expertise.
We were talking about social media (hmm…who wasn’t?!?!) when he mentioned that care2frogloop is their nonprofit blog. Since their core business is to help nonprofits grow by using digital tools, they’ve been blogging for several years now. I shared that For Momentum recently launched our blog, Cause Marketing Focus, this past January. As business development folks, we talked about the positive impact activities like blogging and tweeting can have on relationship development, but also commiserated a bit about the added challenge of not having enough time.
Speaking of time, if you have a couple of minutes, check out the new frogloop post Five Social Media Myths You Need to Know .These study results from Com Score reports US internet users spend 1 out of every 6 minutes online engaging with social networks, a significant increase from 2007 when the data stated we spent only 1 out of 12 minutes! Time flies indeed.
