MEDIA ARTS MONDAYS:
Authentic Advocacy

People expect companies to do more than just sell stuff. They want to know what you stand for, what choices you make as a result and what difference that could make in the world. So when it comes to people making their brand choices, Cause Marketing can be a tiebreaker.  Almost 80% of Americans are more likely to switch to the brand supporting a good cause over a competitor with the same price and quality. But Cause Marketing is not just about photo opportunities, oversized checks and warm fuzzies. It can be an opportunity to turn commercial interest into real change. Cause Marketing usually means supporting social or environmental efforts, but to today’s cynical audiences, just choosing some cause to “believe in” doesn’t do much good if your audience doesn’t believe you. Don’t just search for a cause, be the cause you’re brand is already about. Who says that doing good can’t mean doing well?

Cause Marketing is by now the norm, but instead of sponsoring somebody else’s cause and giving back tax-deductable pocket change, identify a cause with authenticity that comes from a true passion and create real change. Authentic advocacy is about picking a self-motivated cause a company already genuinely believes in, and allowing that cause to be integral across the entire organization – not an isolated corporate responsibility program. Doing good doesn’t need to be altruistic. Real change doesn’t happen when it’s a sacrifice for the company, but rather if the cause directly serves the company’s commercial interest.

American Apparel: Legalize LA
American Apparel is an anti-sweatshop apparel manufacturer that believes in humanity and that immigration policy should be fair. Its social cause ”Legalize LA” is about recognizing, celebrating and embracing the diversity of Los Angeles. It takes on the issue of the over 1 million undocumented migrant workers with the goal for them to become legal residents. All while serving its own benefit to be able to continue its operations in its beloved hometown and to keep its claim “made in LA”.

Häagen-Dazs: Help the Honey Bees
Honey Bees are responsible for pollinating 1/3 of our natural food supply and nearly 40% of the ice cream manufacturer’s natural ingredients. With more than one in three Honey Bee colonies mysteriously vanishing in the US in the last three years, the company realized that the insects’ survival was one with their own. “Help the Honey Bees” is an activist campaign to raise funds for researching the alarming phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder and for building awareness to lead to individual action.

Burton: Power to the Poacher
Jake Burton, founder of Burton snowboard company, believes that snowboarders deserve equal access to the same resorts as skiers, a.k.a. “equal snow.” To liberate the remaining elitist ski-only resorts in the US, he offered $5,000 dollars to snowboarders who submitted the best video of themselves riding the four forbidden mountains – a practice called poaching. Burton’s challenge ”power to the poachers” didn’t just put his money where his mouth is but also potentially opened more markets for his business.

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