Cause Marketing Forum

Just back from the Cause Marketing Forum in NYC. It is definitely the most dynamic event in the field. About 500 people there, great mix of those in the nonprofit sector, corporate world, agency field, and independent consultants.

I have been to quite a few conferences and often feel that people just wanted a free trip on the company dime. Not here. There was an overall consensus among those speaking and and attending that we are on to something really big.

My role, along with eBay Giving Works, as sponsors, was to educate on how eBay is an amazing platform from which to run a cause marketing campaign. My blog is full of the reasons why it works so read below for some thoughts on it.

One of the highlights for me was hearing the story of how Newman's Own got started and how doing things differently has led to over $250 million in donations for worthy causes. The VP of Newman's Own was the keynote speaker during lunch, and in an entertaining way, took us all through how the company is now one of the key players in the premium food sector. One of his most important messages was that people were not going to buy their products unless the taste and quality were outstanding. This brings up a key point in cause marketing - you can get someones attention with a celebrity or cause, but there needs to be substance to back it up. All things being equal, a cause attached to a product will come out on top, but the speaker was careful to point out that one should not bank on a charity attachment getting a company sales without a lot more behind it.

I was also surprised to learn how few employees are at Newman's Own (we were sworn to secrecy on this one!). They have a number of food partners who make the products, much like Trader Joe's, but that Paul Newman still does all the taste testing himself.

So this cause marketing stuff is still evolving. This conference was a great showcase for what is taking place, but I believe there is so much more good that can be derived from the relationship of company and causes. Stay tuned, we plan on doing what we can to build this field exponentially.