What is the state of cause marketing on eBay in 2013?

It certainly has been a while since a blog update. We have been rather busy the last few years executing a number of cause campaigns for brands and nonprofits and have seen a real shift in a few key areas. This hiatus allows us to highlight some of what has changed and where the opportunities lie for savvy marketers looking to connect a cause and a brand on the world's largest marketplace.

To be clear, this is not an eBay sponsored or endorsed blog. We at Auction Cause have a number of years in producing high profile eBay events. Think 300+ campaigns as an agency realizing over $35 million for causes. We like to share what we see working and some of the metrics used to measure what makes a campaign successful. We will be looking at various case studies and sharing what has made them successful.

Like many forms of advertising, we know recognition often comes from repeating campaigns on a yearly basis. We have been executing the Lindt Chocolate Signed Gold Bunny campaign now for a few years in support of Autism Speaks. 

By sending out requests for athletes, celebrities, and others of note to simply sign the gold bunny for the auction, Autism Speaks was able to raise significant funds. What has made this yearly campaign so successful?

• Well known names that have an active and lucrative fan base. This sounds easy, but many times older, more classic names that are not the flavor of the day will do much better than someone featured in a new hit film or TV program. People who grew up as a fan of someone now possibly are in position to spend their discretionary income.

• Engagement of the well known person who signed the bunny to Tweet. This is especially important, and timing the Tweets while the auction is live translates usually into a stronger call to action.

• A great cause that is usually understood and and widely supported. So many important causes, but a disease that affects so many does strike a chord with a wider selection of the public.

• Repetition of a great campaign. People now look for the yearly auction, and the bunnies have become very collectible. We have seen prices paid steadily increase too, along with repeat buyers as well as people winning more than one bunny.

• Authentic support of the brand. Part of the change we have seen the last few years is that brands really want to give back and support a great cause. It cannot be only about selling the product. The messaging for this campaign clearly shows who is behind it, but with 100% going to Autism Speaks, consumers can feel good knowing their bid is making a difference.

Do you know of a successful cause marketing campaign on eBay? Do you have questions about running such a campaign? Please comment below or email us directly at causemarketing@auctioncause.com. We will do our best to address either on this blog or emailing you back directly.

Jay Manuel and cause marketing of a celebrity on eBay

Wanted to share how celebrities too are part of cause marketing on eBay. It can showcase the generosity of a well known person, increase a fan base, and of course raise serious money for a philanthropic cause. Have a look at the release we just put out for Jay Manuel to see an example of how this works:

Jay Manuel's Legendary Red Carpet Fashion Styles
To Be Auctioned Online

Hollywood Records & their eBay Daily Deal for a signed Jonas Brothers CD

The music industry has long been supportive of philanthropy and giving back. We have been privileged to manage a few different Jonas Brothers experience eBay auctions, and now have teamed up with Hollywood Records who is embarking on their first cause marketing campaign on eBay.

This very special cause marketing campaign that has some great elements - The Jonas Brothers own charity (Change For The Children Foundation), Hollywood records donation of close to 900 signed CDs of their Lines, Vines and Trying Times, and a ridiculous low $14.98 buy it now price as part of eBay's Daily Deal with free shipping.

Many would ask, why would Hollywood Records practically give away such a hot item? One reason is to help promote the brothers in a big way and showcase their very charitable side. Another is to create awareness for their Change For The Children Foundation, a nonprofit started to support programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence and a will to succeed.

We hope fans and charity supporters jump on this quick, as though there are close to 900 available, we expect them to sell out very quickly. Just be logged in to eBay and go to the eBay homepage at 8 AM PST, Monday, and click on the Daily Deal tab, or go directly there at http://deals.ebay.com

Howard Stern cares about breasts and much more!

I do not know Howard Stern personally, but we recently were approached by someone who knew him about helping out with a special eBay charity auction. The Holly Heisman Memorial Fund was started to honor Holly's memory after she lost her battle to breast cancer.

The auction can be seen August 2nd through August 12th at www.ebay.com/howardstern.

I was impressed that a man who often is known for more adult humor involving females is truly giving his time to help fund research to eliminate this disease that strikes so many.

The winner will get a chance to go in studio, listen to a broadcast as it happens, and maybe even banter with Howard and the guests/crew, though we carefully worded this is not guaranteed. Better to under promise and over deliver for sure in any business, right?

I think lost at times is how celebrities or those in the media eye truly care to help those around them. Some of it makes news, but often times charities get their requests for auction donations filled outside of the spotlight.

Working in cause marketing with many celebrities, I see that 9/10, those we work with go out of their way to make sure a winner for an experience with then is treated amazingly.

Another beneficiary of an auction like this is the company associated, in this case, Sirius Satellite Radio. Their logo is being shown thousands of times on our auction pages, generating positive publicity at a time when many online advertising budgets are being slashed. Though they are not the client here, their association with Howard is nothing but positive.

The Bonnie Hunt Show and JOHNSON'S utilization of eBay for cause marketing

We run many celebrity based auction campaigns and the response is always enthusiastic - fans of the celebrity get to connect with them by winning an item or experience and support a great nonprofit cause which is near and dear to the person they admire.

When brands come on board, sometimes the consumer stops and takes a harder look at the motives - is it just to sell products/promote something commercial or is there a deeper and authentic commitment to raising funds for the cause?

We have been working for a number of months with The Bonnie Hunt Show on a series of auction programs that feature items and experiences celebrity guests of the show donate. Bonnie Hunt and her entire team have shown a strong dedication to the program - promoting the auctions on air and on her website. 100% of the proceeds to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Bonnie has a platform to champion the issue of cancer research and at the same time, connect with her viewers. An added benefit from the cause marketing point of view has been the thousands of eBay members who maybe had not been watchers of her show now were curious to check out Bonnie Hunt. The celebrities on her show are able to serve as highlights for the quality of guest who she features.

To further brand the show and showcase the items for auction, we have used video clips of the guest presenting Bonnie with their items to put up for auction on eBay. The results have been amazing - tens of thousands raised to fight cancer, millions of media impressions for the auctions, message boards excitedly abuzz about what is coming next, with new viewers joining loyal ones excitedly watching the show.

To see the current auctions - please click here.

JOHNSON'S also has taken a long term approach to cause marketing on eBay. This is year two of their commitment to fund clean water through Global Giving. Centered around Mother's Day, the brand engages A list celebrity moms to donate baby gear or experiences related to being a mom and has Auction Cause list them on eBay.

Gwenyth Paltrow and Jessica Alba are supporting the campaign through some really unique donations. The auctions can now be seen by clicking here.

JOHNSON'S commitment is more than marketing to consumers.

JOHNSON'S® Clean Water Initiative is a new global charity initiative launched by JOHNSON'S® Brand. As a company, they are dedicated to helping families and children throughout the U.S. and around the world live happy, healthy lives. This year, JOHNSON’S® Brand is partnering with nonprofits Water for People® and GlobalGiving® to help provide families in need with access to clean water. Through the JOHNSON’S® Clean Water Initiative, they can provide babies and families with innovative and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene solutions. To learn more about the program, please visit http://www.babycause.com/.

Both of these examples reflect what we believe is crucial for the right mix of cause marketing:

• A genuine commitment by a company that goes beyond an ad campaign


• High profile names that speak to a wide audience


• A call to action that extends beyond the campaign


• Media driven story - make the cause marketing campaign newsworthy


• Long term messaging with the public to create ownership for the campaign

What other online cause marketing campaigns have caught your attention? Visit our site and submit your thoughts, we would love to discuss in a future blog post.

Auction Cause launches new website to showcase celebrity charity projects

The familiar adage of "the cobbler's children are the last to get new shoes" rings deep here at Auction Cause. We have been so busy with designing our cause marketing campaigns for clients, we did not exactly put our own site to the top of the design list.

Under the direction of our EVP Jody Stange, we created a much more visual experience, showcasing some of the fun charity projects we have live, coming up, and completed. Many people have asked if there is an easy way to see some of our best celebrity videos and we obliged - now you can see Ludacris with "Blizzard Man", Kim Kardashian, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Tony Hawk, and many more, discusing their eBay auctions.

We very much want to hear what you want to see up for auction. Communicate with us via Twitter, Facebook, or just email us your ideas.

There are some really special auctions coming up in April and May we cannot announce yet, so please check back soon.

Bring charities, brands, and celebrities together in unique ways is what we do and love. We are thrilled to help our customers learn about great causes and donate significantly to them via an auction win on eBay. At the end of the day, cause marketing makes everyone feel great, which is a breath of fresh air in the challenging times the world finds itself in.

How much should a celebrity give?

We often ask ourselves this question. There seems to be a perception that if you are famous, you must be wealthy, and as such, everything you do business wise should be 100% to a nonprofit.

On eBay, we often run campaigns where 10% goes to a cause. The cynical can look at this as greed or a less than authentic attempt to give back. My take is a bit more bottom line - If their auctions raise $50,000 for a cause, 10% is $5000, which is a nice chunk of change for anyone nonprofit to receive.

Beyond the % that is given, what about the free publicity for the cause? We link to the non profit's website and also provide easy ways for people to donate to them via Paypal. While we have not measured the publicity scientifically, we do see many people clicking through and getting excited to connect to a cause their favorite celebrity also supports.

It is also interesting to note that there is the perception that celebrities get all their possessions as "swag" at events. While they certainly do seem to get loaded up in ways the rest of us can only dream with products, they buy plenty of things too. Most people just have yard sales, sell for pure profit on eBay, or drop off at a thrift store, so celebrities who put items up on eBay with any amount to a cause is ahead at charitable giving compared to most we feel.

Speaking of giving, we are thrilled to be working once again with Kim Kardashian and her "Kim's Closet" auction. She just recorded her latest video for it too. Kim, as many know, has been buying and selling on eBay for years. She has sold through Auction Cause about 2500 items in the last 12 months, and with the whole family included in the closet cleaning, we have over 1000 new items to list starting in the next week. Please be sure to visit eBay.com/kimscloset to see her video as well as the new items when they are live.