Marketing for Good has no limitations. Once you start looking for ways to do well by doing good, the avenues are virtually endless and can even extend all the way to good old company picnic. The New York Times wrote about an emerging trend to “foster teamwork by taking on social projects” at company outings. Instead of the usual company picnic, enlightened companies are spending the day building homes with Habitat for Humanity or putting up playgrounds with Kaboom.
One organization, Impact 4 Good, makes it easier for companies to find the right volunteer opportunities. In the Times article, the executive director of Impact 4 Good, Alan Ranzer, noted that the number of requests he has received has gone up 50% in the last year. Ranzer explained that companies “see value in it for image purposes. Consumers are out there looking for companies that care and that goes a long way.” I would also add that enlightened human resource managers know that employees are more likely to stay at a company that they believe is committed to doing good and actively demonstrates its goodness. Given the on-going battle to retain and inspire top talent, replacing potato sack races with volunteer projects is just plain good business. The fact that it may also burnish your corporate reputation is not so bad either.
The big idea behind all this is to stop thinking about isolated marketing activities, whether internal or external, and start focusing on the notion of all communications as service. Ads the educate are a service to those looking for the information. Ads that shriek “buy me now” are not. Company picnics that entertain are a service but perhaps not as profound a service as ones that empower employees to do a little good for their community. More on this soon…