Marketing for Good comes in all shapes and sizes especially during the holiday season. A simple example is how a number of retailers like Barnes and Nobles and Borders have turned over gift wrapping to local charities. The beauty of this example is that it is triple win-win-win, helping the retailer, the charity and the customer.
For the retailer, they shed the costs associated with gift wrapping including supplies and temp staffing. For all but a few retailers, gift wrapping is not a money-making enterprise since consumers seemed to think it should be a free service creating an unhealthy friction between expectations and reality. By turning over responsibility to local charities, suddenly the retailer looks socially responsible instead of the grinch who charged for wrapping.
It is pure win for local charities since it gives their volunteers a chance to educate consumers about their charity while raising money. At my local Barnes & Noble, the volunteers from DOROT, told me all about their organization and how it “enhances the lives of the elderly and brings the generations together.” The three volunteers were enthusiastic representatives of thier cause and was easy to imagine them helping thousands of “shut-in” elderly New Yorkers. As one of 27,000 non-profit organizations in New York, being in Barnes & Noble is prime-time exposure for DOROT helping them raise awareness and money.
For the customer, having a charity wrap your presents turns a potential act of laziness (after all, couldn’t we do this ourselves) into an act of goodwill. Not only did I feel good about donating to DORAT but also I was grateful to Barnes & Noble for providing this time-saving, hassle-reducing convenience. They secured my loyalty for many holiday seasons to come.
In this small example of Marketing for Good, perhaps there is a model for large scale efforts in which marketer, non-profit and consumer can all benefit without significant downside for any of the parties. I’ll be looking. Let me know when you see a win-win-win opportunity.