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December 2006 Archives
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December 26, 2006
Personality™ Office Closed This Week
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Personality News
It's been a busy year for Personality™! More companies and non-profits are coming together than ever before to rally around causes. What a thrill to be a part of this journey.
We don't usually do this, but we've given the whole team the week off (December 25-January 1). It's a big thing for us--we all need the rest.
So if you're trying to reach us this week, we're out. We're re-fueling for what is shaping up to be a tremendous 2007.
Happy New Year!
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December 21, 2006
Good Magazine
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
If you don't think cause is in, think again. There's even a magazine covering the topic, Good magazine. When you subscribe, they even donate 100% of the profits to the charity of your choice. Why? It's smart cause marketing. Rather than spend boatloads of money trying to lure subscribers, they can let subscribers support a cause. Subscriptions don't pay for magazines anyway. So far they have over 10,000 subscribers and have raised more than $200,000 towards their goal of $1 million.
You can check out the most of the latest issue or their blog online for more from Good.
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YouthNoise Promotes Causes and Joins Causes
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
YouthNoise is a social networking site for teens interested in causes. It connects teens, rallies them around various causes and gives them a platform to debate and showcase their favorite cause. It's MySpace with a point.
Not only that, but YouthNoise is doing cause marketing, joining up with Virgin Mobile and Stand Up for Kids to fight teen homelessness.
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December 20, 2006
Be of Good Cheer, Snoopy
Posted by Brian Zopf | Filed under: Cause Marketing
What are some simple, everyday things you can do to help others that won't cost a dime?
The answers are out there all around us, but too often we're victims of 'all-or-nothing' thinking. We figure we have to sell everything we own, give it all to the poor, and move to the deepest heart of Africa in order to do any good. Nonsense. If you want to sell the family farm and give the proceeds to the poor I'll be the first to admire and acknowledge you for sainthood. Heck, I loved the story of Robin Hood as a kid. Still do. But as great a sacrifice as that would be, the real tragedy is the number of opportunities all around us everyday that are missed. Now those are powerful smelling salts that would make Maid Marion blush!
Have you ever seen someone less fortunate--either on the street, on TV, or elsewhere--and been really moved? Maybe you prayed that God would send help? Well, guess what? He just did.
One of my favorite Peanuts cartoons by the late artist Charles Schulz is a simple 4-frame comic that has stuck with me since my youth. In the 1st frame Snoopy stands shivering next to his doghouse in the snow. In the second frame Charlie and Linus come by, all bundled in their winter faire. Upon seeing Snoopy freezing, Linus leans down to pat his head and says: “Be of good cheer, Snoopy.” To which Charlie responds: “Yes. Be of good cheer.” They walk on together and the final frame shows Snoopy, still freezing, outside in the cold.
The message is quiet, but clear--powerful, and convicting. The tragedy wasn't their lack of compassion, but their lack of action. They didn't do anything. Well-wishers are one thing; but actions speak louder than words.
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December 15, 2006
Are You Measuring?
Posted by Brian Zopf | Filed under: Marketing
And now for my next trick, I'll take things even one step further. I'm about to mystify you with a stunning and amazing truth from the world of marketing. Are you ready? "Good business turns a profit, while bad business does not."
Are you disappointed? You shouldn't be. You see business, at its essence, is about working smarter, not harder. This simple, little truth--far too often overlooked--applies equally well to the world of marketing. When it comes to spending and investing, truly successful companies follow one simple rule: Every dollar spent must result in more than a dollar return. It's not exactly rocket science. And yet it's truly painful to consider how many millions of dollars are literally wasted every year--say, on marketing strategies--that do not work.
There are as many ways to measure ROI as there are aspects of a business to be counted. But please, please remember this one simple truth: If the number of dollars going out is greater than the number of dollars coming in, it doesn't take the entrepreneurial genius of Phil Town or Warren Buffet to tell you your business is doomed and your marketing dollars are being flushed.
Are your marketing dollars really going to good investments? Are you sure? The unfriendly truth is: You can't know unless you're measuring.
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December 14, 2006
Breakfast with Melissa Havard
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Personality News
Had breakfast yesterday with Brian Zopf, Personality account exec, and Melissa Havard. Melissa is one of those under-the-radar people who knows everyone. She used to work at the CDC in Atlanta before moving with her husband of 20+ years (that's over 100 in Hollywood years!) to Southern California. Melissa is passionate about causes, especially those involving youth. With strong ties here in LaLa land (especially within celebrity circles), Melissa is a rolling thunder with a big heart and a strong sense of purpose.
It was refreshing to pick her brain for an hour. Thanks Melissa!
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December 13, 2006
Personality™ Christmas 2006
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Personality News
Last night was our company Christmas celebration. The entire team was there and, with the exception of two, everyone's spouse/significant other was present as well. We started off the evening with dinner at the swanky Crustacean restaurant in Beverly Hills, and then took a jaunt over to UCLA's Royce Hall for the season premier of Slava's Snow Show. The show was a little freaky, but certainly a moment to remember as a team.
I'm kicking myself because we all had cameras but we forgot to snap a picture of the team. One of these days we'll work it into someone's job description I suppose.
I love hanging out with these guys and gals! This year's highlight was handing out bobble head trophies to everyone on the team. Each trophy was a a celebration of a personal blooper for 2006. Fun stuff.
Merry Christmas Personality™.
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December 12, 2006
St. Jude Holiday Cards
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
With the days until Christmas ticking away, I needed Christmas cards. And I needed to get them in the mail. But why send any card when I can send a card that does more than just offer holiday greetings?
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital teamed up with Yahoo! Photos and Target to offer holiday cards. You upload your picture to Yahoo! Photos, select one of four cards designed by St. Jude patients, and pick up the finished cards at Target. 100% of the net profits go to St. Jude. My friends and family get a cute picture of my daughter. And the cards were ready in a few hours.
I'm loving this cause marketing thing. I can support a charity and get what I need anyway. Everybody wins.
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Volunteering is In
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Volunteerism is at a 30-year high. A recent report by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that 27% of adults volunteer, up from a low of 20.4% in 1989.
Other findings include:
- Teens ages 16-19 saw the biggest jump, going from 13.4% in 1989 to 28.4% today.
- More adults volunteer through religious organizations (35.5%) than any other type of organization.
- Older adults tend to volunteer with intensity--often serving more than 100 hours per year. In contrast, teens tend to serve less consistently with most serving less than 100 hours per year.
- Baby-boomers are volunteering at greater levels, showing a 37% increase since 1989.
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December 11, 2006
Brett Hutchinson Joins the Team
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Personality News
In February we welcomed Brett Hutchinson to the Personality™ team as our new Account Director. Our blog wasn't exactly up and running then, but we still wanted to welcome Brett. He leads the Account Services team and interacts with our clients. Take a look at Brett's bio for more on our Account Director, including a great story about driving a van across Europe using a pair of vice-grips for a steering wheel.
Welcome to the team, Brett.
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December 8, 2006
You Can't Judge a Book
Posted by Brian Zopf | Filed under: Business
Here's something I've learned over the last few years: There's good business and bad business. Good business is good, while bad business isn't. What do you think? Sounds like something Yogi Berra would say, doesn't it? But don't laugh. I'm serious. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference. Looks can be--and often are--deceiving.
A poorly structured business may enjoy unprecedented growth and apparent success for any number of years, while all along it was doomed from the very beginning. Remember that old saying: "Time makes fools of us all"? Well, you can't hide the vase you broke in 3rd grade forever. A business, if poorly conceived and fundamentally flawed, will not remain hidden. Bad design will ultimately reveal itself--a painful lesson you may have to spend a few dollars on the stock market to learn.
A good business, on the other hand, may appear to be stagnant and show signs of floundering for a period of time, and yet still be the best investment that no one's talking about. Remember those 'hidden' stock tips everyone's always asking for? I think I just gave you one.
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December 7, 2006
Year End Giving
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
With the end of the year rapidly approaching many people are thinking about making an end of the year charitable donation. Money magazine explores how to be smart about how you give so you can be sure your donation does the most good possible.
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December 6, 2006
iTunes and Killers offer (Product) Red Song
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
If you're like me and love the concept of (Product) Red but can't bring yourself to pay $60 for a hoodie at the Gap--even if it does fight AIDS--you might rejoice in the news that iTunes and the Killers have teamed off to offer a (Product) Red single. The song, "A Great Big Sled", is available on iTunes for 99 cents and 100% of the proceeds go to (Product) Red.
"It's our attempt at a Christmas song, and to be honest, it just sort of came to me out of the air," lead singer Brandon Flowers told MTV. " Plus, it was just nice to have it go to the (RED) campaign. We wanted to help out, and instead of us doing a Gap ad, we wrote a song."
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December 4, 2006
What is Your Category?
Posted by Brett Hutchinson | Filed under: Whitepapers
You have heard that famous Vince Lombardi story haven’t you? It’s the one where the famous NFL coach explains the game of football to a bunch of seasoned NFL players. Coach Lombardi begins by saying, “This is a football,” and then proceeds to tell the team how the game of football is played in painfully simple terms.
What is Your Category? (PDF, 111 KB, 3 pages)
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Making Dreams Come True with Disney, Alaska Airlines and the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
Last month Alaska Airlines debuted the "Spirit of Make-A-Wish" aircraft, which featured the Genie from Disney's Aladdin painted on the side. The plane celebrates the partnership between Alaska Airlines, Disney and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. For the plane's inaugural flight the passengers were six Make-A-Wish children and their families flying to Disneyland to have their wishes granted.
Alaska Airlines has partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for 20 years and provides air travel for approximately 100 children to have their wishes granted each year.
It's a fun example of businesses coming together to help a non-profit, and ultimately help a good cause.
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December 1, 2006
Blood:Water Mission
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Featured Nonprofit
"I don't think anyone has had a bigger voice than the activists in Jars of Clay," said U2's Bono, the man behind DATA, One and (Product) Red. The activists in the band Jars of Clay started Blood:Water Mission after lead singer Dan Haseltine visited Africa in 2002 and felt the need to respond to the suffering he saw there.
Blood:Water Mission focuses on two of Africa's greatest problems: blood tainted with HIV and unsafe water that spreads infectious disease. Clean blood and clean water for Africa is the goal of Blood:Water Mission.
Currently Blood:Water Mission is working on the 1,000 Wells Project, an attempt to build 1,000 clean water projects in 1,000 African communities.
"It is difficult to argue whether or not a person should have clean water," said Haseltine. "It is also difficult to deny the equation: $1= clean water for 1 person for 1 year."
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World Aids Day, Product Red Day?
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Cause Marketing
Today is World Aids Day, and thanks to Bono and (Product) Red a lot more of us actually know this.
It's astonishing (and encouraging) how many mainstream message makers are getting behind this. Google did the thing they rarely ever do and created a link on their home page for today's occasion. London's Independent went all red in print and online today. Armani is turning their stores red today to celebrate the arrival of their new RED collection. Read more examples on the (Product) Red news page.
We've talked about (Product) Red so many times before. It is certainly one of the hottest and most wide spread examples of what cause marketing is all about.
Go Red.
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