2009 Cause Marketing Halo Award Winners - Cause Marketing Forum

Cause Marketing Golden Halo Award Winners

Each year, the Cause Marketing Forum recognizes one business and one nonprofit organization for their leadership and outstanding efforts in the pursuit of doing well by doing good. Our 2009 winners are:

Business: Timberland

Plainspoken Timberland says its mission is to equip people to make a difference in their world by creating outstanding products and by trying to “make a difference in the communities where we live and work.” The New Hampshire-based footwear and apparel maker brings that to life in numerous ways including aggressive environmental goals (e.g. “Become carbon neutral by 2010”) and industry-leading employee volunteerism (e.g. 40 hours of paid community service time per worker and Serv-a-palooza , the company’s annual daylong celebration of service).

Along the way, Timberland has partnered to make a difference with numerous nonprofits such as helping City Year provide young people with skills and opportunities to change the world. The company increasingly is melding its values into its manufacturing (e.g. creating recyclable product) and marketing (launching Earthkeeper an eco-line of product with a campaign to inspire and engage consumers as Earthkeepers)

“At the center of our challenge as an enterprise is a fundamental obligation to innovate and operate as a community of leaders—aligned around a set of values: humanity, humility, integrity and excellence,” explains Jeff Swartz, President & CEO, The Timberland Company. More than mere words, these beliefs stand at the foundation of all we pursue—in relationships with stakeholders, as stewards of the company's mission, and as engaged citizens committed to sharing strength in our global community."

Nonprofit: Share Our Strength

At its core, Share Our Strength is a national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.

SOS is a paragon example of a nonprofit that invested in developing relationship, expertise and brands that make it a sought-after partner. SOS works with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs that help all involved do well by doing good.

Share Our Strength’s signature programs include: Taste of the Nation, more than 40 elaborate tasting events featuring the work of leading chefs and mixologists. The Great American Bake Sale mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities. A Tasteful Pursuit® is a touring dinner series that features some of the nation’s best chefs who take their talents to the nation’s top culinary cities to create delicious, multi-course dinners paired with ultra-premium wines. The Great American Dine Out involves restaurants that donate a portion of each check to fight childhood hunger during a designated period. Operation Frontline enlists food professionals to teach low-income families how to get the most nutrition out of a limited budget.

These and other programs have attracted hundreds of business partners from local restaurants to Fortune 100 companies such as American Express, Domino Sugar, Food Network and Weight Watchers. Since its founding Share Our Strength has raised over $200 million and provided support for more than 1,000 groups around the globe that are working to end hunger.

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Best Use of Social Media

GOLD: More than Footprints: TripAdvisor and Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, Nature Conservancy and Save the Children

TripAdvisor invited consumers to vote on how it should allocate a $1 million donation between five nonprofits. Using social media, TripAdvisor generated more than 1million votes, 1.4 million views of a video on YouTube and numerous posts, resulting in improved impression of TripAdvisor by 56 percent of members surveyed. The biggest donation went to DoctorsWithout Borders ($392,000).

SILVER: Best Buy@15 Challenge: Best Buy and Ashoka Youth Venture

Best Buy and Ashoka Youth Venture, an organization that encourages youth entrepreneurship and social action, engaged teens to form teams and use social media to vote for cause projects of their choice in order to win one of 15 $10,000 grants. Word of the contest spread mainly by blog, social media profiles, e-cards and message blasts. The initial goal of attracting 20,000 votes was met in the first four days, and overall 151,419 votes were cast in six weeks through text messages and the web.

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BEST ENVIRONMENTAL/ANIMAL CAMPAIGN

GOLD: Tour de Fat: New Belgium Brewing Co. and multiple local cycling groups

This brewery’s annual Tour de Fat traveling celebration advocates cycling to reduce environmental footprints. The company works with local nonprofits across the country to effect change and organize parades, contests food and fun. More than $1 million was raised through entry fees and sales of merchandise and beer. New Belgium considers Tour de Fat its most powerful branding tool.

SILVER: Jetting to Green: JetBlue Airways and Carbonfund.org

To offset the large carbon footprint an airline can create, JetBlue Airways launched Jetting to Green to encourage customers and employees to commit to “one thing that’s green.” Zagats rated JetBlue the most Eco-Friendly Airline of 2008 and 1.1 million metric tons of CO2 have been offset through customer contributions.

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BEST HEALTH CAMPAIGN

GOLD: Start! Partnership: Subway and the American Heart Association

As a national sponsor of the AHA’s program inspiring Americans to walk daily for heart health, Subway raised more than $1.5 million in 2008. Subway integrated the AHA Start! logo and messages into all its communications materials about healthy eating and has introduced the Fresh Fit Meal for kids. Thanks to its high profile at Heart walks, about 90 percent of participants surveyed identified Subway as being involved.

SILVER: Jiffy Lube Maintenance Partners for Life: Jiffy Lube International and the American Heart Association

Teaching customers the benefits of preventive maintenance for their car and their hearts, Jiffy Lube partnered with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement by offering a book of $100 coupons, health information and recipes for every $3 donation made by customers. In just two months, the campaign rang up more than 90 million media impressiona and exceeded its $1 million goal. Fifty percent of Jiffy Lube customers said they were more likely to return because of the partnership.

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BEST SOCIAL SERVICE/EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

GOLD: Protecting Futures: Procter & Gamble Co. and United Nations Association

Extending P&G’s relationship with the United Nations Association’s Hero campaign, Protecting Futures aims to keep girls in Africa from missing school or dropping out because they lack access to sanitary protection products. Through a multimedia campaign tied to Tampax and Always, the company raised awareness of the problem. The program, which has reached 30,000 female students thus far, has built dormitories, classrooms, kitchens and a water system in Africa .For P&G, product shipments have doubled since the program started.

SILVER: Toys“R”Us Guide for Differently-Abled Kids: Toys“R”Us and the National Lekotek Center

Toys “R” Us has published a catalog of toys recommended for children in the special needs community since 1994. Backed by an aggressive promotional campaign and the partnership of the National Lekotek Center, the guide reached more users than ever in 2008, generating a 50,000-household list of emails and exposure in publications like Parents and People, and on television shows like The Today Show and Entertainment Tonight. The company’s mission of ensuring that all caregivers make educated choices when shopping for toys was strengthened.

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BEST MESSAGE CAMPAIGN

GOLD: The Pedigree Adoption Drive: Pedigree and numerous animal shelters

With the tagline “Help us help dogs,” this program has raised $1.4 million for the Pedigree Adoption Drive Foundation to help save thousands of shelter dogs. The multimedia communications and educational campaign suggested ways consumers could get involved. In addition to producing strong double-digit sales growth for the brand, the program contributed to a significant shift in Pedigree’s benevolent attribute rating.

SILVER: L’Oreal Paris Ovarian Cancer Awareness Campaign: L’Oreal Paris and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Capitalizing on its media connections, L’Oreal Paris, a long-time partner of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, fashioned a multi-faceted media campaign to raise awareness of the disease. The campaign engaged readers in six Hearst magazine titles, created a web site that drew more than 44,000 visitors, erected a giant media display in Rockefeller Center viewed by more than 25 million passers-by and generated 190 million media impressions.

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BEST PRINT CREATIVE

GOLD: Believe: Macy’s and Make-A-Wish Foundation of America

Macy’s encouraged people to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation by dropping letters to Santa into Believe letter boxes in Macy’s stores. The department store promised to donate $1 for each letter received, up to $1million, to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Incorporating the “Believe”message in all its marketing materials, Macy’s generated more than 1 million letters and extensive media coverage.

SILVER: Subaru Share the Love: Subaru of America and the ASPCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels Association of America and the National Wildlife Federation

At a time when most competitors were offering major rebates, Subaru offered to donate $250 to the customer’s choice among five charities for each new car sold or leased between November 24, 2008 and January 9, 2009. In spite of the economic slump, the program enabled the automake to divide more than $4.6 million among the five charities that had been selected for their popularity among Subaru owners.

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BEST TRANSACTIONAL CAMPAIGN

GOLD: IHOP National Pancake Day: IHOP and Children’s Miracle Network

IHOP turned Feb.12, National Pancake Day 2008, into $640,000 for Children’s Miracle Network, an organization that raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals. IHOP gave away free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes that day and asked customers to donate what they would have paid to their local Children’s Miracle Network hospital.

SILVER: Believe: Macy’s and Make-A-Wish Foundation of America

Incorporating the “Believe”message in all its marketing materials, Macy’s generated more than 1 million letters and attracted extensive media coverage.

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BEST CAUSE MARKETING EVENT

GOLD: Read for the Record: Pearson Foundation and Jumpstart

In the third year of this partnership promoting early literacy skills, Pearson enabled a record 425,000 children to read the book “Corduroy” with an adult at more than 1,800 events .The campaign raised almost $2 million for Jumpstart and enhanced customer and employee relations for Pearson.

SILVER: Miracle Treat Day: American Dairy Queen Corp. and Children’s Miracle Network

On August 7, American Dairy Queen Corp. partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network for its seventh annual Blizzard Day, when proceeds from the sale of this frozen treat are donated to the charity. The 2008 effort raised $5.7 million in the US and Canada, stimulated the support of CMN’s other corporate partners, and took off on the web as viral email campaigns and online web tools urged other companies to support Dairy Queen’s efforts.

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BEST NATIONAL/LOCAL INTEGRATION

GOLD: Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities: KPMG and Major League Baseball

Accounting firm KPMG became the first corporate sponsor of Major League Baseball’s RBI program designed to focus inner-city youth on positive activities, encourage academic achievement and teach the value of teamwork. In addition to donating $1 million for program support and scholarships, KPMG is encouraging volunteers from its 93 U.S. offices to offer administrative support and structure for the local chapters that now serve more than 100,000 youngsters. Through this volunteerism, KPMG has enhanced client relationships, increased its visibility and gained local and national recognition.

SILVER: Trees for Troops: FedEx and the Christmas Spirit Foundation

Capitalizing on their respective strengths, FedEx and the Christmas Spirit Foundation teamed up to deliver more than 17,000 free live Christmas trees to the families of men and women serving in the Armed Services in the United States and abroad. The foundation’s member tree farms sponsored Trees for Troops weekends at which customers could purchase an evergreen for a service family.

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