Sunday, March 15, 2009

Charity as a marketing tactic

A while back, a Greenfield, Mass., radio station ran a story about a family left homeless by a house fire. The story mentioned that a local restaurant was donating 10 percent of their profits on a given day to the family. While that was a very kind, charitable thing to do, it was also a savvy marketing move.

First of all, the restaurant name was mentioned on the radio as part of a news story, which amounted to free advertising. Secondly, the news no doubt motivated some people to patronized the restaurant on that day who otherwise might have dined elsewhere, increasing overall sales. And lastly, the charitable act surely created a positive image for the restaurant and it’s owners within the community, which could boost business in the long run.

Charity as a marketing tactic, also known as cause-related marketing, has been around for a long time but continues to grow. The concept can take many forms. There are corporate sponsorships of charitable events. There are outright donations of cash, goods and services. And then there are guerrilla tactics like the restaurant example.

Think of all the companies that donated products to hurricane victims. Their actions benefited the companies as well as the people who needed water, food, clothing, medicine, tools, lumber, etc.

While you might think that only large corporations can afford to be charitable, one could argue that small and medium businesses – like family farms – can’t afford not to be. According to an article by David Frey on FrugalMarketing.com, many small businesses are affiliating themselves with charities to market their products and services. He points out that it’s not only a primary means for developing a powerful network but also helps others in the process.

Of course, for your charitable actions to have a marketing benefit, you’ll have to let people know about it. That means publicizing your donations by sending out a news release, including information and photos in your newsletter and other marketing materials, and asking the recipient to do the same, if appropriate.

According to Frey, charitable organizations are not oblivious to companies’ marketing motivations. They understand that there is a secondary purpose to your participation.

The public and the media also understand, all too well, that there is a secondary purpose and that, can be a pitfall, according to David Zucker on onPhilanthropy.com. Zucker claims that the public and the media can suffer cause-related marketing “burn-out,” no longer being impressed by a company writing a check to a charity. These days the media are less likely to see that as newsworthy. For that reason, he says businesses must come up with unique charitable activities.

My guess would be that the burn-out factor is more likely to occur with larger city media than it is with your small local newspaper. If you do something that benefits someone in your community, the local paper is likely to cover it.

Another pitfall might be the charity you choose. If you pick a cause that’s controversial, your good intentions could backfire on your bottom line. Luckily, farms are well-positioned to participate in causes that anyone who eats can support. Food banks, senior meal programs, homeless shelters are just a few food-related causes that might accept produce donations.

Some farms and charities have teamed up for gleaning programs, where volunteers pick up any produce that remains in the field after the harvest and deliver it to the needy.

Worried about the liability of donating food to the needy? Could you be sued if someone gets sick after eating produce that you provided? The Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act is a federal law that protects donors of food products, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

So, there is little to lose and much to gain, for you and your beneficiaries, by doing something charitable.

If you feel guilty about having a marketing purpose behind your good works…think about the alternative. What if no one did anything at all?

Copyright Diane Baedeker Petit
This article originally appeared in the February 2006 issue of Growing Magazine.