4 Questions to Ward off Cause Marketing Backlash and other news to inform your engagement for good...

By Kate Olsen | @Kate4Good & Allison McGuire | @Calimcg

Consumers in the age of social media can smell disingenuous cause marketing a mile away. Plus, they now have the tools to broadcast the bad (and the good) with every share, tweet, and pin.

The consequences of poorly constructed cause marketing efforts are played out in real-time online and in the media. Watchdog groups like Breast Cancer Action’s Think Before you Pink project and BuyLessCrap.org’s (RED)ICU(LESS) campaign are quick to focus attention on companies that are perceived to put business goals ahead of social impact, especially as their campaigns relate to pink (or green or cause) washing – the act of making false or exaggerated claims that a product or company is socially or environmentally friendly.

To ward off any cause marketing backlash, clearly answer the following questions before embarking on your next campaign.

Keep reading...

     

By Allison McGuire | @Calimcg

This is a continuation of a blog post on how The Container Store unpacks employee engagement.

The Container Store offers sustainable, lasting products. We were able to chat with Audrey Robertson, VP of cultural programs, community relations, and social media, about the company’s digital and cultural impact programs.

While The Container Store does great community outreach and disaster relief work, what surprised us most in this interview was the company’s laser focus on its employees.

Here are the ways The Container Store prioritizes its workforce:

Employees first. 

A-Team.

No HR needed. 

Recession-proof strategy. 

Conscious capitalists.

Keep reading for the details on how The Container Store puts its values to work...

     

By Allison McGuire | @Calimcg

The Container Store offers sustainable, lasting products. We know this because we’ve perused their online CSR gallery and bought myriad Container Store products too.

Kate Olsen and I had the chance to chat with Audrey Robertson, VP of cultural programs, community relations, and social media, about the company’s digital and cultural impact programs.

While The Container Store does great community outreach and disaster relief work, what surprised us most in this interview was the company’s laser focus on its employees.

Keep reading to discover how the company prioritizes its workforce...

     

By Katya Andresen | @KatyaN4G

The following post was originally featured on Edelman's goodpurpose blog. 

Humans are inherently empathetic. Our brains are hardwired to relate to other people’s experiences. When we witness or imagine someone acting, our neurons fire the same way they would if we were undertaking the same action.

That’s why your heart races when your favorite athlete soars toward the basket or why the sight of a mother struggling to save her child from floodwaters causes you pain.

While our hearts translate empathy into helping another person, our brains have another reaction: We’re rewarded with happy feelings, thanks to a dopamine dose to our brain’s pleasure center.

If empathy is a preexisting human condition, and if it feels good to do good, then it should be easy-peasy to be a cause marketer. Take your product, slap on a pink ribbon, and watch people act.

Guess what? It’s not that easy.

Keep reading...

     

By Kate Olsen | @Kate4Good

Are you attending the Conference on Volunteering and Service this year?  Network for Good is looking forward to inspiring conversation about social impact and change this June 19-22 here in DC.

Why CSR practitioners should attend:

1) Cross-sector knowledge transfer and opportunities for collaboration

2) Inspiration from a broad range of speakers (celebrities included)

3) Opportunities to meet digital friends in real life – who knows what ideas will spark?

Keep reading...