Cause Talk Radio: The Cause Marketing Podcast

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Crayton Webb, Vice President, Corporate Communications & CSR for Mary Kay, about the cosmetic giant's Don’t Look Away campaign which works to educate the public on recognizing the signs of an abusive relationship, how to take action and to raise awareness for support services. To date, Mary Kay and The Mary Kay Foundation have given $50 million to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs in an effort to end the cycle of abuse. On the show, Megan, Crayton and Joe discuss: How Don't Look Away's mission to stop abuse got started 22 years ago with Mary Kay's founder. How Mary Kay launched a video series to educate women about abusive relationships and how to get themselves or the people they love out of violent relationships. The challenge companies have adopting causes that people don't like talking about. How educated consumers are about authentic partnerships and want companies to be leaders on their chosen issue. The business benefits of Don't L

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Steve Spangler — America's Science Teacher — about Fueling Education, a CITGO program in partnership with National School Supply, We Are Teachers, and Steve Spangler that offers educators a chance to win up to $5,000 in school supplies as well as STEM-teaching workshops. On the show, Megan, Steve and Joe discuss: How Steve got involved with CITGO's Fueling Education program. The focus is on professional development of teachers to make science fun (again!) for them and their students. How most STEM education programs focus on students when teachers deserve as much or more attention! The importance of STEM to CITGO - who needs a workforce of scientists and engineers. How Fueling Education gives teachers what they want and need: time to learn, develop and recharge their love for teaching. How other businesses (e.g. Pizza Hut, H&R Block) launch and use educational training in the classroom and how it could be enhanced with professional development for teachers

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to McCall Gosselin, Vice President of Public Relations at Planet Fitness, about the launch of its first national cause initiative. Building off its Judgment Free Zone policies, Planet Fitness created a pro-kindness, anti-bullying movement called The Judgement Free Generation through a partnership with STOMP Out Bullying and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.  On the show, Megan, McCall and Joe discuss: How The Judgement Free Generation got started. Planet fitness had supported local causes before, but never at a national level. How Planet Fitness wants to extend its encouragement culture and no-intimidation policy to teens outside the gym. How Planet Fitness plans to raise $1.3 million for STOMP and BGCA, and how they are working with the two charities on the gym-level. How Planet Fitness is engaging employees and customers in the campaign - and how the fitness chain effectively communicates with stakeholders at 1,500 locations. The business case for cause market

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Jenny Fouracre, Director, Public Relations and Charitable Giving, atDomino's Pizza about their longtime partnership with theNational Fire Protection Association (NFPA). As part of Fire Prevention Week, Domino’s and NFPA are partnering to promote home fire safety this spring using Domino’s box toppers to share electrical safety tips. Participating Domino’s stores will also work in conjunction with local fire departments to deliver pizzas in fire engines! On the show, Megan, Jenny and I discuss: How Domino's got involved with NFPA. It started with one store! How Domino's uses box toppers and free pizza deliveries to educate homeowners on fire prevention in the fall and the spring. How local stores work with their fire departments to arrange deliveries to customers. How Domino's corporate encourage franchise owners to participate in the program. How Domino's corporate works with local stores and fire departments to secure media coverage. The value of working with f

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe have back-to-back guests to discuss a new cause initiative launched by HBO, Game of Thrones, Omaze and the International Rescue Committee to raise $1 million for refugee services. The goal of Rescue Has No Boundaries is to bring attention to the global refugee crisis and to raise emergency funds to help rescue the millions of people displaced by the war in the Middle East.  Our first guest is Dennis Williams, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO. Our second guest is Matt Pohlson, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Omaze, a cause marketplace that raises money and awareness for charity by offering the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences. On the show, Megan, Dennis, Matt and Joe discuss: With Dennis Williams:  How the campaign got started and why HBO decided to leverage its most popular show to help refugees around the world. How Rescue Has No Boundaries is focused on both raising money and building awareness. How this is the first time that HBO has

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Robin Hulshizer, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP and Chicago chairwoman of Do The Write Thing, an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence.  Each year, the program invites sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the Chicago area to submit essays about the impact of youth violence on their communities. Students write about how violence has affected their lives, the causes of it and what that they can do to help reduce it. On the show, Megan, Robin and Joe discuss: How Robin's last name is a curse word in German. Really. How Do the Write Thing is geared to middle-schoolers to help them address violence. How Latham & Watkins LLP got involved with Do the Right Thing and the National Campaign to Stop Violence in 2008. How Latham & Watkins LLP views community involvement as a business objective. How the program works and begins with outreach to Chicago teachers every fall. How Robin plans to grow the program with improved educational resourc

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are talking to Natasha Collins, BOOK IT! Program Administrator at Pizza Hut. BOOK IT! is a free program designed to encourage students in grades K–6 to read more by earning a reading award certificate for a free, one-topping personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Talk about early adopters: Pizza Hut launched the BOOK IT! program in 1984! On the show, Megan, Natasha and I discuss: How BOOK IT! got started way back in 1984 by a former president who wanted his son to read more! How the program works with reading teachers, students and local Pizza Hut restaurants. How simplicity, commitment and community engagement have kept the program running so long. How the program benefits Pizza Hut by creating a strong, literate workforce. How Natasha manages the BOOK IT! program with a six-person team and a year-long calendar of promotion, enrollment and participation. How the program has evolved over the years and what BOOK IT! has done to keep the program fresh. This year, BOOK IT! h

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Debbie Sardone, President and Founder of Cleaning for a Reason, a nonprofit that gives the gift of free house cleaning to women undergoing treatment of any type of cancer. Cleaning for a Reason has worked with over 1,200 maid services to donate free housecleaning to women who are undergoing treatment for any kind of cancer. Since 2006, their partner maid services have volunteered their time to clean for over 20,000 women – valued at over $5,500,000. On the show, Megan, Debbie and Joe discuss: How “Clean homes make people feel good.” Amen! Cleaning for a Reason is free service to women battling cancer. How Cleaning for a Reason partners with maid services all over the country to help the community. How maid services benefit from Cleaning for a Reason in communications training and support soliciting local and national media coverage. How Debbie, the owner of a cleaning business of her own, developed the idea of Cleaning for a Reason by talking to people in the

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dave Altmann, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Jersey Mike’s, a sub sandwich franchise with 1,500 stores open and under development nationwide. In March 2015, Jersey Mike’s celebrated its 5th Annual Month of Giving, a national fundraising campaign, raising more than $3 million for 180 local charities. Since the program started five years ago, Jersey Mike’s and its generous customers have raised more than $8 million. They’ll be adding to this number next month! On the show, Megan, Dave and Joe discuss: How Mike’s started their Month of Giving Program. Giving back is built into the company’s culture and from its founding. How the month of giving peaks with a Day of Giving when ALL the dollars from all sales go to charity. This generates more than 50 percent of the dollars raised in March. How customers can support the program either via an ask at the register or a donation box. How friendly competitions between stores keeps motivation high! How Mike

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to a true cause marketing superstar: Scott Beaudoin. Scott is a veteran of many top cause campaigns and agencies and was recently named the chief strategy officer and executive managing director of corporate and brand purpose at RF|Binder, a full-service public relations agency in New York City. On today’s show, Megan, Scott and Joe discuss: How Scott got his cause marketing start with Carol Cone, but his roots were in TV reporting. While Scott has worked at some larger agencies - like MSLGROUP, the fourth largest PR conglomerate in the world - his new position is with a smaller agency that prizes the central role purpose plays for every organization. The business case for working with agencies focused on social good. While many agencies have touched some part of cause marketing, only a few know how to work at the c-suite and use purpose to drive business innovation. How slow growth at most agencies is squeezing talent and resources and hampering social good stra

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rosanne Ranta, associate marketing manager at snack bar maker, Larabar, about #ShareRealFood, a new cause marketing partnership supporting Feeding America. With the help of The Real Girl’s Kitchen star Haylie Duff, Larabar kicked off the initiative with a $150,000 donation to Feeding America. Consumers can support the effort by donating or volunteering and sharing the activity online with a photo, video or a tweet with the hashtag #ShareRealFood. On the show, Megan, Rosanne and Joe discuss:  The history of Larabar. It started with a real person and founder, Lara! And the partnership with Feeding America stems from the company’s commitment to real food. Along with a donation, Larabar is asking consumers to start talking about hunger issues by using the hashtag, making a donation and/or volunteering at a food bank. Did Larabar ever consider rewarding positive consumer behavior with an additional donation to Feeding America? The social channels on which Larabar i

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Karen Wu, a leading authority on cause marketing law at Perlman & Perlman, about the 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law, a new infographic from Selfish Giving and Perlman & Perlman. This graphic will help cause marketers stay on the right side of the law! Megan, Karen, and Joe discuss these ten commandments: Thou shalt comply with the law. Thou shalt not mislead. Thou shalt clearly state donation amount. Thou shalt meet Better Business Bureau Standard #19. Thou shalt register/file, if required. Thou shalt enter into a written agreement. Thou shalt avoid unintended endorsements. Thou shalt be aware of UBIT. Thou shalt not wait until the last minute. Thou shalt seek advice from good advisors. Links & Notes 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law Infographic Karen Wu, Perlman & Perlman, LLP Transparency & Cause Marketing: 5 Best Practices — NY Attorney General Guidelines Karen Wu’s Articles on Cause Marketing Law in The Nonprofit Times

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clovis Siemon, video marketing manager, at Organic Valley about their Save the Bros campaign, a spoof on the traditional charity PSA. The initial Save the Bros video attracted over 2.4 million views on YouTube and generated a “significant increase” in product sales following the launch. After the initial video’s success, Organic Valley followed up by announcing the Brononymous Hotline, a way to anonymously send a coupon for Organic Fuel and one of seven video messages to a “bro” you know on Twitter to encourage them to “protein responsibly.” Megan, Clovis, and Joe discuss: What is Organic Valley? Short answer: it’s a billion dollar company! The different approach Organic Valley took to promote its new protein shake with 26 grams of organic protein. How Save the Bros didn’t happen overnight. Organic Valley worked with two different agencies and went through 29 rounds of creative that took months and months! To enter into a new category, Organic Valley focused o

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Thomas Bognanno, President and CEO of Community Health Charities (CHC) about its High Impact Causes to raise money and awareness for groups of health charities supporting similar issues. Through High Impact Causes, employees can support the work of multiple charities with just one donation. Research from the Millennial Impact Report shows millennials tend to be more loyal to causes and issues than to individual organizations and institutions. This product can help revamp workplace giving campaigns. On January 20th, CHC launched its first High Impact Cause – EveryKidDeserves, merging leading children’s health charities improving the health, wellness and quality of life of children in the U.S. On the show, Tom, Megan and Joe discuss: The history of Community Health Charities. CHC represents 2,000 health charities nationwide with the goal of soliciting support for these organizations in the workplace. How the Millennial focus on causes rather than institutions ha

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business about our favorite topic: selfish giving! Lisa, along with Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) and Gavan Fitzsimons (Fuqua School of Business) wrote When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts.  Megan, Lisa, and Joe discuss: How it was Lisa’s own giving of socially responsible gifts that sparked her interest in exploring why they are given and how they are received. How the positive reception of a socially responsible gift depends on the social distance between you and the person that’s receiving the gift. Just how egocentric we are when choosing gifts for others and the importance of empathy for giving gifts the receiver will love. Other research Lisa has done and the power of one emotion: LOVE! Lisa’s advice for giving socially responsible gifts. Links & Notes When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Pred

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brian Reich, Director of Project Hive, the UN Refugee Agency’s innovation lab, about a new engagement campaign called Refugee Emojis.  The goal of Refugee Emojis is to spark discussion among Americans around the daily struggles faced by refugees, while also establishing a fun and common language for people of all countries to connect around the needs of refugees. On the show, Megan, Brian and Joe discuss: How Brian, a longtime cause consultant and author of two books, got involved with Hive. How Brian created a fast-moving, responsive team to battle American perceptions on refugees. Why Hive isn’t interested in traditional metrics like “awareness.” They are driving engagement and donations to the issue and having a real impact. Hive’s most recent campaigns involved Major League Baseball and the Pope’s visit to the United States. The goal is to bring the refugee issue to people where they are. The goal behind Refugee Emojis: to give people a timely, fun and pop

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe take a look back at our favorite cause marketing programs from 2015, and make a few predictions for 2016. On the show we discuss: Our favorite campaigns, which include H&R Block, Cheeky Home, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, Doritos, Starbucks and Dave’s Killer Bread. How cause businesses will flourish in the New Year - and how traditional businesses will pave the way for these new enterprises. How product packaging will play a more important role in cause marketing in 2016. How businesses will take bolder stands on controversial issues 2016. The rise of company-lead cause marketing in 2015 and why we will see more of it in 2016 - and the peril it poses. Is there a future for point-of-sale programs in 2016? Our plans for CauseTalk Radio for 2016! Notes & Links The Five Most Important Cause Marketing Trends of 2015 Best Cause Marketing Posts of 2015 How H&R Block Uses Cause Marketing to Cultivate Tomorrow’s Clients A Cheeky Way of Doing Good Pay-it-Forward Pizza Feeds

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Robert Thomsen, Vice President & General Manager of Merchandising & Marketing for Box Lunch, a civic-minded specialty retailer with an online site and eight physical stores. With every $10 spent on the site, Box Lunch will help provide a meal to a person in need through its partnership with Feeding America. On the show: How Box Lunch got started - it's only a year-old and focused on Millennial shoppers. Why Box Lunch chose Feeding America and whether they will add additional charities.  How box lunch donated over 70,000 meals in its first 30 days of operation. The success Box Lunch is having telling the Feeding America story in stores - and how it trains its employees to tell that story. What other cause businesses did Box Lunch look to for inspiration?  Why did they decide to embed cause marketing in right from the start? How much has cause contributed to Box Lunch's success? Can they put a percentage on it? How Box Lunch is involving their vendors in

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kathy Collins, Chief Marketing Officer for the tax preparation company H&R Block, about the company's Dollars & Sense financial literacy program. Founded in 2009, the program gives kids of all ages the understanding they need to manage their personal finances.  On the show, Megan, Kathy, and Joe discuss: How H&R Block created Dollars & Sense specifically for teens. High schoolers are not financially ready for the real world when they graduate. How the decision to create the program was a personal. Many members of the H&R Block's senior team had teenagers. The three audiences for the program: teachers, parents, and students. Parents find it harder to talk about financial planning than they do sex! H&R Block's launch of the Budget Challenge a 10-week classroom program that students do on their phones to make real-world financial decisions. The winners received a $20,000 college scholarship. H&R Block gives away a total of $3 million n

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Carol Cone (aka The Mother of Cause Marketing) about her new venture Carol Cone on Purpose! Carol has been a cause leader for decades and is set to disrupt the field once again with a new venture that combines partner collaboration with idea acceleration to take the field of purpose to new heights.  On the show, Carol, Megan and Joe discuss: The growth of purpose and Carol's launch of what she calls Carol Cone 4.0! Carol Cone on Purpose has two purpose engines: The Purpose Collaborative and The Idea Accelerator. How Carol is adopting the "Hollywood Model" to run her business. She also names some of the "Stars" she's working with. Is the big agency model for purpose broken? How can it be fixed? How The Idea Accelerator is aimed at finding, curating, sharing and funding the very best social enterprises. How Carol plans to continue contributing to the cause, sustainability and purpose community. Show Notes Carol's New Site: The Purpose Collaborative CauseTalk