Cause Talk Radio: The Cause Marketing Podcast

This week on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to George Weiner, founder of Whole Whale and former CTO of DoSomething.org, about technology and data for nonprofits. George was part of a whole team of WICKED SMAHT people - as Joe would call them - at DoSomething.org that developed some of the most innovative marketing and fundraising programs in the industry. Now he's the leading the charge in a new business that is sure to bring further disruption to the industry - in a very good way. Tune in now!

The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December has brought national and widespread attention to the issue of children's mental health. Today Megan interviews Dr. Harold Koplewicz, Founding President of Child Mind Institute, the only nonprofit dedicated to this very cause. Although a young organization (just 3 years old), Child Mind Institute has taken great strides to forward the conversation around this topic that still holds so much public stigma. Dr. Koplewicz shares his philosophy that, to make forward progress on this complicated issue, the conversation has to spread far and wide, including everyone from corporate partners to celebrities and everyone in between. Join us today for this special episode.

On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Alex Gold, Director of Partnerships at Carrotmob, about the power of buycotts - campaigns in which a group of people offer to spend their money to support a business. In return, the business agrees to make an improvement that the people care about. Buycotts are an interesting idea, and Alex explains how they are being used with great effect by consumer goods company Unilver and others. Are you tired of the threats and attacks that often precede any kind of meaningful change? Carrotmob is proposing a new model based on incentives and money. A "carrot" instead of a "stick"! Tune in now!

An abundance of small, cause-branded products flood the market each year, most of which you'll never see again because they lack a solid business strategy. On this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Project 7's Tyler Merrick talks about how their lifestyle giving brands have earned a place on the shelves of WalMart, Target and 7-Eleven. Hint: it took a LOT of sweat equity and persistence. Join Megan and Joe for this inspiring conversation, particularly if you are, or dream of being, a cause-focused entrepreneur.

In today's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Craig Bida, Executive Vice President of Cause Branding at Cone, about lessons learned in 2012, and how cause marketers will need to adjust their course in 2013. We share some of favorite programs from last year and Craig looks ahead with his 5 Anti-Trends for 2013. If you want to hear from a razor sharp leader in the field who wisely avoided the spiked egg nog over the holidays and instead focused on peering into the future of cause marketing, you should resolve to listen to this episode! We promise you'll feel better and more alive than our producer Pete Wright and Ted Strand, Megan's husband, felt after eating this bacon bomb!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe have some fun with the season's Christmas cause marketing promotions. They've pinned over 60 campaigns on Pinterest. They take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of these cause marketing efforts, and decide who deserves a visit from Santa ... and who deserves a lump of coal!

What is the holiday season about if not hope? Joe and Megan wade knee-deep into the concept of hope in today's episode with guest Shaun King, CEO of HopeMob. Fueled by a desire to not let anyone's story of need slip through society's cracks, King founded HopeMob as a platform where individual stories come to life. In reaction to those stories, HopeMob's community provides support via charitable donations and sometimes, simple actions. King explains HopeMob's formula of putting community before platform and explains how nonprofits are plugging into this unique, crowd sourced community. Join us for a heartwarming episode that's sure to keep your hope alive this holiday season.

To bring a little holiday cheer to this week's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are joined by JC Penney's Vice President of Philanthropy, Miki Woodard. We explore JCP's exciting Holiday Giving Tour that's currently spreading Christmas joy from coast to coast and how the campaign fits into JCP's larger JCP Cares cause initiative that has raised a whopping $8 million for partner nonprofits since July. Get in the holiday spirit by listening to today's action-packed episode and checking out the awesome buggy Santa video below.

On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jason Hincks, Chief Operations Officer of Movember, about the mustache-growing phenomenon that is sweeping the world. They discuss the origins of Movember, and the challenges of building a movement around men's health when the world gives most of its attention and money to women, children and animal causes. Sadly, men's health finishes a distant fourth in the hearts and wallets of donors. As one Movember supporter explained last month, Movember is our attempt to "get above the dogs." This is an interesting show. If you've ever described your cause as a "tough thing to raise money for" you'll learn some great lessons from Jason on the international success story that is Movember.

Today Joe and Megan get a uniquely Canadian perspective from cause pioneer Jocelyn Daw, consultant and author of 'Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding'. Jocelyn discusses how the cause movement has grown for our neighbors to the north and identifies trends she's noticing in the marketplace including nonprofits aligning for greater impact and businesses more effectively engaging employees in cause efforts. If you've not heard Jocelyn speak before, you're in for a real treat so join us for this episode of Cause Talk Radio!

The great thing about having a guest like David Neff on CauseTalk Radio is that you'll never run out of things to talk about. Dave is a futurist and the co-author of The Future of Nonprofits. For nine years he pioneered social media practices at the American Cancer Society. He's the founder of Lights. Camera. Help. a popular Austin film festival that celebrates cause-related films. This month Dave will be sporting his mustache for Movember, as he's done for many years. As if he doesn't have enough to do, Dave is also a Halloween aficionado!

As October comes to a close, Joe and Megan take one more look at Pinktober with Fenton's Susan McPherson, and then dive right into November and a new movement afloat called Giving Tuesday. And, of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't touch briefly on Super Storm Sandy and whether companies should come out of the woodwork to use a natural disaster as a promotional opportunity. All this and more on today's episode of Cause Talk Radio - tune in now!

On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, about SavingZombies.com. The site, which spoofs what some think is a prediction in the Mayan calendar that December 2012 will mark the beginning of an apocalypse (which no doubt will include zombies), encourages Massachusetts residents to prepare a Go Bag filled with all the things you would need to live for three days until it's safe to return. They talk with Jarrett on how this Halloween promotion is aimed at Millenials who prefer new media and are drawn to popular, interesting themes that are as entertaining as they are informative. Taking another page from the Millenial marketing handbook, the Red Cross launched a contest encouraging viewers to create their own Go Bag video that shows what they are planning for the apocalypse. This week's show has plenty of Halloween laughs and insights! Tune in now.

Small to medium-sized businesses are particularly well positioned to execute cause marketing campaigns. However, this task also seems daunting and, well, prohibitively expensive. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Joe and Megan chat with Sandra Morris of CafeGive and learn how small to medium-sized businesses are making a big impact for causes by leveraging Facebook and CafeGive technology. Hear about how Portland-based Community Cycling Center (1,400 Facebook fans) turned a $5,000 gift from The Bike Gallery (3,100 Facebook fans) into over $18,000 in 30 days, the importance of Facebook and social media in cause campaigns, and much more!

This week Megan and Joe talk to Lori George Billingsley, Vice President, Community Relations for Coca-Cola on a new interactive vending machine that allows consumers to buy their favorite beverage and support a good cause. Coca-Cola is testing the machines in its home city of Atlanta in a partnership with the American Red Cross. Engaging consumers where they are and when they care is the future of cause marketing. Tune in now!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Dr. Samantha King, author of Pink Ribbons, Inc. shares her take on Pinktober and the overflow of corporate support for breast cancer "awareness". Samantha, Joe and Megan navigate the history of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (you might be surprised to discover who is behind this effort), whether the "awareness" created is doing any good and what an ideal "Pinktober" might look like. Also: how consumers should be vigilant in selecting pink products this month and what alternatives exist to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Today Megan and Joe chat with Rachel Armbruster, a nonprofit strategist and author. Her book, Banding Together for a Cause, gives an insider's look at the development of the Livestrong wristband campaign that raised more than $100 million for their cause. We discuss the progression of a corporate partner from minor donor to major partner and how nonprofits can create a celebrity brand - minus the celebrity. Join us for a lively, informative discussion.

On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Bruce Burtch, an earlier pioneer of cause marketing who was creating cause marketing programs well before the 1983 American Express campaign that's credited with starting it all. Bruce is even credited with coining the term "Do Well by Doing Good" - a motto many companies and nonprofits live by today. Bruce talks about the beginnings of cause marketing, how it's changed...and what hasn't changed. These are timeless lessons from someone we call The Father of Cause Marketing. Listen now!

On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jeff Freedman, Founder & CEO of Small Army & Small Army for a Cause. Jeff and his agency are behind Be Bold, Go Bald!, an effort that has supporters nationwide wearing bald caps to raise money for 25 cancer organizations. Since its inception in 2009, participants have raised $500,000. Jeff shares his powerful story of starting Be Bold, Go Bald! after the co-founder of Small Army passed away from cancer following a two year battle. He also has advice for companies that want to commit to a cause.

Today Joe and Megan interview researcher Stefanie Robinson on a recently-released series of studies about consumer choice in cause marketing campaigns. We learn that giving consumers a choice is often (but not always) a good idea in cause campaigns, particularly when the consumers are collectivists (don't know what a collectivist is? Tune in to find out!). Stefanie walks us through the situations researchers found to be detrimental to consumer choice and why disclosing too much information too early in a campaign can also harm participation.