Spirit Halloween: Making Hospitals Less Scary For Kids

Spirit Halloween is the largest seasonal Halloween retailer in the country, but its work goes beyond helping shoppers ring in and celebrate the spookiest season of the year. Spirit of Children, the company's charity program, has raised over $37 million for 140 Child Life Departments at various hospitals over the past decade. Spirit's...

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Disney & Code.org: Teaching Kids to Code

Since 2014, Disney has worked alongside Code.org to expand access to computer science education, particularly among populations that are underrepresented in STEM like female students and students of color. Most recently, the company collaborated with the nonprofit to produce a free online tutorial called Moana: Wayfinding with...

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Cause Marketing and Your Business: Choosing the Right Cause

In my last post, I outlined how both your company and the world at large could benefit from your participation in cause marketing campaigns, nonprofit partnerships, and other corporate social responsibility efforts. If this caught your eye, you may be wondering how to take the next step of identifying the cause that best fits your business. Some...

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How Your Company Can Benefit From Cause Marketing

Has your company invested in cause marketing yet? Over the past decade, the amount of companies taking part in cause marketing and sponsorship has grown exponentially as more and more begin to realize the benefits it has for both them and the world at large. Research shows that cause marketing actually makes a measurable...

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The United Nations & the Smurfs: Promoting Peace

Although this unlikely partnership may seem amusing at first, teaching children about the importance of equality and world peace is no laughing matter. The "Small Smurfs, Big Goals" campaign was designed to spread awareness about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that were agreed on by all 193 member countries of the United Nations...

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Amazon & Reading is Fundamental: Spreading Literacy

Amazon recently used their platform for good by partnering with Reading is Fundamental (RIF), a nonprofit children's literacy organization that provides books to kids in low-income families by donating them to schools, Head Start programs, community centers, health clinics, migrant camps, and homeless shelters. From February to March,...

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The Link Between Millennials and Cause Marketing

In addition to making the world a better place, cause marketing has a key benefit that many brands are unaware of: it attracts millennials like moths to a flame. Research consistently shows that millennials are a highly socially conscious generation: a 2015 study revealed that 9 in 10 millennials would...

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Tostitos, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, & Uber: Decreasing Drunk Driving

Super Bowl Sunday is Tostitos' time to shine. At watch parties and post-game celebrations alike, chips and dip are a staple. Instead of focusing on snack promotion this year, however, Tostitos is dedicating its time and effort to a more worthy issue: drunk driving prevention. Just in time for the biggest sporting event of the year,...

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Burt's Bees: Protecting Bees

Honeybees, though small, play a huge role in our world. They perform 80% of all pollination, creating a huge chunk of the food we eat every day, and they contribute billions to the value of crop production. Unfortunately for the planet, a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder is causing our bees to vanish. CCD, which experts...

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Colgate & The Nature Conservancy: Saving Water

Every time you let the tap run while you brush your teeth, you waste approximately four gallons of water. As one of the leading toothbrush and toothpaste brands in the United States, Colgate is in a unique position to address this issue. Earlier this year, the brand partnered with The Nature Conservancy to shed light on...

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Goya Foods & The Maestro Cares Foundation: Helping Children In Latin American Countries

Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the country, has always given back to its community. One of its most notable partnerships is with the Maestro Cares Foundation, a nonprofit that provides underprivileged children with housing, education, healthcare, and other basic necessities. They work together to establish orphanages...

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Sabra: Increasing Access to Healthy Food

An estimated 23.5 million Americans live in food deserts, areas of the country that have little-to-no access to affordable and nutritious food. While this is partly due to a lack of grocery stores and farmer's markets in these regions, food deserts are also caused by a disproportionate amount of fast food restaurants and convenience...

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AT&T: Preventing Distracted Driving

Since its creation in 2010, the It Can Wait campaign from AT&T has spread the word about the dangers of texting and driving through, among others, a viral hashtag, creative PSAs, a virtual reality simulation tour, and a free mobile app. As one of the country's top mobile providers, AT&T is acutely aware of its responsibility to...

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Fitbit & The American Heart Association, The National MS Society, and The American Diabetes Association: Emphasizing Health

Rather than focusing on a short-term fix for those who are out of shape, Fitbit made waves last year by highlighting its commitment to consumers' lifelong health. As a leader in the health and fitness market thanks to its popular eponymous activity tracker, the brand was in a perfect position to launch FitForGood - a charitable platform...

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Bank of America & The Special Olympics: Prioritizing Inclusion

For over three decades, Bank of America has partnered with The Special Olympics in an ongoing effort to encourage diversity and inclusion of those with disabilities and special needs. Most recently, the company created the first-ever cross-country Unified Relay Across America and utilized social media with the #PassTheFlame hashtag...

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Toys "R" Us & Alex's Lemonade Stand: Fighting Pediatric Cancer

Alexandra Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of one. After four years of fighting the disease, her tenacious spirit led her to create her own lemonade stand to raise money and help other children with pediatric cancer. The project began as an annual event on her family's front lawn, raising over a million...

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Vans & Americans for the Arts: Supporting Arts Education

For four years, the iconic shoe brand Vans and the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts have collaborated annually to raise funds and resources for public high school art programs. Through an assortment of events including the Vans Custom Culture art competition and grant initiative, this campaign encourages and rewards self-expression...

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Massage Envy & The Arthritis Foundation: Providing Relief for People with Arthritis

Massage Envy Spa, an aptly-named chain that has been referred to as the Wal-Mart of the massage industry, has a niche market of customers who suffer from chronic pain and look to them for regular relief. The company zeroed in on this market when it partnered with the Arthritis Foundation and emphasized the potential for massage...

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Uber & No Kid Hungry: "Driving" Out Child Hunger

Uber, the world's most popular ride-sharing service, tapped into its network of thousands of riders to help feed starving children across the country during the 2014 holiday season. Through a partnership with No Kid Hungry, the company aimed to raise enough money to fund three million meals - and ended up raising enough...

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Doritos & It Gets Better: Taking a Stand for LGBT Youth

One of my favorite collaborations in recent memory was the unlikely union of a snack food company and a charity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Doritos utilized its worldwide popularity to raise over a hundred thousand dollars for the It Gets Better Project, a charity whose funds go to providing LGBT youth...

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Warby Parker & VisionSpring: Expanding Access to Eyecare

Warby Parker, a prescription eyewear and sunglass company specializing in fashionable frames, is perhaps most well-known for its unique Home-Try On Program. In the interest of helping the consumer find the perfect pair, Warby Parker allows buyers to choose up to 5 different frames on its online store and order them to be shipped...

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What is Cause Marketing?

Before I begin posting examples of successful partnerships and campaigns that challenge the notion that marketing in itself is an innately harmful practice with no redeeming qualities, I want to introduce the concept of cause marketing and explain its significance. Cause marketing involves a mutually beneficial partnership between...

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