July 2008 Archives

Paul Jones, on his 'Cause-Related Marketing' Blog, answered a question "about small business and the mistakes they make when it comes to cause-related marketing, in particular developing and sustaining a relationship with a charity." He identifies four basic mistakes:

1. Picking a charity that's a poor strategic fit.
2. Not giving the CRM campaign enough support.
3. Not being in the 'right kind of business' to do a CRM campaign.
4. Picking a charity that's 'too big to be helpful.'

There are obviously important strategic decisions to be made, but I also think there's value in merely promoting the good that the business owner is already doing. Paul says, for example, "If you run a small cabinet-making operation that doesn't advertise, cause-related marketing isn't likely to help make your company more profitable." That's probably true, however, if that cabinet maker is already giving to a charity, tying it directly to his business and letting his customers know can only help create a more meaningful bond. 

Advanta Adds Charity Component to Affiliate Program

Affiliate Program Raises Money for Kiva.org through the KivaB4B Project

 

SPRING HOUSE, Penn, July 22, 2008 - Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) has announced that it will use its affiliate marketing program, through Advanta Bank Corp., to make charitable donations to Kiva. For every new Kiva BusinessCard customer acquired through the affiliate marketing channel, Advanta will make a charitable donation to Kiva in the affiliate's name.* Affiliates will continue to receive their negotiated bounty.

"We see our relationships with affiliates as another opportunity to support entrepreneurs in developing countries," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Chief Innovation Officer. "Not only are we empowering the small business community to help businesses in the developing world, we are going to empower our affiliates, too."

KivaB4B is a joint initiative between Advanta and Kiva - two organizations that uniquely help entrepreneurs and small business owners. The KivaB4B Project encourages small business owners to support entrepreneurs in the developing world by making grants to seed their business ventures. In recognition of their participation in the Project, Advanta provides the small businesses with resources to market their philanthropic activities to their community. Advanta also provides a financial incentive. If a small business owner uses an Advanta BusinessCard to make a grant to Kiva for an entrepreneur, Advanta matches the grant, dollar for dollar (up to $200 per account, per month).**

*For information about the terms, conditions and limitations of the Kiva donation initiative, please contact Jennifer Sherlock at jsherlock@advanta.com. For information about the terms, conditions and limitations of the affiliate program generally, please visit www.linkshare.com.

**For information about the terms, conditions and limitations of the KivaB4B Project, please refer to the Matching Program Terms and other disclosure links on www.kivab4b.org. 

 

About Advanta

Advanta was founded in 1951 by Jack Alter, a Philadelphia school teacher, who wanted to help fellow teachers get access to capital. Today, Advanta is one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market. Advanta continues to find ways to connect with and inspire the small business community through projects like ideablob.com and other initiatives that benefit the lives of entrepreneurs.  Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

About Kiva

Kiva.org (www.kiva.org) is the world's first person-to-person microfinance website, empowering individuals to provide funds directly for the benefit of an entrepreneur in the developing world. Founded in 2005 by Matt and Jessica Flannery, Kiva.org's mission is to connect people, through microfinance, to alleviate poverty. Kiva.org currently connects givers in more than 50 countries with entrepreneurs in 39 developing countries, through 62 microfinance partners. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.

 
###

 
08/20
Media Contacts

David M. Goodman
Vice President, Communications
215-444-5073
dgoodman@advanta.com

Jennifer Sherlock
Manager, PR and Events
215-444-5592
jsherlock@advanta.com

Christina Witz
MWW Group
212-827-3753
cwitz@mww.com

OK...so, we like being held up in the same light as the famous 'PRODUCT RED' campaign which raised about $100 million for the Global Fund for Aids. Harald Eltvedt, in his blog, "Brands: you hate them...and you love them...," used RED to introduce KivaB4B as a cause marketing effort which "may be the first aimed specifically at small businesses." And boiling it down for us, he offers some tips for how small companies can benefit from cause marketing. In his words:

Don't just support your own pet cause. Make sure it is an issue your target market cares about. Cause marketing works best with young consumers and boomers.

Do it in a way that will provide real benefit to a cause (it can't be too small a percentage of profits to be meaningful, for example). Research finds that consumers believe the most important issues for companies to address are health, education, environment and economic development.

Don't think that you can charge more. Cause marketing is more about gaining a competitive advantage and building brand loyalty than it is charging a premium. Consumers won't necessarily pay more just to participate.

Start small. Try a cause marketing effort first on a local level. For example, a toy store could run a promotion where part of the sales goes to support a local school. If it works, you can build on ways to support educational efforts from there.

Not that I'm biased or anything, but using support of Kiva as a first step makes sense for so many reasons, but perhaps most importantly, it's a very easy first step.

Dennis Schall, on the Corporate Responsibility Officer Blog, posted an interesting Financial Times article about how Web 2.0 social networking tools will push Corporate Responsibility forward. "When we look at the tools Web 2.0 represents, they have the potential to be game changing for those working to advance a progressive vision of the relationship of business to society." The authors focus on things like how Web 2.0 tools make it easier for companies and their stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue. At the 'big picture' corporate social responsibility level, there are clearly a lot of changes happening. One thing they don't mention in the piece is how small business owners can use these social media tools to engage with customers and communities in meaningful ways. We'll be working to introduce tools and resources that can specifically help small businesses DO GOOD and PROSPER. 

This is such a great idea! I much prefer this kind of affinity program to others. It is so simple and so beautiful in how it works. Brilliant!

Lothar Fritsch

Cyndia Zwahlen wrote a great piece in the LA Times today about small businesses using their charitable giving as a way to promote themselves. "More small businesses are making charitable giving part of their business strategy but not all have the know-how to do it effectively." As with any business strategy, a 'cause related marketing' program needs to be planned well. Cyndia makes some solid suggestions:

• Pick a charity or cause that is a good strategic fit.
• Don't overlook small charities.
• Do your research. "Don't assume every charity offers the same benefits to donors or is even willing to work with your small business."
• Don't expect advertising and marketing exposure from the organization you support.
• Don't treat the arrangement casually. You may need a formal written agreement with a charity if there's a public tie between you and the cause.
• Don't back off when money is tight.

Tonight, something very special is happening at the Newport Beach Breakers tennis match. Ramon Delgado, a member of the team, will meet Bryan McDonald, a local small business owner, to celebrate the impact that Kiva has on the lives of entrepreneurs in Paraguay. Ramon is from Paraguay and Bryan has sponsored entrepreneurs in Paraguay through kiva.org. We applaud Bryan's commitment to help entrepreneurs in the developing world.

I stumbled across Katie's blog, Thought Bubbles. In her 'Kiva' post, she describes how she heard about Kiva, why she decided to make a grant and the process she went through in making a decision about the recipient. What struck me about her story is that it really is HER STORY. She's young and inspired by faith, but everyone who discovers Kiva and decides to participate experiences something unique and meaningful. Go Katie and spread the good word!

I've been stumbling across small businesses that are promoting their support of Kiva. All along, we believed that KivaB4B would be an opportunity for Advanta to provide tools for small businesses to promote their support of Kiva...aka, cause related marketing is not just for the big boys.