Cause-Related Marketing-Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

Pink ribbons for breast cancer research. Product Red merchandise for fighting HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Yellow LiveStrong bracelets for cancer research. These campaigns are examples of cause-related marketing. A typical cause-related marketing campaign teams one or more nonprofit organizations with for-profit ones. The forprofit organization announces publicly that it will donate some or all of the proceeds from a product or products to the nonprofit organization. For example, if you buy an iPod Nano Product [Red], a Starbucks [Red] card, or a Product [Red] T-shirt from the Gap, that corporation makes a contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. One hundred percent of the contribution goes to grants financed by the Global Fund for projects in Africa.

Cause-related marketing began in 1976 when the March of Dimes, which fights birth defects, wanted to raise funds in the West. It teamed with Marriott Corporation, which wanted to generate publicity for its new Great America theme park in California. The campaign was a huge success. Cause-related marketing has grown from almost nothing to roughly $1.57 billion. Social networking groups such as Facebook and Twitter have become official or unofficial resources for information and for spreading the word about causes such as education, fighting disease, clean water, and environmental issues.

After the recent recession, consumers spent less and turned to inexpensive, family-oriented activities. In this climate, a new type of cause-related partnership came into being.

Disney Parks announced its new "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program for 2010. In partnership with the HandsOn Network, a national volunteer network, Disney offered free one-day, one-park admission to the first million people who performed one day of certified volunteer work for a participating charity or other program. Habitat for Humanity and Ronald McDonald House Charities were just two of the nationwide programs, but volunteers could also clean up a local park; work at a homeless shelter, museum, or other institution; or walk or run for a cause such as diabetes or heart disease. Many of the activities were family oriented and were intended to help parents teach their children about volunteering. Families of up to eight could volunteer together, and children as young as six could participate.

Jay Rasulo, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said, ". . . we want to recognize . . . the contributions people make to their communities every day. We want to inspire 1 million volunteers-people who will invest time and energy to make their own communities and neighborhoods a better place."

Visitors can check the Disney Web site to find opportunities, arranged by location, for volunteering through the HandsOn network. So many people visited the sign-up page on that day that it crashed several times. Although Disney had no official social network pages, multiple unofficial ones were created. In addition, HandsOn publicized the program through its Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.

Tree Fresno's goal is to reforest areas near the San Joaquin Valley in California. More than 150 people, many in families, volunteered through the Disney program to spend a day planting seedlings. A thousand other people in family groups also signed up to volunteer. The program was closing in on its goal of 1 million volunteers. Although it is too soon to tell whether volunteer cause-related marketing will become more common, the success of "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" has set a standard to which future projects can aspire.

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. How does Disney fulfill its responsibility to the general public?

2. Which organization benefits more from the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program- Disney or Hands xOn? Explain your answer