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Get great publicity from charitable deeds
By Ann Williams | June 24, 2008
I was particularly impressed by how a local estate agency not only got to help people in need this winter, but also did so in a way that got them great publicity. The past few weeks have seen many people in South Africa in dire straits as winter set in with a bite, and xenophobia took hold with truly horrible results. Realty-1 on the Centurion Golf Estate showed that they cared enough to do something to help.
They organised for a trailer to be parked at the entrance to the estate and then sent out flyers asking residents to please place any food, clothing, blankets etc in the trailer which would then be given to those in need. I think this was great publicity and did much to build their reputation in the community. Let’s look at some of the factors that made this such a good marketing promotion:
1. They worked within their specific community - on the estate rather than say the Highveld area - rather than trying to spread the goodwill around too far afield. Not only is this the community where they are based, but it is also one of their main target markets. (Many people move to different houses on the same estate; or tell their friends and family when a particular house comes onto the market.)
2. They identified a known and well publicised need. This meant that they didn’t have to educate people about the need first. (Fundraisers for lesser known health conditions/diseases often face this obstacle.)
3. They decided up front who would be handling the donations. In this case, they were giving what was collected to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross - both well known charitable organisations who have a solid reputation.
4. They said what was wanted (clothing, food, blankets etc). All too many organisations just ask for money. While you can ask for money, do be specific about what it is going to be used for.
5. People could see what was actually happening. The trailer (with Realty-1 ads all over it of course) was highly visible. If your doesn’t have something visible, then make sure that you take some pictures of what you are doing and at least place them on your company website. [More about that in another blog.]
6. They sent out flyers telling people what was happening (once again with their logo on which provided yet more visibility).
7. They gave a time limit. This is quite important if you are doing charitable work in any way.
There were however two opportunities that I think they missed out on with this great piece of publicity:
1. There was no website address given anywhere on the flyer. They missed out on a great opportunity to get people to actually look at their properties.
2. They didn’t use the back of the flyers. They could have put some of their local listings on the back for very little extra money for the printing.
© Ann Williams
To get more great ideas on how to turn any community work or participation that your company or organisation does, then come on one of our intensive, practical workshops on Press Releases and Publicity….
2 Responses to “Get great publicity from charitable deeds”
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June 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
It is good publicity, but something in me tends to balk at the idea of using someone elses hardships as my gain.
I tend to believe that if you are going to give then you should do so without any desire for your own gain.
Hence, I view this type of marketing as rather nasty and cheap. I avoid people who use it.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Hmm. An interesting take on the concept of companies doing charitable work and using it as marketing. I’d actually like to ask a question in return… Would you then also not do business with the bigger companies that do this?
For example with Outsurance who have made television adverts showing the community work they are actively encouraging with their staff members? Or with Nedbank because they have cheque accounts and credit cards where you may chose to support SA rugby or give environmental assistance? Or what about Woolworths with their Back To School project support?
The things is that all of these companies are doing exactly that - getting publicity from their help to others. Why should it be any different if smaller companies do the same?
I noticed that it is extremely common in the USA for small companies to be heavily involved in community service in a variety of ways. And of course in the best American tradition they certainly know how to crow about it!
Cheap? Maybe. But I will say this much…. I really would like to see more and more community work being done by small businesses. However, for most of them to be able to afford to do it (unlike the bigger guys), they really do need to get some kind of benefit out of it.
PS. Realty-1 has been doing a winter blanket etc collection each year on the estate. It’s not just now with the xenophobic attacks.