Charity Pin Ups: A Love Hate Relationship

If you have visited a department store, grocery store, or pharmacy chain in the past week you have likely come up against a very nice sales associate asking if you would like to donate a dollar or more to their supporting charity. And if you are like the vast majority of people you probably didn't love it. In fact, let me go one step further. You probably found it annoying.

Ok, I said it, charity pin ups are annoying.

Whether you are being asked to give at a Walmart, Toys R Us or Walgreens the ask is basically structured in the same way (add a dollar and put your pin up on the wall). And they are generally premised on the same behavior, namely, guilt. Who wants to be the person in line saying no to a child with autism?

The problem is that as more and more companies run the pin up program, it becomes easier and easier for the consumer to say "no," either because they just gave at another store, or because they are annoyed by how many times they are being asked and the embarrassment of saying "no" has been replaced with feelings of annoyance.

The other problem (in terms of creating sustainable initiatives) is that charity pin ups do very little to help a business drive its bottom line. Customers do not visit a store because of the charity pin up program, nor do they come back more often or buy more. And the sales associates don't love it because they are constantly being rejected by the large percentage of people who say "no," exacerbated by the fact that almost all of the responsibility to sell the charity pin up program is being placed on their shoulders.

The result is a general decline in these programs.

The purpose of calling out the flaws in the way most of the charity pin up programs are conceived is not to rant about their ineffectiveness. Rather, it is to acknowledge that the moment at cash when your wallet is out and you are being asked to make a contribution to a worthwhile charity is a perfect moment to engage people in giving.

So what if it could be different? What if a charity pin up program could generate "profitable good" -- i.e. lots of money for a charity, increase the charity's visibility among consumers and contribute to a company's bottom line?

Accomplishing this feat requires three key changes to the way most programs are conceived today.

1. Change the mindset: from charitable benefit to mutual benefit. Pin up programs need to move from a company's charitable giving/community department to the marketing department. It needs to be recognized as a strategic extension of its marketing initiatives, one that can benefit the charity, the customer and the business. It should drive bottom line sales, whether that's repeat visits, larger purchases or new customers. But doing so requires incenting the customer as a means to drive both more donations and additional purchases.

2. Change the conversation: from the associate asking the customer to the customer asking the associate. Too much pressure is placed on the sales associate to sell the pin up. But what if this could be reversed? What if out-of-store marketing, combined with in-store marketing (including some attention grabbing incentives at cash) could motivate the customer to ask about the pin up program? The result would be a very different dynamic because the sales associate would no longer feel he or she is burdening the customer.

3. Incent the behavior. Give people a reason to contribute beyond the feel good effect. Reward them for making a contribution and tie it back to a repeat visit in store or a reduction on an item (a "win-win"). Incent the customer so he/she may also be interested in learning a bit more about the charity.

Charity pin ups don't have to be annoying. And while not everyone will be convinced by the proposed changes, we can make them more "loved" than "hated".

 

Follow Phillip Haid on Twitter: www.twitter.com/philhaid

Comments

[katyaN4G]

05:59 PM on 09/11/2012

Great post. I think the issue with these experiences is they are devoid of the reason people want to give in the first place - as well as the reward that usually comes with being generous -- the feeling that you made a difference. Having a clerk say "will you donate $1 for prostate cancer" (they always say things like that - not PREVENT or FIGHT cancer, but anyway) doesn't do any of the things that fundraising should. There is no human sense of people being helped. And when you give, you have no feeling that you helped. You just swipe your credit card because you don't want to be seen as stingy and walk away with a nagging suspicion you didn't really do much of anything for anyone with that gift. PetSmart is a little better - they say "give $1 for homeless pets" and often reward you with a coupon. But even they could do better. That coupon should have a picture of one of the animals that donations have saved. The clerk should say, "thanks for making a difference for a dog (or cat) like this one." Instead, we get a transaction firmly planted in the world of market - not social norms. A real lost opportunity.

[MeganStrand]

02:06 PM on 09/07/2012

Great post, Phillip! Yes, pinups have been around for some time and yes, for sure they can cause donor fatigue or annoyance.

I think your most salient point is the 3rd one, right at the end. Most savvy cause marketers realize that by incentivizing consumers to make the donation "worth their while", they end up with a double win. Many retailers will also combine coupons from multiple local retailers in exchange for a donation - another smart strategy.

For people interested in this topic, check Joe Water's blog at SelfishGiving.com - lots of examples on pinups there!

Megan Strand
Cause Marketing Forum
@TweetCMF