Is it me? Or have marketers jumped on the Haiti charity-tie bandwagon in huge numbers with amazing speed and intensity? Overnight every business—from local delis to national brands— seems to be brandishing the Haitian flag and figuring out ways to engage customers around funding relief activities.
On one hand, the response from media and marketers is a beautiful thing, though I'm skeptical about how much of the cash will actually get to the point of delivery and help the poorest of the poor. From another perspective it's a remarkable teachable moment; an unfortunate but unique and compelling opportunity to remind everyone that we are all connected and we are and should be our brothers' keeper.
And while I don't remember as much immediate reaction to the tsunami, perhaps it paved the way and prepared brands to connect themselves to or capitalize on unanticipated philanthropic opportunities. I also suspect several fundamental changes have taken place in our markets and in the minds of our consumers that might be driving the charitable impulse.
We Are Connected. Social media has provided an instant digital link that hundreds of millions have embraced. Popular sentiment and collective expectations are transmitted at the speed of light. Consensus on what is happening and what is the expected response is virtually immediate. People are voting and exercising their voices with a mouse click.
We Need a Break. After two years of sustained recession and bad economic news, we're beat up, mistrustful and broke. We expect everyone to cut us a break. Consumers expect deals, discounts and offers. Charitable tie-ins are just another promotional flavor and another new way to meet this consistent consumer demand. The emotion-charged novelty breaks the monotony of me-too offers and monkey-see monkey-do promotional offers.
We're Looking for Good Guys. When all the news is bleak and the papers are filled with daily revelations that our favorite politicians or celebrities are crooks, liars and perverts, brands have the opportunity to do well by doing good. We are burned out on bad news and desperately seeking a reason to believe, a confirmation that we can overcome our troubles and a glimpse of the inestimable human spirit. It's a window of opportunity for brands to make us feel better.
We Are Sick of Being Helpless. The economic crunch happened to us. We feel helpless in the face of powerful and mysterious global forces. Many of us feel the same about choices in domestic and foreign policy made by Obama and/or the Congress. Presenting your brand as an active "good guy" engages customers by speaking to their psychological needs and by helping them feel like they are doing something. Aligning your brand with a charity makes your customers active players who are instantly part of the solution.
The tragedy in Haiti is of epic proportions compounded by the absolute lack of infrastructure or reliability in public institutions or political leaders. It will be interesting to see which brands grab a quick association with the relief effort and move on and which brands opt for sustaining associations. In either case, our customers' expectations about brands and how they interact with us have been permanently altered.
