Brand Girl™

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) is one of those fortunate non-profit brands whose allure matches that of Nike—in that pretty much everyone wants to be seen running with a pair.

For much of its 100 years of service, BBBS has been blessed with an army of volunteers that supply it with the manpower to fuel its programs and enough corporate sponsors to keep its operations flush with cash. However, few sponsoring organizations have been able to escape the ripple effect of the nation’s crippling and crumbling economic disposition over the past few years, and have had to adjust budgets accordingly—with cause marketing efforts being scrutinized, and hit, the hardest. As a result, BBBS, like many charities, has seen a continuing decline in its annual corporate donations. Brand Channel reports, “In 2009, [BBBS] revenue was $278 million, vs. $290 million in 2008. It costs about $1,000 per year to help each child. In 2009 the organization helped 227,000 children, down from 255,000 children the year before.” Consequently, in an attempt to garner more exposure for its need for volunteers and private donations—from the likes of you and me—BBBS has taken its tin cups to the virtual streets via social media platforms with its new “Start Something” advertising concept. The campaign features a subtle plea for donations and volunteers, and loudly encourages existing mentees and mentors to “turn the camera” on themselves to tell their stories (i.e., “starting something big”). “The campaign’s edge,” according to Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, “is the fact the the ‘Bigs’ and the ‘Littles’ will contributing content. It’s a creative move to empower laypeople, volunteers and kids, to produce advertising media for a large organization.”

Free, positive, viral, word-of-mouth is always appreciated, and it doesn’t take much to get today’s generation to tweet and post. BBBS, like any organization doing business today, is smart to adapt new media into its communications strategy to attract new eyeballs. What remains to be seen, however, is if the new eyeballs they find are attached to the right wallets. Will the costs of these new channels produce the extra cash they need? This unanswered question continues to plague both the profit and non-profit sectors. In the end, participation—a true physical engagement answering the call to action—is what’s needed for success. A Facebook “Like” isn’t something we can count on or cash in on. (Not yet anyway.)

Author Malcolm Gladwell’s October 2010 piece in The New Yorker, “Small Change,” addresses this very issue around social media and expectations for social activism. In a nutshell, he refers to social media connections as “weak ties.” He says, that “…It’s [Social media] terrific at the diffusion of innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, seamlessly matching up buyers and sellers, and the logistical functions of the dating world. But weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.” Needless to say, his essay raised great debate.

So what, if anything, can we take away from this, aside from “a) slow and steady wins the race,” and “b) a drop in the bucket is better than none.” How about this:

c) Social media may be really nothing more than having a “real-time” direct mail piece targeted to an audience. Instead of affixing a wacky golden yellow sticker to a reply postcard to declare interest, your audience is encouraged to visit a link, post a “Like”, and tweet the conversation with others. Finding interested parties is easier, faster, and cheaper. But the hard task remains: Getting them to pull the $$$ trigger for you—ka-ching!—over all the other worthy causes out there. Or as Nike would say, to get them to: “Just do it.”

Bristol Palin, part of the now infamous Sarah Palin household, was recently featured in a new anti-pregnancy, public-service announcement (PSA) launched by The Candie’s Foundation. Neil Cole, CEO of the Candie’s fashion brand, launched The Candie’s Foundation in 2001 after discovering that raising awareness about the consequences of teen pregnancy was an issues niche that is severely underserved by corporate America. Since then, a string of celebrities—from Beyoncé, Ciara, and Jenny McCarthy to Vanessa Minnillo, Ashley Tisdale, and Hilary Duff—have strutted their stuff for the fashionable Candie’s Foundation to make an impression on our youth.

As with the aforementioned talent pool, there’s no doubt that Bristol Palin had the best of intentions when she lent her newly earned fame, garnered from her unfortunate situation with Levi Johnston and her subsequent quick launch into early parenting, to The Candie’s Foundation—by serving as both its “Teen Ambassador” and as the headliner in the newest addition to its “Pause… Before You Play” campaign. The latter PSA series uses fairly nuanced messaging: On the surface, it abandons the more bullying, authoritative, and judgmental tones of most abstinence-only promos in favor of a more subtle, friendly, and compassionate “think before you act” approach. But given Candie’s other related messages, which include “I Never Thought I Would Be a Statistic” and “Be Sexy: It Doesn’t Mean You Have to Have Sex,” it’s hard to say whether “Pause…Before you Play” is just a glossier take on that old fear-based “Don’t Do It” line. Regardless of where one falls on the abstinence issue and teens, however, one must question if the message sent by the PSA was ultimately the most compelling one the foundation could drum up. Even if one agrees that abstinence is the best and most realistic way to tackle the teen pregnancy problem, does the ad even truly effectively embody “Pause… Before You Play?” In the PSA, a very serious Bristol, holding her babe in arms, opines aloud:

“What if I didn’t come from a famous family?
What if I didn’t have all their support?
What if I didn’t have all these opportunities?
Believe me, it wouldn’t be pretty…”

The polished, 30-second spot could be misconstrued to imply that “it’s okay that I [Bristol] had sex and got pregnant because I have means and support, but chances are, you don’t, so don’t.” Chalk one up for the Class Wars. Somehow, BG doubts that the folks at Candie’s were trying to say, “Rich kids, have at each other like rabbits, but you poor youngins, back away from the bed, the backseat of the car, the contraception aisle at CVS before it’s too late.” On quick glance, the Palin PSA might even seem more like a trailer for an upcoming reality show than a sincere message that drives home one of the darker consequences of teen sex: ending up a mom at 18. However, given that Bristol Palin is the most famous teenage mom on today’s media circuit, whether the spot is hitting the target audience hard enough or sending some mixed signals could ultimately be irrelevant. After all, the PSA is doing exactly what The Candie’s Foundation and Bristol had hoped. It’s getting folks, however briefly, to take stock and––pause.

The recent revelations of Tiger’s shenanigans have revealed a side of his brand persona that is a far cry from the one that has taken shape organically since he turned pro in 1996, the quintessentially American success story that won him the endorsements of many. His perceived image of strength, precision, and sportsmanship has earned multi-millions—through paid corporate sponsorships (with Gillette, Gatorade, and Nike, among many others) and private donations for his foundation. So the question is, how does Tiger’s not-so-stellar performance off the links tarnish his brand value now? The truth is that we will not know the true fall out until “his” whole story is out. But what we do know is that there is a lot at stake for everyone associated with the Woods camp, so initially there’s a strong incentive to keep the billion-dollar machine going. From that vantage point, throwing hush money—allegedly, millions are on offer to get various lovers to disappear and the beleaguered wife to stand by her man—to get back on course, fast, makes perfect cents.

In the end, a sponsor like Cadillac may think twice before sidling up to Tiger to launch the next über-mini van, and Accenture might steer clear of any ad concepts embodying the golf legend as a beacon of trust. Interestingly, however, Tiger never actively espoused the values associated with a family man. It’s more that people assumed they became part of his brand story when he married and had children. And some of us may also be assuming that Tiger is humbled to some degree and now mulling over the holes in his story. But then, you know what they say about assumptions.