Doing Good is Good for Content

Businesses that take up the cause marketing mantle could well be sitting on a gold mine of engaging content.

Doing Good is Good for Content

Content strategies, Content Inc., digital content rules… the list goes on. We wouldn’t be the first to suggest that cutting through the mire and getting your content noticed has never been harder.

As marketers and business owners we are all acutely aware of the increasing chaos, uncertainty and “progress” in marketing; new technologies, techniques and buzzwords abound.  There seems to be constant pressure to produce “remarkable content”. Others go so far as to suggest that unless you’re creating so-called 10X content, you don’t have a chance.

A recent study highlighted that the majority of marketers consider generating quality content to be one of their main challenges. The call to “create and distribute valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience” is heard, but hard (Content Marketing Institute).

Content from Causes

So, where do you get this content from? How do you consistently conjure up great stories to wow your audiences?

Assuming you’re not Red Bull and you haven’t started up your own media house to create amazing content that beautifully meets the needs of your audience, one great way to do this is cause marketing.

A carefully crafted cause marketing strategy paired with diligent, responsible and enthusiastic activation is a fantastic source of rich, engaging content. The stories that are created from good cause marketing campaigns and partnerships are liable to have a natural source of emotion, built around engaging characters.

5 Really Good Case Studies

Here, we’ve curated some wonderful examples of storytelling that have come from cause marketing partnerships, grassroots campaigns, and social enterprise marketing initiatives, for you to enjoy.

1) Patagonia’s Unbroken Ground

Corporate sustainability megastar, Patagonia, recently made a foray into the food industry, with Patagonia Provisions. The cornerstone of their marketing campaign is a 25-minute documentary, with accompanying film tour presenting live speakers and of course some sample Provisions. The doco digs into food security and the role of food production in climate change.

2) The Home Depot Canada

Supported by Toronto-based cause marketing agency, Impakt, The Home Depot Canada set about reviewing their social purpose, which provided the foundation for many fantastic activities.

They have communicated their social purpose strategically, through The Home Depot Canada Foundation, in a number of ways:

• Engaging content on their website
• Releasing detailed research papers
• Facilitating a symposium, inviting corporations, youth-serving organizations, and youth who have experienced homelessness

3) Assemble Papers

Assemble is a “Melbourne-based residential property developer focused on small footprint projects. And Assemble Papers is their wonderful content marketing platform and magazine. The online and print magazines look at the “culture of living closer together”, providing delightful, in-depth, articles about living small.

4) #IceBucketChallenge

Albeit neither a cause marketing campaign nor a planned content marketing activity (it was created and driven by 3 ALS sufferers), the Ice Bucket Challenge movement generated amazing content, demonstrating the power of social media in such a campaign.

5) Thankyou

Thankyou is a Melbourne-based social enterprise that started out as a bottled water brand, responding to global water crises. Since then, it has expanded into the food and cosmetic industries. They donate 100% of their profits to fund “safe water, food, hygiene and sanitation services around the world”.

Thankyou has created an engaging website, where you can track your impact by entering a code from your purchased product. You can get details about projects they’ve funded, and read up about the countries where the projects are taking place.

More recently, Thankyou published a book, presumably the first of several, called Chapter One, which charts the beginning and rise of the organisation… raising $1.5 million in the process!

If you’re feeling inspired by these examples and would like some help making a start with your own cause marketing efforts, then check out our recent articles. Not only can you do Good and enhance your brand, but you can ease the burden on your marketing department and provide incredible, engaging content for your business.