Cultivate & Motivate
Learnings, teachings, and tips & tricks on social impact, volunteerism, and creating lasting change in communities around the world.
Giving Back Represents the Best Way to Move a Brand Forward
It’s 2022, and it’s very easy to think of all brand spokespeople as inauthentic corporate shills, and brands themselves as enemies masquerading as friends. We’re constantly inundated with #ads and sponsored posts, and even the bad guys spend millions of dollars to make us think they’re the good guys.
Creating Authentic Social Impact When Our Online World Seems Fake
It’s 2022, and it’s very easy to think of all brand spokespeople as inauthentic corporate shills, and brands themselves as enemies masquerading as friends. We’re constantly inundated with #ads and sponsored posts, and even the bad guys spend millions of dollars to make us think they’re the good guys.
As a marketing and advertising executive with 15 years of experience creating branded content, I’ve always wanted to create campaigns that gave back, but never knew where to start and how to ensure the message was authentic.
At first glance, it’s easy to be overwhelmed at the prospect of how to make this all come together, but the formula for an authentic and meaningful social impact campaign is actually very simple:
Cause + Content + Call To Action = Social Impact Media
A great example of social impact media in action is being executed at this very moment- the American Cancer Society and the NFL working together to give one lucky fan a VIP experience at Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday. Through the league’s Crucial Catch program dedicated to fighting cancer and promoting early detection, fans can enter a sweepstakes by donating at least $10 to the American Cancer Society, with one lucky winner getting tickets to the big game, roundtrip airfare, lodging, and a meet-and-greet with a huge star.
The surprising twist? That star is TikTok legend Addison Rae. By enlisting Rae to promote the cause, the NFL and American Cancer Society are appealing to a younger generation of fans that may not otherwise have early cancer detection on their minds. Boasting over 5 billion likes and 86 million followers on the platform, she provides an avenue to a huge swath of followers to promote the NFL’s cause, and offers an authentic voice in the fight against cancer. Early cancer detection is something very near and dear to Rae, as her grandfather, affectionately called PawPaw, battled and overcame a bout with cancer when she was a young child.
How did this campaign follow the simple cause + content + call to action formula?
The NFL identified a cause they cared about, early cancer detection.
They then partnered with the American Cancer Society in order to create a call to action, encouraging donations to be entered into a sweepstakes in order to win a VIP Super Bowl experience.
They created content by partnering with a social media star who can authentically speak to their cause, amplifying the message and taking the campaign to new heights.
The result will be undeniable: a greater donation to the cause, a brighter light being shined on the NFL, and a more meaningful impact-based campaign.
We’re in an era where brands are forced to navigate how to give back in a climate that is many times fraught with inauthenticity and corporate posturing. As a result, it’s easy for media planners to experience paralysis by analysis overthinking what causes and advocates are authentic to their mission.
As this NFL x American Cancer Society x Addison Rae execution shows, as long as a cause is authentic and a brand wants to make an impact, creating a meaningful campaign is many times much easier than we think.
Jon Widawsky
Director, Client Development
Cluster for Change
