Fundraising 2.0

A term, and hopefully a practice, that will find its way into the mainstream lexicon in the coming months is Fundraising 2.0.

Not unlike Web 2.0, F20 (for short, pronounced like the molecular formula for water H20) involves social networking, social bookmarks, blogging, and other modern online practices intended to enhance connectivity and create communities of like-minded advocates.

However, the success of F20 will only shine through with the activation of live, offline intersections by way of person-to-person networking, relevant events and promotions, and most critically by way of partnerships between nonprofits and businesses.

These partnerships will come to be known as Brandraising. Ideally, current and prospective donors, volunteers, advocates and customers will come to understand, acknowledge, and embrace the partnership as a brand unto itself.

Outreach activity to cultivate said constituencies is already known as Friendraising. Like Experiential Marketing, Friendraising relies on understanding the habits, emotions, aspirations, and rituals of target constituency profiles. These days, Friendraising is complicated by the recession and the ensuing ability for people to make immediate commitments to contribute financially to nonprofits.

Activation of both Brandraising and Friendraising can be described as Fundraising, but it is crucial to understand that in the 2.0 context Fundraising is a much more active, frequent, and event-based commitment to development than ever before.

The beauty of F20 is in its very definition: strength in numbers. There are little, often zero costs to nonprofits to practice F20 aggressively. The minimal costs to partner businesses are recouped almost immediately via the traffic and revenues F20 events provide.

If F20 is to truly work, it will first require nonprofits to embrace the shift in pace and begin to reach out to resources that can help connect them with venues and (ideally) sponsors - and beginning the Brandraising process. In a world of recession, unemployment, swine flu, etc. Fundraising 2.0 is a bright spot that can help sustain if not elevate nonprofits and businesses now, and for years to come.

Marc-Portugal

Just BE Cause

A while back I prepared a marketing proposal that fell on deaf ears. It happens....

However, since the prospective client chose not to engage, and since they're my ideas to begin with, I’d like to share one that seems relevant in today’s marketing culture:

"Just BE Cause"

This is not a spelling, grammatical or capitalization error. The original thought process centered around “Just Because” – the “excuse” to do something fun, out of the ordinary and debatably adventurous in regards to a brand experience.

Having said that, some people need a compelling excuse to justify the cost of the adventure (especially these days), or even to justify the adventure itself. In the spirit of experiential marketing’s personalized, emotional, and habitual nature, the idea of “helping” seemed like a natural pairing as an “excuse.”

Translation: Cause Marketing. Businesses working together with non-profit organizations for mutual benefit. Each gains exposure, traffic, traction, and if activated successfully – each gains revenues. An “adventure” of both substance and meaning.

“Just because” is now Just BE Cause.

By many indications including articles, blogs, conferences and more – non-profit leadership seems to feel that now is the time to embrace and aggressively pursue ongoing, layered corporate partnerships, outsourcing, and other collaborative strategies and tactics to strengthen overall advocacy and development efforts.

Hey businesses! This means that there are great causes willing to help promote your business and probably make you money by using their e-mail lists, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and more if you are willing to donate a little time and resources too! Even as a jaded, biased consumer given my work experiences and marketing sensibilities – I 110% admit I am ABSOLUTELY INFLUENCED in regards to purchasing and brand loyalty if I know that some of my money and/or commitment will help a cause.

Hey causes! This means you need to step out of the proverbial box, ensure you truly understand the habits and interests your advocacy, volunteer and donor bases, and work in a proactive, modern manner to partner up with businesses that speak to the aforementioned habits and interests. Don’t be afraid of pushing the “image envelope.” No one will condemn you from hosting an event at a bar or nightclub. Don’t be afraid to “pick up the pace” when it comes to collaborative events and promotions. It won’t cost you more money – it will MAKE you more money.

Should consumers ONLY patronize businesses in partnership with non-profits? Of course not. Should consumers support every possible cause they can identify? No way. Business and consumers should focus their energies and resources on a few, effective, ideally long-term alliances. There are enough businesses and causes to go around such that strong, meaningful experiential partnerships can be established.

Bottom line: Work together. Raise and make money together. Why? Just BE Cause.

Marc-Portugal
Marc on LinkedIn

Solution for Luxury Hotels

Attention Hospitality Executives:

When you have a free moment, take a gander at this article posted today on CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/04/24/luxury.hotels.bad.economy/index.html

In short, it accounts the overwhelming financial challenges facing luxury hotels. It’s not good. Here's an excerpt:


From December to February, occupancy in luxury hotels, a category that includes names such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. sunk more than 15 percent...the revenue generated from the available luxury rooms fell 23 percent in that same three-month period...there are 551,610 rooms opening this year amid sluggish consumer demand...


Meanwhile, there are over 1100 sales jobs open in the US (according to today's posting count on Hcareers.com) - the majority of whose expectations are to fill the aforementioned 550,000+ rooms. Hmmm...

Perhaps instead of trying to figure our how to fill rooms, luxury hotels should consider revenue-generating programs for consumers in their own markets. Specifically, luxury hotels must look to their restaurants, bars, salons, spas, workout facilities, WiFi offerings, smaller meeting spaces, video conferencing technology, and local charities - and program live experiences (events and promotions) that utilize these resources to make money for the property - and essentially work their way back to selling rooms.

The outcome of these efforts will simultaneously maintain if not enhance the “buzz” of the properties – which sales managers, management, culinary and service personnel can all use as a resource in their efforts to secure more traffic and revenues within their own networks.

Without intending to come off as self-serving (I mean it), there are several entries on my other blog (http://marcportugal-expmarketing.typepad.com/) that address solutions to this very challenge in more detail. Please feel free to contact me at marcportugal@yahoo.com with any follow-up questions.

There is a solution, and one that can start sooner than later.

Marc-Portugal

Bookmarking Hearts and Minds

Good Morning Campers...

Yesterday I registered with over fifteen online "social bookmarking" services - web sites that (amongst other things) allow users to share their favorite topics, shows, music, web sites, blogs, etc. with the world.

Imagine if your business was mentioned - by name, by link, etc. - as someone's favorite ___. That would be cool, right? That would feel good, yes? Recommendations are really powerful, as they're arguably one of the strongest qualitative metrics of performance.

Thank about it - someone could be "perfectly" qualified for a job, but it is ultimately a reference or recommendation that puts them over the edge and gets them hired.

Here's the point - a recommendation represents satisfaction - a "state" that can be described as "positive, emotional gratification, as an outcome of participating in an experience."

Achieving satisfaction, which interpretively can be extrapolated as a path to brand loyalty, can only logically take place by creating an experience for the hopefully soon-to-be satisfied to partake in. Very few people recommend a business or brand just because they see it advertised, because it's the least expensive, or even because it's the most popular. No one recommends a brand that does not first deliver satisfaction.

A recommendation is an emotional commitment, just as satisfaction is an emotional state - neither of which can be achieved without establishing relationships that foster the emotions. In marketing, this can only take place in person via live experiences - the essence and incarnation of experiential marketing.

Online social networking can prompt relationships, and bookmarking may affirm relationships, but the only reliable exercise in truly establishing relationships is live marketing.

Marc Portugal