Last month, we talked about companies using social media networks for cause marketing.  Now we are focusing on a company that actually redesigned their packaging for a cause.

Recently, Tide changed their packaging to go along with their Loads of Hope campaign.  That is a pretty big deal for a brand that has not significantly changed their packaging in their sixty years of history.  The Loads of Hope campaign raises funds for disaster relief support.  The new design features photos of disaster victims that Tide has provided aid for, such as Hurricane Katrina victims.  The newly designed bottle also says, “You can help” on the yellow cap to help draw attention to the charity and the company’s social responsibility efforts.

This change in Tide’s packaging design shows that they take social responsibility seriously.  It is a program that they are continuing to support, and it enhances their brand image.  Consumers are more likely to buy products from a socially responsible company, rather than the competition if the products are similar.  So not only are they giving back to the community by helping disaster victims, but they are also boosting their brand image, which could increase sales and the traffic flow to their web site.  The design and custom packaging that they are using helps inform and remind consumers what they are doing to help others.  And most importantly, they are doing their part to give back to the community and those in need.

Cause marketing is nothing new, but it has been increasingly growing in popularity for companies to both give back to the community and to get their names out there.  It is seen as a marketing campaign, but the money used is not just being spent on promotions, it is being used to help others.  This makes cause marketing a truly great idea.

A new trend that we are starting to see is companies implementing cause marketing through popular social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.  These social media networks connect millions of people across the world quickly and easily.

Just last month, Target’s “Bullseye Gives” campaign allowed Facebook users to go on Target’s Facebook page and vote for which charity (from a list of ten) that Target will donate $3 million.  Users were allowed to vote once a day, and the amount of money each charity was given was determined by the percentage of votes that they received.  Better yet, each time someone voted, it would show up in their newsfeed for all of their friends to see.  This is a tremendous word-of-mouth tool for praising Target and their acts of social responsibility.  Target’s “Bullseye Gives” campaign resulted in 167,000 Facebook users who came together to vote over 291,000 times.  Now that’s getting their name out there.

Target is not the only company that uses social media networks, like Facebook, to broadcast their charitable efforts.  Kraft also did well with their “Share a Little Comfort” campaign.  They offered to donate up to one million boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to needy families, depending on the number of “statuses” or “tweets” shared by users on Facebook and Twitter.

Using popular social media networks for cause marketing can really help companies get their name out there and give back to the community, but they must be careful as to not come off as spam.  If consumers think that you are just trying to sell more of your product and don’t actually care about the charities, your campaign will be a setback for your branding efforts.  But if you follow in these companies footsteps in finding the perfect mix of social media promotions and charitable donations, you could gain a considerable amount of customer and brand loyalty, while still knowing that you are helping others.<–>