By William Ernest Waites

Paul Hardy is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hardy isn’t a

trained mountaineer; he is the CEO of the Hardy Development Group, Inc., a

company that develops golf course communities in Southwest Florida.

So why is this guy climbing a mountain in Africa? Not

because it’s “there,” but because the Children’s Hospital is here and needs

money to continue its healing services for sick children in our area. The trip

to Tanzania with 23 other Southwest Florida business executives and government

leaders is a fundraiser for that cause. It is one of more than 10 children’s

charities Hardy has supported over the last three years.

According to Renee Tolson, a principal in the Hardy

Development Group, the motivation is a mixture of wanting to support worthy

children’s causes and wanting to show people that Hardy Development Group is a

good citizen-minded business — one worthy of your business. “We recognize that

it is vital to share our financial resources with others, improving their

quality of life,” Tolson says. “In doing so, we also build a positive

reputation for our company in the market place.” Hardy Development Group is

engaged in what is called “cause-related marketing.”

Cause-related marketing is what happens when a commercial

concern combines with a public charity in a joint marketing effort. The

commercial concern brings marketing expertise and dollars to the mix. The

charity brings a positive aura of pre-acceptance to the effort. It also brings

the support of those who support the charity and interest from the third-party

press.

Since the Kili for Kids crew has not completed their climb

at press time, it is impossible to measure the total inches of “free” ink

Hardy’s participation will ultimately generate. In any case, it will be the

kind of exposure money alone can’t buy.

Another example of cause-related marketing takes place the

fourth Friday of each month at the Bell Tower Shops. “FridayFest,” an evening

of jazz and blues entertainment in the Bell Tower Shops’ center court, includes

beverage sales by the POLO Club of Southwest Florida. Proceeds go to support

more than a dozen local charities, with participation changing each month.

After a slow start, these events now regularly attract large

audiences of music lovers (and shoppers) who show up to support the charities.

The POLO Club provides the beverages. Its charitable causes get the proceeds.

The Bell Tower provides the venue and entertainers and underwrites the

promotion, enlisting the support of other commercial partners. In return, Bell

Tower merchants and restauranteurs realize additional traffic, sales, and

awareness of the quality and variety of their offerings. Becky Thompson,

property manager at the Bell Tower Shops, praises the activity, “It not only helps

the charities and us, it also encourages working relations with other sponsors,

encouraging future cooperative efforts on other projects. All up, it is one of

our most successful marketing activities.”

One of the more impressive forms of cause-related marketing

is sponsorship of a major event. Jazz on the Green, for example, which also

benefits the Children’s Hospital, would not have been created if not for

cause-related marketing. Jazz on the Green has become one of the most eagerly

anticipated and well-attended performance events in Southwest Florida. Many

companies have contributed their efforts and cash in support of the event’s

success. WCI has provided venues. Others have provided security, parking,

transportation, and promotion. Spiro & Waites has created and supervised

production of the promotional themes and materials for the past six years. The

firm has benefited by association with the event and the Children’s Hospital

cause. Potential clients have contacted the agency to handle work for them

based on the work done for Jazz on the Green. And, as Christopher T. Spiro, CEO

of Spiro & Waites says, “We’re happy to be contributing our talents to the

Children’s Hospital’s healing care for kids in our community.”

Another example is the Haunted Walk and Friendly Forest at

the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium. Now in its 19th year, this great

community event, offering local youngsters and their parents a safe way to

enjoy Halloween, is sponsored by WINK-TV and WINK 96.9 FM. This sponsorship,

including on-air promotion, is largely responsible for people knowing about the

Haunted Walk and Friendly Forest. The result is attendance that provides

important operating funds for the nature center each year, without which it

would not be able to continue as an important community asset. WINK, for its

contribution, receives association with community environmental causes in a way

that would be either impossible or much more expensive if attempted on its own.

Cause-related marketing clearly is worth the time, energy,

and funds that are invested in it. Are these opportunities open to your

company? Absolutely. But don’t go into them blindly.

First, sign on with a cause that reflects your management’s

personal interest and that you can stick with for a while. One of the

satisfactions of cause-related marketing is the knowledge that you are helping

with something you believe in. Then, if the first year’s efforts are less than

spectacular, you will still feel good about the cause and be ready to do better

next year.

Second, determine explicitly what is expected from your

company and what is expected from the charity organization. Put it down on

paper. It doesn’t have to be a “contract” but it should be in writing so that

it is clearly understood and can be referred to any time there is a question

about it. Nothing can take the edge off of a cooperation faster than the

feeling that either side is not holding up their end of the agreement.

Third, do not enter into an arrangement that is beyond your

financial or physical capabilities. No one wants to fall short at the last

minute, when it becomes clear that the parties involved can’t deliver. If it

becomes a public failure, the bad press can cost you more than you stand to

gain from your good intentions.

Fourth, do due diligence on the organization you are going

to team with. Not all charities are as charitable as they may appear. Make sure

you know everything there is to know before you start down the road with any

charitable cause.

Paul Hardy and Hardy Development Group have built a

following with their consistent support of charities that benefit children.

The Bell Tower Shops association with the POLO Club is in

its third year, and FridayFests have become regular monthly events with large

audiences.

Jazz on the Green has paid off with both psychic and

material satisfactions for Spiro & Waites.

WINK has sponsored the Haunted Walk and Friendly Forest for

so many years that it has become part of the name, synonymous with a safe and

happy Halloween. Commenting on the value of a long-term relationship, Susan

Brookman, executive director of the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium,

observes, “Because we work with WINK each year, both parties know what to

expect. It helps us to have their support and we also know they have to get some

added value in order to keep coming back each year.”

So, be on the look out for causes that you can relate to and

market with. It will be fun. And it will not be as grueling as climbing 19,000

feet to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

William Ernest Waites is the former chairman and co-creative

director of Spiro & Waites Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations. In

a previous life, he held senior creative and management positions with Young

& Rubicam and Ogilvy & Mather.