by Nedra Weinreich | Jan 2, 2007 | Blog, Cause Marketing, Social Marketing
Last week was my dad’s birthday. I had gone up and down the aisles at Target to try to get ideas, wracked my brain, and still could not figure out what to buy for the man who has everything. There was nothing he needed, and anything he might want and didn’t already have was probably out of my price range anyways.
So I decided to make a donation in his honor. But to which of the many worthy causes out there? I wanted to pick an organization I hadn’t donated to before, and one that would make a real difference in someone’s life. I had a vague memory of having seen Beth Kanter riding a cow in a virtual representation of a gift catalog that I thought was for Heifer International (but now that I look at it, it’s actually for World Vision). I liked the idea of donating toward something tangible like an animal, so I went to Heifer International’s website, where they have a selection of animals you can choose to go to a family who will raise them and earn a livelihood from them. I selected a flock of chicks and a flock of geese for him, downloaded a card, and was pleased with myself for the original idea.
A couple of nights after I had given my dad the card that explained the gift, which he seemed to like, we had dinner at his house. I overheard my stepsister say something to him about the flock of chicks and flock of ducks.
“It was geese,” I called from the next room.
“No, it was ducks,” Michelle said.
“No, we gave him a flock of chicks and a flock of geese,” I said. Why would she be so insistent about it, when I knew perfectly well what we had given him?
Michelle hesitated, with a strange look on her face. “WE gave him a flock of chicks and a flock of ducks.”
We looked at each other as the realization dawned on us that we had given him almost exactly the same gift. “Heifer International?” I asked, a smile growing on my face. Hilarity ensued, and we both laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe.
My dad hadn’t said anything to either of us about the gifts that he had received, because he figured one of us must have mentioned it to the other, who made the faux pas of using the same gift idea, and didn’t want to embarrass us. Michelle had read about Heifer in Rachael Ray’s magazine and liked the idea. We had never talked about it until that night.
If the two of us independently came up with this gift, I have a feeling that Heifer International did quite well this holiday season. The reason I think their gift catalog is so appealing is because the results of the donations are made so concrete. Rather than giving money that goes to an organization’s very intangible general fund, no matter how good a cause it is, people like to be able to picture what they are funding.
This does not just apply to nonprofit fundraising. In social marketing programs, in which we are trying to persuade people to take action to improve their health (a vague notion until you don’t have it) or to “save the world,” we need to think about how to make the product concrete. So, for example, a program to prevent osteoporosis needs to go beyond selling “healthy bones.” Of course, that’s something everyone would want. But the idea of healthy bones doesn’t connect with most people’s lives. But talk to a senior about maintaining her independence by avoiding the dreaded hip fracture, and that will resonate.
“Save energy” is a vague generality, but talking about turning off the light in a room as you leave it, or about buying and installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs to replace your regular bulbs, provides a concrete, easy to understand action.
Try to create a picture in people’s minds of what the action or product will look like in their lives. Ground your descriptions in the senses to make the product come alive. Whether you are “selling” a flock of chicks or trying to get chicks to use your Flock, keep it real and concrete to be successful.
Oh, and a belated blog-borne happy birthday, Daddy. 🙂
Technorati Tags: marketing, nonprofit, heifer international, social marketing, fundraising
by Nedra Weinreich | Jan 2, 2007 | Blog, Miscellaneous
And…I’m back. After sequestering myself from the blog so I could get some actual work done, I am ready to jump back in.
The butterflies have emerged from their chrysalids, with the last one coming out yesterday. Sadly, two of the butterflies have crumpled wings and won’t be able to fly (on the plus side, that means my daughter can keep them as “pets” without feeling guilty about not letting them go free). And one has a predilection for lying on its side and playing dead, but moving around when prodded. Maybe he’s just lazy?
Speaking of metamorphoses, I’m very excited to let you know that the Weinreich Communications website has been completely overhauled, and you can check out the new design now. Yes, it’s about time. Let me know what you think. Eventually, this blog will get a makeover as well.
Since I wasn’t blogging regularly last week, here are a couple of things to check out:
- Liz at Virtualpolitik came out with the winners (losers?) of the Foley Awards, her round-up of the worst uses of technology by policymakers in the past year. I weighed in on the social marketing category.
- The Mobile Persuasion conference that’s going to be happening at Stanford in February looks exciting. Speakers include “the world’s experts on persuasive games, mobile commerce, mobile health, mobile dating, and more.” If I can make it up there, I would love to attend.
And for some reason, my recent del.icio.us links didn’t get picked up automatically and added to the blog, so here they are:
- The doctor is in – The Boston Globe
TV doctors may be fictional, but viewers still listen carefully to what they say
- Discovering the Activation Point
A downloadable publication for people in social change organizations that focuses on strategies for mobilizing concerned people to supportive action by identifying and leveraging their activation points. (via Guy Kawasaki)
- Shared media contacts database
The Media Volunteer Project lets people from the nonprofit community share their own media contact information in exchange for access to everyone else’s information.
Alrighty, I think we’re all caught up now. More to come soon.
Photo credit: Today is a good day
by Nedra Weinreich | Dec 27, 2006 | Blog, Social Media
I’m coming out of hibernation to say congratulations to my friends John Anderton and Dmitriy Kruglyak, who were featured in an article in today’s Wall Street Journal called “Social Networking Comes to Health Care” (WSJ online subscriber access only) [UPDATE: Link goes through to full article now thanks to alternate URL from Emily at Nonprofit Blog Exchange].
John made an appearance in the form of his Second Life avatar Hygeia Philo’s picture on the front of the Personal Journal section, and the article highlighted CDC’s work in SL (though unfortunately not mentioning John by name).
Dmitriy’s Medical Blog Network was highlighted, as well as getting a mention of the Healthcare Blogging Summit he organized and his upcoming social networking venture Trusted.MD. Be sure to keep an eye out for info on the next Healthcare Blogging Summit, slated for April 30, 2007 in Las Vegas.
The article also featured other health organizations using social networking like DailyStrength.org, the American Cancer Society and the Wellness Community.
Technorati Tags: wsj, wall street journal, social networking, health
by Nedra Weinreich | Dec 24, 2006 | Blog, Personal, Social Marketing
This is an exciting time in the Weinreich household. For the second year in a row, my daughter requested and received a butterfly garden kit for her birthday, and we are waiting for the butterflies to emerge from their chrysalids (not cocoons – that’s for moths).
A couple of weeks ago, two containers holding five larvae each arrived. They were tiny black eating machines about the size of a hyphen, feasting on the nutrient medium on the floor of their shared plastic condo. They quickly grew, becoming big fat caterpillars. When each was ready, they hung themselves upside-down (or, ipe-side-down, as my six year old daughter says) from their feet, compacting themselves into short fat Js.
Now here is the amazing part, which I was never able to catch in progress. At the appointed moment, the caterpillar’s skin split open and pulled upward, revealing the chrysalid waiting inside, which quickly hardened with exposure to the air. Inside the chrysalid, enzymes digest all the caterpillar tissue except for the tiny beating heart, and create a rich fluid media in which the butterfly cells start to grow. It’s not that the caterpillar legs turn into butterfly legs and the caterpillar eyes turn into butterfly eyes; all the essential caterpillarity disappears and is rebuilt into butterfliness. This just blows my mind.
The human process of behavior change and personal growth is not exactly like this. Our species is a little messier. When we change, we retain the essence of who we are. It’s unusual for someone to be able to completely remake themselves. And yet, like the caterpillars, we have the potential to change waiting inside us, when we are ready to let it happen.
As we come to the beginning of a new year, let this quiet period leading up to it be a time of contemplation and introspection. Think about what you are proud of from the past year. What did you accomplish? Were you the kind of person you want to be? What do you need to work on so that you will not feel any regrets when this time comes around next year? I’m not just talking about a resolution to lose weight or exercise that starts on January 1st and ends on January 3rd. This is a long-term process of setting goals and working toward them, a la the Happiness Project.
Small steps toward a goal is the best way to do it. If you want to give more to charity, start with picking one organization you feel strongly about, and commit $10 a month to be charged automatically. If you want to be a better parent, commit to spending at least 10-20 minutes more a day per child with your full attention given to him or her (no phones, e-mail, car, TV or newspapers in sight), playing on the floor, sitting and talking, or reading together. If you want to get organized, spend just 15 minutes a day throwing out clutter. Whatever you want to do, figure out how to break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces, or it probably won’t happen.
You can’t go from being a caterpillar to a butterfly overnight, but you do have the potential to become something more than you are right now. In the coming year, I wish you (and me) the strength to face our own individual challenges and emerge more glorious for it.
Merry Christmas to those of you who are celebrating it, and happy new year to all. I am taking a blogging break for the rest of the year (unless I just can’t stay away) and will see you on the other side, along with our new pet butterflies.
Photo Credit: avmaier
Technorati Tags: butterflies, change, resolutions, new year
by Nedra Weinreich | Dec 21, 2006 | Blog, Miscellaneous
Blogging is an interesting combination of solitariness and community. I sit here by myself in my blogger uniform (pajamas) writing out my thoughts. But once they are posted, readers make comments, send it around to their friends, post their own responses on their blogs, and I do the same for other bloggers. Being part of a community (though virtual, it’s still made up of real people) helps keep the act of blogging from being a lonely one and helps me to keep learning and improving what I do.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been invited to join the stable of writers at what I think is the ultimate marketing blogger community – the Marketing Profs Daily Fix blog. Some of the best bloggers writing about marketing are there, so I’m humbled to be included. I am a longtime reader of the DF and have been part of the comment conversation there enough times that it already feels like home. I’ll be bringing the social marketing perspective, with the hope of inspiring commercial marketers to use their powers for good. I’m also hoping that my presence there will help raise the visibility of the field of social marketing (and help to combat the ubiquitous “social marketing” word virus). I invite you to come check it out and become involved in the warm and welcoming community there.
My first post at the Daily Fix is up today, and discusses the positive response/backlash to my Marketing to Introverts post last week. There seemed to be two camps – one in which introverts were saying “Wow! You really understand me!” and the other in which introverts were saying “No! Don’t give away all our secrets!” I was even called a “damn traitor” for publishing that article (written in all seriousness). I seem to have struck a nerve.
******
In other news today, I can announce the winners of the Made to Stick gift packs: Mike Klein, Sandra Renshaw, Mark Woodman, Sara Brandspigel, Rob Chudzik, Angela Adamoli, Amy Krane, Shawn McCormick and Carol Kirschner. Congratulations to you, and thank you to everyone for taking the time to enter. Even if you did not win, you need to get this book anyways!
by Nedra Weinreich | Dec 19, 2006 | Blog, Miscellaneous
Random House, the publishers of the new book
Made to Stick, which I
reviewed a few weeks ago, loves social marketers. They understand that if anyone needs to know how to make their messages stick, it’s social marketers, who are trying to help people become healthier, increase their well-being and improve our society.
I happen to agree, which is why I’ve been helping Random House get the book out into the greater social marketing community. It’s your turn to get in on the action, because Random House has given me a stack of copies of Made to Stick, along with a bunch of fun promo items with the book’s six principles of stickiness (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories) emblazoned on them — including mouse pads, magnets, post-it notes and sticky bookmark tabs.
I am going to be giving away “Made to Stick” gift packs to nine lucky Spare Change readers. All you need to do is send me an email at “weinreich at social-marketing.com” (substitute the @ for at) with the words “Made to Stick” in the title before midnight PST on this Wednesday 12/20/06. I will randomly pick nine winners and will contact you if you win for your mailing address (sorry, US addresses only please – I’m covering shipping myself).
You do not need to write anything in the body of the email, but if you would like to provide some comments to me about what you like about the blog or what topics you would like to see covered in the future, I would greatly appreciate getting your feedback.
I’m excited about this opportunity to give out holiday gifts to my readers. But even if you are not chosen for the giveaway, this is still a book that you will want to have on your bookshelf and use extensively. You can pre-order it at Amazon and start off the new year with a new framework for making change happen. At the very least, check out the Heath Brothers’ just-born Made to Stick blog, which opens with a post on how the concept of calories has been presented to the public in a very non-sticky way and provides suggestions for how to better get the idea across.
Technorati Tags: made to stick, book, free
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
