Been doing some thinking about how the tipping point has been reached and passed on when it comes to cause marketing. The market is saturated and consumers are growing weary with sheer volume of the conversation of “doing better by doing good” and weary of cause advocates- particularly in the green space.
The Onion recently released, Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth in which they have a map that tracks Level of Bono Activity world-wide. Leave it to the Onion to mock a man who may get a nobel prize but the message makes sense- people are ready to make fun of his philanthropy because they are choking on the quantity of his good deeds. Remember when Angelina was adopting little Maddox a few years back- the world started paying attention to Cambodia and lauding the actress’s selflessness. This year when Madonna tried to get in on the act of adoption in Africa, folks wanted her locked up for stealing a child from his rightful father. People are getting cause fatigue.
This article from the NYtimes – Green Party- captures it beautifully regarding a dinner party and all of the paralysis that arises when deciding what to serve and how to serve it…more of the same (paper vs. plastic, local vs. organic, etc.).
What is a company to do? How can you be authentic but not overbearing? Real and accessible but somehow have a light touch? If causes aren’t ingrained in your corporate soul (ie:Patagonia, Timberland), how do you connect with consumers in a meaningful way? How much is too much?
(Do I sound like Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex in the City character with all of my open-ended questions? A really nebbishy, green Carrie Bradshaw.)
