Stand Up To Cancer

"This is where the end of cancer begins" is the tag line of the Stand Up To Cancer movement, supported by a "roadblock" ABC/CBS/NBC telethon broadcast on Sept. 5th.

With all the good publicity plus traditional advertising support, I hope this movement attracts lots of donations and achieves its goals very soon. I'll be checking on the site from time to time to see who'll be on the telethon and how much is being raised (count me in).

It's B2B Time

Today's feature is B2B marketing, where a lot of money is spent influencing business buyers who ultimately influence consumer behavior. Here are a few links to interesting B2B sites, blogs, news, and info:

• BtoB (magazine, blogs, news feeds covering B2B marketing and media--especially helpful for thinking about specific tactics)
• BizReport.com (useful tips for business and consumer marketing via blogs, social networking, viral marketing, mobile marketing, and more)
• Emagine B2B Web strategy (an interesting and worthwhile blog about, well, B2B Web strategy--for a big-picture view)

Honey, please don't go

Haagen-Dazs just started running an ad campaign titled "Honey, please don't go" to publicize the problem of disappearing honey bees and a tie-in with the company's new Vanilla Honey Bee Ice Cream. The microsite is worth a look for aesthetic reasons as well as for "save the planet" reasons.

Social Sustainability

Thanks to Tim, for drawing my attention to social sustainability, which blends environmental protection, economic prosperity, and social equity. Here's the World Bank's approach to this critical issue.

Fair Trade (coffee, cocoa, etc.) seems to be one of the ways businesses move toward social sustainability goals. Tomorrow is the "World's Largest Coffee Break" starring Fair Trade coffee and other everyday items. That's a great marketing idea!

Does Sustainability Make Business Sense?

Sustainability has to do with meeting the objectives of businesses and their customers today without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve their own objectives. But is sustainability good business?

Barbara Kux, a Royal Philips Electronics exec, says "we try to position the whole sustainability issue as a business opportunity. Our energy-efficient lighting, for example: this is the kind of technology that is key for developing markets, because it cuts the CO2 factor." Her answer in an INSEAD interview, in other words, is that sustainability makes good business sense.

More companies are publishing sustainability progress reports and more research is being done in this area. Take a look at The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire for the latest.

The answer is "yes" for mighty Wal-Mart, which believes that "efficient and profitable business and being a good steward of the environment are goals that can work together." Here's its sustainability home page.

Turn off text spam

According to the Washington Post, American cell phone users will receive 1.5 billion spam text messages this year. Some are phishing messages, some are penny stock promotions (as MSNBC notes), and some are porno come-ons.

Ever hear of a legitimate marketer using this technique without first getting the recipient's permission? Me either. Of course, unsolicited text and cell phone contacts are illegal because the recipient has to pay for the privilege of being pitched some dubious offer.

What to do about text spam? Here's how one user got rid of it on her AT&T phone. And here's how a Verizon subscriber got rid of it. Turn off that spam!

Blank check for mischief?

Citibank doesn't seem to think it's a problem to send out blank "balance transfer" checks so its credit cardholders can write a check to, as its marketers say in the mailer, pay bills, do more on vacation, have a night on the town, or put extra cash in the bank.

Even if I wanted more cash, the terms aren't very attractive--there's a 3% fee on balances transferred from another card ($5 minimum, $75 maximum). Ouch!

Years ago, I wrote Citi on several occasions insisting that it no longer send me blank checks for any purpose, since it's so easy for someone else to come along, steal mail from my mailbox, and stick me with the bill for a spending spree. After I wrote the CEO, things quieted down for a while. Now the checks are back in my mailbox.

NO MORE BLANK CHECKS. How clear is that message? Blank checks in the mail are a blank check for theft (or at the very least, mischief).

---Follow up: Just a couple of days later, I got a letter from Citi, saying my monthly statement was posted on the Web site and I could log in to see it. This, because I'd signed up for electronic statements to prevent theft of my credit card number from my snail mailbox. Oh, and the letter included my entire credit card number. Not just the last 4 or 5 digits, but the whole thing. Who thinks up these things?

Searching for Citizen Marketers

Citizen marketers? My Google search turned up lots of results, from a book to video to blogs galore. Here are a few of the most interesting:

• Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, a book showing how ordinary citizens use the power of online media to influence public perceptions of corporations by "creating content about products and services whether companies like it or not."
  
• "A Citizen Marketer Hater," video posted on YouTube, featuring David Jones of Euro RSCG talking about consumer-generated content (he's not crazy about it--this is an Advertising Age snippet).
• "The New Brand Ambassadors" on Adweek, an article that takes off from the McConnell/Huba book with examples.
• "What Makes 'Citizen Ads' Work" on Business Week, an article examining consumer-created Doritos ads in the context of citizen advertising and citizen marketing.
  

My take: We're all citizen marketers, whenever we talk or blog or communicate in any way about a product experience . . . comment on someone else's story about a product experience . . . give a company feedback about its product . . . and--most important--vote with our buying power.

ID Theft Test

Today's challenge is to see how much you know about ID theft. Try this simple test, courtesy of the U.S. government. And don't forget to check your bank/credit accounts and credit reports regularly, just in case.

Test your marketing savvy

Today's fun challenge: test your marketing smarts. How did you do?

Copernicus's Marketing IQ Test

CramerSweeney Smart Marketing IQ Test