MarketingProfs Book Club is back with a book that does a lot of good for just causes... by outright stealing know-how from big brands (Robin Hood anyone?). For those of you new to our Book Club, welcome aboard (sign-up here). As for those returning for another round, welcome back....

What’s the book? Robin Hood Marketing by Katya Andresen. What’s more? You might win one of 50 free copies. You want more than that? Done! Everyone gets a free bonus just for reading this article.

In past book club segments we’ve covered social media, branding and communications .

Now we’re turning to the world of nonprofit and cause-related marketing. Which begs the BIG question: how do you motivate people to give money, take action, or otherwise advance your worthy cause…amid so many competing causes? The answer is savvy, sophisticated strategies just like the big guns use—even if you’re operating on a shoestring budget.

Robin Hood Marketing shows you how to sell your mission as successfully as the great marketing minds of corporate America sell their products. Quite cleverly, Andresen created "The Robin Hood Rules" which "steal" from the winning formulas—that sell everything from socks, cigarettes, even mattresses—to show nonprofit marketers how to appeal to their audiences’ values, not their own, and, in turn, how to get people to take notice.

To kick-off this segment, I held an insightful Q&A with Katya. Here are the highlights:

What inspired you to write the book—what core message do you want for non-profit marketers to receive from reading it?
I spent seven years living in developing countries, and the overwhelming human need I saw on a daily basis left me with an acute sense of how important it is to do good in this world, and to do it in a hurry. The problem is, do-gooders--myself sometimes included, sadly--tend to become so consumed with our causes that we forget we need to be marketers, not just missionaries, in order to win hearts and minds. We spend too much time talking to ourselves, which is a waste of precious time. I wrote the book because I think a great way to amplify our message and put social change on a fast track is with great marketing--and the for-profit world is a wonderful place to look for lessons. Enter Robin Hood.

Can you give us some successful examples of causes that “stole” corporate savvy to great success?
My favorite will always be the one that opens the book—the giant smiling condom in Cambodia that turned me on to marketing with corporate savvy. I was a jaded journalist then, but I knew a good story when I saw a nonprofit, Population Service International, doing such an excellent job marketing Number One condoms (including giant inflatable condoms!) that people WANTED to buy and use them. Instead of telling people they should fear AIDS and scolding them into changing their behavior, they sold the social change. Another example is CARE's "I am Powerful" campaign, which takes the Nike approach of celebrating the strength of women and channels it into a desire to help empower other women -- rather than shoe sales.

What about cause-related marketers who are working on shoestring budgets…how do they get their message to rise above the clutter of so many worthy causes?
I'm glad you asked that, because small budgets too often become an excuse for small thinking. The strength of our marketing need not be dictated by the size of our budget. If you focus on connecting your cause to your audience's values - rather than telling people to value your cause - and reach people when they are in the best place, time and state of mind to act, you will get more bang for your buck. My mantra is, “concentrate and inundate” rather than “spray and pray”!

While the book discusses non-profit causes what lessons can marketers of commercial enterprises leverage in their plans and programs?
Charities understand that most people give money for emotional reasons, not intellectual ones, and so they first appeal to our feelings. I think smart companies know the same goes for their products. The last pair of shoes that I bought had a lot more to do with my own aspirations than my feet. By focusing on the emotional storyline as nonprofits do, for-profit corporations can build a greater bond with their audiences. Another way for companies to cement that bond is with a direct alignment with a charity - hence the incredible increase we see in cause-related marketing.

Participation and Bonus:

Sign-up by Friday, October 12th: To be eligible to receive one of the fifty author-signed books you need to be signed-up AND have your FULL mailing address stored in your MarketingProfs member profile (so we know where to send your book). If you signed-up for any of the earlier segments you’re already in the database (so you need not sign-up again and yes, you're eligible for a free book). Free book recipients are chosen randomly. Newcomers should hurry up and sign-up as I’ll be emailing the free book recipients early next week, so you have until Friday, October 12th, at 5pmPST to join if you've not already.

FREE(!) bonus: Leading social marketer, author and blogger Nedra Kline Weinreich—who has worked with nonprofits and public agencies in the U.S. and internationally to promote social change—has generously compiled a special 20-page “Quick Guide To Changing The World.” Nedra outlines what social marketing is (and what it isn’t), details the social marketing mix, gives a review of Robin Hood Marketing and features a bevy of social marketing resources spanning blogs, websites and online publications. You can download it right here.

Group Review for the book will start Tuesday, November 13th, giving you five weeks to get your books read. I’ll close with a few words from Katya Andresen. "I’m aquiver with the honor of Robin Hood Marketing being part of the MarketingProfs Book Club, and I look forward to a lively conversation with this very smart group about stealing corporate savvy for good causes everywhere!'

You heard her bookworms, get ready to start reading!

PS: I hope you get a free book, but even if you don't, please do still participate, at $16.47 for the hardcover, (eBook version is also available) this book is a “steal” for all the smart strategies it imparts.

Disclaimer: Neither CK nor MarketingProfs are in any way retained by any author or publisher to promote any book or make any profit from the sale thereof. This book club is for the marketing community (we just get to learn alongside you fine folks).

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