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Greetings!
Last week, the top corporate alliances executive at a major nonprofit organization sent me an urgent request for guidance.
In the wake of the New York Attorney General's issuance of "Best Practices for Transparent Cause Marketing" last fall, he wrote, "everyone wants to be totally transparent, but it is also being suggested (that in some cases) language must go on packaging that says 'Purchase of this product will NOT result in a donation to XYZ Charity.'" That, understandably, was generating serious pushback from partner companies making flat donations that didn't want to carry such negative language.
What to do?
We turned to two legal experts for opinions. Their advice was quite similar.
Karen Wu of Perlman & Perlman LLP said "advertisements for cause marketing promotions should not deceive or mislead consumers. However, there is quite a distance between the prohibition against deceptive and misleading advertisements and a compelled disclosure."
State the Flat Donation Amount
Wu counsels, "There are also ways to provide greater transparency about a company's relationship with a charity other than through a 'no impact' statement, such as by stating the flat donation amount."
Positively Explain the Relationship
Similarly Venable LLP's Kristalyn Loson had this advice, "Disclosures need not be seen as negative and could instead positively explain the company's relationship with the charity, such as, 'Company ABC has made a generous donation of $25,000 to XYZ Charity in 2013. Your individual purchase will not modify this donation.'"
Are you running into this challenge in your organization? How are you handling it?
This is sure to be a hot topic at attorney Ed Chansky's Legal Update session at the Cause Marketing Forum Annual Conference. Be sure to join us in Chicago May 29-30 for that and other great content!
Sincerely,
David Hessekiel
President
Cause Marketing Forum
P.S. If you missed the fall Webinar What New York's Cause Marketing Guidelines Mean for You, you can still access the recorded version here (free for CMF Members).
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April 30, 2013 1:30pm - 2:30pm ET
Cost: $99 or FREE for CMF Members
 Panera Bread has a long tradition of substantially giving back to the communities it serves, but it was long reticient to actively communicate its values to customers. Panera dropped that reluctance after research showed that describing how it donates unsold baked goods or operates donation-based restaurants could resonate more with customers than traditional product or price-focused advertising. Join us on April 30 as Panera Bread VP of Marketing Chris Hollander provides a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the company's recently launched "Live consciously. Eat deliciously." campaign.
You Will Receive:- Unlimited access to the recorded version of this webinar (a great option if you're not able to attend on the designated date and time)
- A download of the PowerPoint presentation that accompanies this webinar
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