Marketing 3.0.: Salvation Army:::Cost Nothing Campaign

20.8.09

Salvation Army:::Cost Nothing Campaign

The world is changing in so many ways. The recent financial collapse has forced the consolidation of business in every segment of the market. This has led to far fewer businesses that are directly tied to local communities. It is also a tremendously difficult time for nonprofits to raise money. Just when communities need their services the most, many nonprofits have been forced to cut back because they face record budget shortfalls. Such was the case for The Salvation Army when they came to us for help.

Obviously they didn't have money for a big print or broadcast buy, so instead we turned to the community and harnessed the power of 50 local businesses. We wrote, painted, stamped and even burned our campaign messages onto everything from rocks, tarps and dirty car windshields to storefront windows, pizza boxes and coffee sleeves. We were everywhere. But this wasn't just powerful guerrilla marketing. The most important thing about this campaign was the community that came together to launch it.
Let's not forget that these are small businesses--very few with substantial marketing budgets--but they came together to create the first community campaign I've seen outside the realm of politics. And by harnessing the community's collective spirit the small became large. Huge actually.

I hope to see a lot more of this in the future. The good news is that, as long as the members of any community are willing to put aside their differences--which there will always be, and there were here--anyone can do this. And they can do it for the cause of their choice.