A tweet went out that got my attention and I immediately forwarded it on. It said “tweet #MolsonM_Art and you help paint a mural and we donate $1 to the arts in Canada…cheers”
To me, it seemed like a no-brainer. Corporate marketing helping the arts. But then I thought about it for a moment and immediately asked “Where’s the mural going to be & who’s painting it?”
While I didn’t get a personal response, I did get a press release:
Molson M is asking art enthusiasts everywhere to tweet using #MolsonM_Art over the next four weeks, and with each tweet, Molson M will donate $1 to the Canadian Art Foundation and the tweeters handles will be incorporated into the mural. People can look for their handles on the 40-feet-high by 100-feet-wide painted mural at the corner of King and Church streets.
For the record, I’ve never heard of the Canadian Art Foundation and I’ve been in this business for over 20 years. On the other hand, I think this is a pretty interesting project. Then again, you know I’ve already featured several mural artists and projects on this site.
So the question I have for you is this: Is it a corporation who cares or yet another marketing ploy simply pulling at our (he)art strings?
Great response, Laurie. And you make a very good point, supporting The Arts is no “flavour of the month” so it is a win for the brand, a win for the cause and a win for the tweeter!
Hi Racheal,
the Canadian Art Foundation has been around since 1993. However a quick look on the Charities Directorate (where you can see the financials for every registered charity in Canada), shows tax returns since 2000.
They have 2.5 million in revenues and spend 1.7 million on charitable programs.
Most cause marketing is just that… a corporation is leveraging a cause to market it’s product. If the corporation wanted to simply make a gift or to provide funding for the project, they’d do so and put it in their annual report as part of their corporate social responsibility report.
That said, a corporation often has much more resources around media and marketing than a charity – even a very wealthy charity like this one. And 2.5 million is a substantial size charity in Canada. Most charities in Canada are 1 million or less.
If you want to determine how philanthropic the gift is, another question to ask is how “popular” is the cause. Bell’s support of mental health is one that is largely driven by philanthropy and the personal connection of the CEO. Mental illness isn’t a “flavour of the month” cause. Breast Cancer, Sick Kids, and similar causes, while they are important causes who do great work, are very popular because companies know they’ll get a lot of eyes on their brand.
I wish more corporations would ask how they can help build a charities brand, instead of asking how they can leverage their brand on the back of an already strong charity brand… but that’s a rare thing.
I’d suggest you contact the charity directly and ask questions. And if you’d like to drop by and learn more about Sheena’s Place Expressive Arts programs – feel free to drop me a line! We’d love to show you the amazing work our clients do 🙂