By Ben Boudreau Think you're friends with Joel Kelly? Don't count on it. Joel – blogger, twitterer and digital meddler – is known for many things but none more than…
5 CommentsCategory: Five Questions
Later this week (Nov. 21 & 22), Rethink Breast Cancer is kicking off Breast Fest, the world’s first breast cancer film festival in Toronto. I had the chance to catch up with Alison Gordon, VP, Strategy, Marketing and Communications to talk about Rethink and Breast Fest.
By the way, we’ve got two passes to each of the Breast Fest screenings on Nov. 22 for OneDegree readers who are passionate about this cause. Details are available at the end of this post.
OD: There are over 175 Canadian registered charities with "cancer" in their name. How does Rethink compete for share of mind and share of wallet?
At Rethink Breast Cancer we are focused on young people who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer. We are the only registered charity that is focused in that way. Twenty per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses are women under 50 years old and it is critical that their unique needs and situations be addressed.
Rethink is also committed to raising awareness and educating young women and men around this cause. This is so important as so many young people are touched by breast cancer and they want to both get information in a way that is relevant to them and be able to get involved in the cause. Our event and programs are created to engage this audience. This really sets us apart.
We are always thinking of new ways to be bold, innovative and entrepreneurial. Fashion Targets Breast Cancer is a great example of how we are thinking differently. The campaign centers around the sale of "target apparel" which is both fashionable (we partner with retailers such as Holt Renfrew and Roots and work with the fashion media community) and is a reminder for women to "target" their breasts. This type of awareness and fundraising campaign is not like any run or walk – it is a simple and relevant way to reach women and men with the important messages of breast health. (Ed .. See the video from the campaign below)
OD: What trends are you seeing in the Canadian marketplace around charities, giving and cause-related activities?
An obvious trend that has been happening for a few years now is the use of the Internet including social media around charities and giving. These tools have really simplified the ways that people can contribute to and be a part of the causes that they are interested in and passionate about.
I think it is a great thing that many companies are donating a portion of proceeds for a variety of products to different causes. It really is a win-win for charities, corporate citizenship and consumers who want to support a cause. This trend is growing and we are also seeing companies create their own programs and charities.
1 CommentWith the Canadian Marketing Association’s Digital Marketing Conference coming up in a couple of weeks, we sat down with Steve Mast and Adrian Capobianco, co-chairs of this year’s conference, to discuss some of the inspiration for the theme and speaker selection as well as what marketers can hope to learn.
Q1: The theme of this year’s Digital Marketing Conference is about "digital gaps" – can you elaborate?
There is a lot of media and marketing attention towards digital marketing. There is also much talk about the increased spend in the space. Despite all of this, the facts still show a huge gap between where consumers spend their time and where marketers spend their dollars. Marketers are lagging consumers with marketing spending that is behind the times!
Specifically, various sources show that North American adult consumers spend approximately 20-30% of their media consumption time in digital channels. On the flip side, marketers spend on average 8-10% of budgets in digital channels. This gap between marketing and advertising investment and consumer trends was the inspiration for this year’s conference. The theme breaks into three areas:
1. The gap in spend – outlined above.
2. The usability/content gap – most marketers do not pay enough attention to building a rewarding and engaging user experience commensurate with the significance of the online channel. Compare for example the investment that any major marketer with a physical consumer channel (auto, banking, retail, etc.) invests into the physical infrastructure, staffing and so on, and then compare that to the online channel. In many cases, a corporate website represents the single largest consumer facing channel … yet the investment pales in comparison.
3. Future gaps – these gaps are amplified when you look at ’emerging digital platforms’. It is stunning to note that the 20-30% of consumer time in digital channels often excludes activities such as gaming and mobile. Changing consumer habits such as those occurring with gaming or the stunning reach and ubiquity of mobile opportunities are quickly creating future gaps that provide huge opportunities for those willing to take action.
Q2: Are there any Canadian marketers closing these gaps?
To be perfectly honest it is very tough to tell. There is media coverage of organizations like P&G and GM swinging significant global allocations of marketing dollars to digital channels, but it is hard to quantify at a Canadian level. On aggregate, the clear answer is no. In isolation, we’re sure there are brands that have closed the gap. Perhaps we should use OneDegree as a forum for marketers who feel they are quantitatively closing this gap to stand up and be acknowledged!
1 Comment