Social Cause Through Social Media

Jones Soda Co. partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America

My client is Jones Soda, and for a social cause marketing campaign I would recommend partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Initially, this partnership would most likely only involve the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County. Once a campaign with them was up and running, the rest of the organization could get involved. I recommend this non-profit because it is not what one would expect from Jones Soda. Being a beverage company, I would expect them to partner with some kind of organization that has to do with sustainability and food products. However, what have we learned throughout our time in MKTG 491? We have been taught to think outside the box. A partnership between Jones and Boys & Girls Clubs is doing exactly that. Even though it is unexpected, it is still completely rational and feasible.

The Campaign

My idea for a campaign is for Jones to provide free soda to the kids who come to various Boys & Girls Clubs. It's simple, easy to remember, and can be brought up in a conversation without difficulty. I would recommend Jones to provide any and all of their products to these kids, but currently the only other product to provide is their Whoopass energy drink, which for obvious reasons is not a good idea. The campaign would begin with Jones contacting various Clubs around the area and offering to provide them with a steady supply of free soda for the kids. Depending on the logistics of the operation, it may only be possible to provide free sodas once or twice a week as opposed to keeping the Clubs stocked on a daily basis. The kids would no doubt love the possibility of free Jones Soda, and Jones would benefit from all the positive publicity it would bring the company.

Using Social Media

The next question is how will Jones and the Boys & Girls Clubs spread the word about this campaign? The answer is through social media. Make the campaign known on both organization's websites, Facebook pages, LinkedIn pages, blogs, and Twitter accounts. Personally, I think it would look better for the conversation to start with the Boys & Girls Clubs. This way it does not look like Jones is tooting its own horn. There is nothing wrong with Jones making the campaign known, but there is a thin line between raising awareness and bragging. They need to walk this line very carefully in order to not send out the "look at us and how socially responsible we are" message. Companies that do this miss the point. Jones Soda would get something out of the campaign, but it is important that their motives were in the right place before going ahead with an endeavor like this. That being said, it is the use of social media that will spread the word about this venture far and wide. It would also undoubtedly obtain some news coverage, for those that are still lagging behind in social media.