Rodes talks Social Cause Marketing @ NYU

Rodes Ponzer is SVP, Management Director at SaatchiNY. Last week he was asked to sit on a panel at NYU’s Stern School of Business to discuss Social Cause Marketing & some of the work we’ve done in that space for clients. Below are some of his thoughts on the occasion.

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to sit on a panel in front of 75 MBA Candidates and Public Service Grad Students to discuss Social Cause Marketing. I was asked to participate & share SaatchiNY’s involvement in P&G Pampers successful campaign with UNICEF “One Pack = One Vaccine.”

Other members of the panel included:

• Noopur Agarwal – Senior Director of Public Affairs, MTV 360
• Darren Palmet – Senior Brand Manager, Unilever, Lipton Rainforest Initiative
• Nancy Mahon – Executive Director, Esteé Lauder Companies, MAC Aids Fund
• George Smith – Manager of Social Media and Activation, Pepsi Refresh Project

The hour and half session kicked off with questions from the panel’s moderator (Stern Professor Michelle Greenwald) followed by questions from the students.   It was a great forum to showcase the exciting ways SaatchiNY can uniquely help drive and champion successful ideas for our clients; ideas that not only build business and build equity, but that can change lives. The Pampers UNICEF program was the perfect way to showcase that capability.

UNICEF PROGRAM
The beauty of the Pampers UNICEF program was in the simplicity of the idea:

You as a mom don’t have to change your behavior at all.  Simply buy a pack of Pampers that you need anyway and in doing so will provide a vaccine that prevents a mother and her baby from maternal neo-natal tetanus.

Beyond that, it was also made great by its magnitude.  It’s not just a “feel good” charity program, its program that has a tangible effect on people’s lives.  A new benchmark for cause marketing, the program has been operating globally since 2006, with millions of vaccines funded & Pampers helping protect 100 million women and their babies.

WHAT DRIVES US
The students were very interested to learn what drives us at Saatchi & Saatchi.  I had the chance to introduce the group to Lovemarks and what it means to continually drive loyalty beyond reason (not without of reason).  We talked about the importance of being a Purpose Driven Brand, as well as the effect being a leader and a driving force in their respective industry has not only on a brand, but on organizations as a whole.  Through clearly defining a purpose, a brand finds an authentic voice and overall communication – leading to successful implementation ideas and initiatives (especially ideas tied to a cause).

The evening ended for me with some great one on one discussions; where I’m happy to say that the group (and even some of the panelists) was eager to learn more about what Saatchi S can do for businesses and brands.