PR and marketing converge in a tactic known as cause-related marketing. A marketer ties its marketing efforts to a cause -- a charity, a social cause, a cultural organization or even a social movement.
Sometimes, the logic for a tie between marketer and cause is tenuous at best. And every so often the tie is so perfect that it borders on brilliant.
I'm fortunate that early in my career I was involved in a cause-related program that made perfect sense. In the late 1970s when I ran PR for hosiery pioneer L'eggs, we developed a tie-in with women's running, just as it was becoming "acceptable" for women to exercise and sweat. A series of 10K women-only races in ten cities led to the L'eggs Mini Marathon in Central Park. With several thousand women participating in what was then the largest women's sporting event anywhere, it solidified the relationship between many women and what became the best-selling hosiery brand.
Yesterday, another cause-related related marketing campaign launched, with a brilliantly logical connection.
Wyndham Hotels, the world's largest hotel company, announced #JourneySafe, a new program from its Super8 hotel brand, to educate people about something that claims as many as 5,000 lives a year in the U.S. alone -- drowsy driving.
It's so logical for this company, which has thousands of clean and safe places where a fatigued driver can stop and get some sleep. But after talking with some Wyndham execs, it's clear that this effort is also a highly personal one, which be makes the connection even more genuine. Like about a third of all drivers, some Wyndham execs have experienced drowsy driving to the point of actually dozing behind the wheel. So they know first-hand how scary and sobering it can be, not to mention how dangerous.
The #JourneySafe campaign will build awareness of dangers of drowsy driving, with signs to recognize fatigue and tips on how drivers can avoid driving drowsy. A key part of the campaign is a cute video that uses dashboard dolls to warn drivers.
It’s good business when marketing and an important cause combine.