Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Thirty minutes or less was not the mantra of two major pizza chains in Paraguay recently when they deliberately delayed deliveries to hungry customers.

Thirty minutes or less was not the mantra of two major pizza chains in Paraguay recently when they deliberately delayed deliveries to hungry customers.

Frustration, anger and grumbling stomachs were just a few of the symptoms of this recent cause marketing campaign. According to trend spotter Springwise.com, the companies partnered with the Food Bank Foundation and intentionally made customers wait to give them a little taste of what it's like to be hungry. When the pizzas finally arrived, each came with a note stating, "When you're hungry, you understand hunger." For their trouble, customers got their pizzas free of charge, and they could also donate to the Food Bank Foundation to help fight serious cases of hunger. The campaign has already raised enough money to collect 50 tons of food and provided customers a reality check on what it feels like to be hungry....

[Smart and creative marketing - JD]

"Do you do good at work, or is doing good something you do outside your job?" That, to paraphrase, was the question that sat before some fellow marketers/corporate communicators and me at a gathering some time back.

...I was shocked to hear a good number of people in the room express the opinion that the field of marketing was not about doing good nor bad; instead, it was about having a skill (effective communications and persuasion) that could be employed for any cause indiscriminately....

"...a big question for companies is to what extent CSR - specifically behavior that affects the environment - actually alters shareholder value. Is it better to pursue a single bottom line, or do shareholders benefit more when a company supports the “triple bottom line” that includes people, the planet, and profits?..."

Worth reading!

Dan Rather says public relations should be for public interest...

Dan Rather urged PR professionals to recommit to working on behalf of the public’s best interest.

When public relations operates at its best, it is helping more than a client or corporation — it is helping the general public, said Rather, the keynote speaker during the PRSA New York Chapter’s 25th annual Big Apple Awards last night....