Facebook Marketing, Facebook Marketing for Causes with Dawn’s Everyday Wildlife Champions

Facebook Marketing is happening and happening successfully. I’m hoping to look at some case studies and interesting examples of how companies and brands utilized Facebook to get their messages out there- there’s inspiration and new ideas everywhere on Facebook!
In the news today is an article from Brandweek about Proctor & Gamble’s Dawn- the brand is using a Facebook Fan Page to drive awareness and action to the cause of wildlife conservation.
Dawn has a history of aligning itself with wildlife rescue and animal rehab and they are making the cause part of their in-store marketing by issuing limited edition packaging bearing the images of a duck, seal or penguin- and they are supporting that campaign with a lively social media campaign. Dawn has pledged to donate $1 of the $3.25 cost of each bottle to the Marine Mammal Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center. To activate the donation, buyers need to visit Dawnsaveswildlife.com and enter a code from the bottle.
The Facebook Marketing tie-in happens there, as the website links to a Facebook page called “Everyday Wildlife Champions” with a message urging visitors to “Start your wildlife mission here. Get involved, become an Everyday Wildlife Champion! See how your actions—big and small—can help save, preserve and promote the appreciation of wildlife.”
The best practices of Facebook marketing are still being worked out, and Dawn has taken a minimalist approach to branding its site. In the article, P & G rep Susan Baba said:
“One of our top take-home lessons is to keep the line between branding and cause clear. While Dawn is the driving factor behind the program’s success, it is ultimately the passion for wildlife conservation that drives the consumer. It’s important for brands to view these programs as organic, with momentum built by consumer passion.”
From a marketing standpoint, Baba is banking that consumers will buy Dawn over other products because it gives them the opportunity to donate to a good cause, and then associate Dawn with their desire to be part of that good cause, hopefully choosing Dawn again in the future. From a social media standpoint, Dawn is hoping their “Everyday Wildlife Champions” page will become a repeat destination for the over 250 Million active Facebook users.
So how are they doing?

5,746 Fans and $17,423 donated. The campaign will run until October and it seems like it’s working.

David Reis, president and CEO of DEI Worldwide, also offered a few thoughts in the article about cause marketing.
– He said cause marketing campaigns can “reenergize” consumer loyalty
– But: “Fundamentally, cause marketing always has a … flip side, once you have introduced your brand into the descriptor or copy of that cause you are inherently self-promoting, and the pure goodness is diluted.”
– Regardless, Reis said that if done right, cause marketing can bring “plain old good ROI.”

And no matter what kind of marketing you are looking at, Facebook marketing or otherwise, that is a good cause.