November 2, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
By MEG SOMMERFELD
Dot-com companies have embraced marketing deals with charities as eagerly as their “bricks and mortar” counterparts, raising money for good causes while simultaneously promoting their own products and services, reports Business 2.0 (October 24).
“In an attempt to differentiate themselves from the competition, dot-coms, like the off-line corporate giants, are jumping on the benevolence bandwagon,” says the magazine, which covers the technology industry. Like any other business, it notes, dot-coms can use a partnership with a charity to persuade potential customers to choose their brand over another.
The article offers four case studies of marketing partnerships with charities. One describes how Food.com, a company that sells takeout food, joined forces with hunger-related charities such as Meals on Wheels — an approach a company official called a “no brainer.”
“It’s food-related, it’s local, and it helps market the Food.com name to both consumers and the restaurant trade,” the magazine notes.
In an accompanying piece, the magazine notes that many charities are overwhelmed with offers to collaborate with high-technology companies.
“Charities with well-known ‘brands’ are screening potential partners the way venture capitalists do business plans, placing their bets on the companies they think will bring them the best return,” it says.
It cites Save the Children, which receives at least 10 calls a week from “dot-com suitors.” Because they have so many choices, some charities are now setting minimum contribution levels before agreeing to a joint venture — $50,000 a year in the case of Save the Children.
The text of the article is available online at http://business2.com.
