Marketing the High Road

Posted on 27. Aug, 2009 by admin in Avusa Media News

by Gita Pather

“To give away money is an easy matter in any man’s power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in every man’s power nor an easy matter.” – Aristotle

People want to be good, do good and be seen to be doing good but how, for whom and when? The details make it all too complicated and life is hard enough already given the demands of work, home and family. It’s a definite barrier to following one’s heart and fulfilling the desire to make a difference and even Aristotle knew that.

But what if you could do good by not doing anything extraordinary? What if when you were buying a t-shirt, a pair of sneakers, a cup of coffee or a card for a loved one you joined the ranks of the GOOD people, the ones who care, who put their money where their mouth is? That’s what Bono offered a world besotted with things and therein lays the beauty of (RED) which he founded with Bobby Shriver to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund (GF) to invest in African AIDS programs. Its uniqueness lies in teaming up with some of the world’s most iconic brands to produce RED-branded products. A percentage of each RED product sold by partners is donated to GF. Partners include Converse, Dell, Hallmark, Emporia Armani, Windows, American Visa (UK), Red Net, Starbucks, and Apple.

These big corporations were drawn to the project because it allowed them to fuse selling their products with doing good. Since its launch in the spring of 2006, more than $130 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund.

But being good is a double edged sword, a question of you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The project was created to allow organisations to do good while turning a profit and was launched to global fanfare with a multi-dimensional marketing campaign that some estimate to have cost 100 million dollars, fronted by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Chris Rock, Steven Spielberg and Christy Turlington.

Edgy and innovative, the marketing campaign created a huge buzz but also garnered great criticism as being too expensive, too flashy, too celebrity-driven and too over-the-top! What its detractors cannot deny is that the Global Fund has another $130 million to make a real impact on Aids in Africa and the millions affected by the pandemic are certainly not complaining.

The brilliance of the (Red) project is that it brings together two seemingly mutually exclusive objectives: doing good and making money. Capitalism on the one hand is driven by profit making while activism on the other, by the need to address societal problems. Changing the way of the world is not an option evidenced by the words recorded on an Assyrian Clay Tablet in 2800 BC, “Our earth is degenerate in these latter days; bribery and corruption are common, children no longer obey their parents, and the end of the world is evidently approaching,” but making diverse objectives work for the good of humankind is possible as the RED project proves.

Faced with the world’s problems of poverty, hunger, disease, xenophobia, drugs… is it no wonder that people are overwhelmed and feel powerless to affect change? We are not all Nelson Mandelas’ or Mother Teresas’ and so social activists need to work with the natural tendencies of ordinary people… and in the 21st Century – we buy. I, for one, am happy knowing that my much-treasured Emporia Armani watch has made a difference to someone – somewhere.