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What can we learn from a child when it comes to creating powerful cause marketing propositions that are national and international in scope?

The answer is – KISS! – aka – Keep It Simple Stupid!

Meet Jack Yeilding, a child philanthropist and cause marketer in Oakville, Canada. At just 8 years old, he has suffered from seizures for much of his young life and has been a frequent patient of Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto. At the age of 4 when he was a patient, he saw other children in the same hospital who were sick like he was and said to his mother Jodi, “Mommy, can I help them?”

And help them he has. Jack’s Mom explained to him that one way to help those children was to raise money for SickKids Foundation. So Jack decided to do just that by selling cups of lemonade and understood that by doing so, he could help “make sick kids better, one cup at a time.”

Understand, Jack in some respects is an ordinary child, but his drive is extraordinary. Likewise, Jack’s Lemonade Stand, with some logistics and marketing help from his parents, has become an extraordinary Lemonade event that so far has raised over $220,000 for SickKids.

Can the KISS principle work for large organizations?

It did for Pampers in the past couple of years in an exceptionally successful cause marketing partnership with UNICEF. Like Jack’s Lemonade Stand, it is based on a very simple value proposition that takes only a split second to understand. The main difference is this partnership is on a different scale.

1 PACK = 1 VACCINE is so eye catching that when moms are making a seconds-long decision as to which pack of diapers to buy, millions are drawn to the idea that when they choose Pampers, they can help save the life of a child (just like their own child) somewhere in a poor nation. No wonder the program which resulted in giving over 31 million Tetanus Vaccines (delivered through UNICEF programs around the world) has been by far the best sales driver of Pampers diapers and the #1 driver of traffic to the brand’s website.

Similarly, the simplicity of Jack’s value proposition of “making sick kids better, one cup at a time” is so engaging that what began as a lemonade stand on the Yeilding Family’s front lawn in 2007 has grown into a full blown lemonade event. In 2010, the event attracted over 50 companies and 2,000 people. While funds are raised in a variety of event activities, the promise remains simple – when you support Jack’s Lemonade Stand, you are helping sick kids just like Jack. Jodi Yeilding says “it’s remarkable to watch him go up against a CEO of a major company asking for a sponsorship. How can they say no to creating miracles when they are looking at one?”

And he is a miracle, not only as a champion of his cause, but as a patient. In 2010, Jack underwent a series of three brain surgeries at the hospital and had a portion of his brain removed. Since then, he has been healthy and seizure-free! His recovery is a miracle and he now gets to enjoy life like a regular kid.

Coming up on May 28, Jack’s annual event will take place where the community around him will come together to support this cause of which he is the chief champion.

Who knows where Jack’s idea will lead as he continues to champion a cause which is so personal to him and hundreds (perhaps thousands) of others who hear about Jack’s Lemonade Stand and who relate to his cause. The KISS principle Jack applies to championing SickKids as a cause is the same one Pampers uses in championing the UNICEF vaccine program. The scale may be different but the simplicity is the same. I never forget this when I am talking to companies and charities about building their cause marketing programs. It’s one of the keys to exceptionally successful cause marketing reaching out to time crunched consumers.

Tags: 1 pack = 1 vaccine, cause marketer, cause marketing, Hospital For Sick Children, Jack Yeilding, Jack's Lemonade Stand, keep it simple stupid, KISS princple, lemonade event, Oakville, Pampers, philanthropist, SickKids, SickKids Foundation, Tetanus vaccines, UNICEF, value proposition

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.