Big news from Chase today: they are leaving the choice of which charities receive $5 million in gifts up to US. Well, not JUST you and me. In fact, they are letting anyone who visits their Facebook Fan page http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/ decide.
Your brand. In that guy's hands...
At first blush, this sounds like a great idea. It achieves a couple very powerful objectives:
1. People are driven to CHASE’s fan page. Chase is getting its brand front and center and publicizing its commitment to non-profit causes.
2. Non-profits (even ones that don’t garner any votes) are gaining exposure to an entirely new pool of potential donors and volunteers.
Still, something about this program concerns me. What a company supports SAYS something about their brand. Corporate Philanthropy departments exhaust untold thought and energy on finding partners that reflect their company’s values, their ambitions. In short, their BRAND.
Would Microsoft allow Joe and Jane Q. Public the opportunity to recreate its logo as a big door instead of the ubiquitous Window? What if NY Life’s powerful “The Company You Keep” motto was suddenly transformed into “NY Life: That Big Building on the Left” by someone with a vote?
It would never happen. So, why would Chase hand over such control of its brand? Fast Company blogger Ariel Schwartz says in her piece http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/facebook-chase-team-crowdsourced-philanthropy-program that this “crowdsourcing” experiment has the potential to change corporate philanthropy forever.
I certainly agree that times are definitely changing for corporations. With economic conditions being what they are AND need being so much greater than ever, making the effort to forge partnerships with customers (new and existing) could have an incredible impact. However, now may not be the time to turn carefully developed brands AND giving programs over to the general public. As it stands ANY non-profit (that meets certain prerequisites) is elgible to receive votes. Like American Idol, then, it may be that it’s not the talent that wins–but the guy with the most votes! Perhaps if Chase chose 10 charities–all in line with their vision and brand–and let us choose the 5 winners this experiment would seem a smarter plan.
Increased awareness is good, the potential for giving by these voters is even better, but it will be interesting to see how Chase’s brand fares in the long run as a result of this experiment.
