I grabbed a Yoplait yogurt out of my fridge and couldn’t help but notice the pink lid. Yes, Yoplait is running their pink lid “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I’m a big supporter of breast cancer awareness and the search for a cure. I’ve had friends and family with breast cancer, so I’ve seen first hand how breast cancer dramatically affected their lives and their families.
I’m also a huge supporter of corporations making donations to charity. Most charities would be hard-pressed to provide their services without the valued corporate support.
What I don’t like is the hoops some companies make consumers jump through to support the corporation’s charitable donation. Yoplait, for example, will donate 10 cents for every pink lid mailed in by consumers. So, I need to buy Yoplait yogurt, save the lids, wash the lids, put them in an envelope and mail them to Yoplait? Then, someone at Yoplait is going to open the envelopes, count the lids and approve the corresponding donation? Seems like a lot of unnecessary time and money to support the search for a breast cancer cure.
Yes, I know, it’s a little time and effort on my part when so many women are battling cancer and fighting for their lives. And their families and friends are suffering as well. Trust me, I understand and I sympathize.
My point is that companies like Yoplait, who obviously hope they sell more yogurt because of their charitable donation, should make it easier for consumers to boost the donation amount. (I’d like to know if Yoplait’s sales or market share increase during the donation period anyway.) Yoplait says they’ll donate at least $500,000, but based on the number of lids they receive, they’ll donate up to $1.5 million.
Why not give consumers an online mechanism where they can key in a donation code from each purchased container? It’ll save all the time and money from the current process. Keep the pink lids for marketing the program and for the donation code.
Or, why not provide a matching program where consumers can donate to the charity through Yoplait.com, and Yoplait will match the donations up to $1.5 million? Then, the charity will receive $3 million or more in donations, instead of between $500,000 and $1.5 million. Forget the whole lid redemption process, but keep the pink lids for marketing the program.
With social marketing and digital marketing available, why does Yoplait continue to cling to the lid redemption process? A new approach could increase awareness of the program and increase the overall donations going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
And, Yoplait just might sell more yogurt, too.
There’s a big difference between being anonymous and being anonymous online
There’s a big difference between being anonymous and being anonymous online. A huge difference.
CNN posted a story about the outing of anonymous bloggers. They cited stories about bloggers forced to reveal their true identities when they had preferred to remain anonymous. One example was PittGirl, another was Waiter Rant. PittGirl knew the heat was on, so she revealed her identity and then was fired from her job the next day. Waiter Rant revealed his identity to cash in on a book deal and soak up the publicity.
This kind of blogger anonymity is common and understandable. Most of these bloggers remain anonymous because they’re shy, or because they have a primary job that is completely removed from their blogger job. The anonymity helps to keep the two worlds separated and happy.
The anonymity that some people seek online allows them to hurl insults and to harm the reputation of their target victims while hiding in the shadows of anonymity. This type of cowardly, aggressive and offensive anonymity is also common, but should be eliminated online.
All anonymity is not the same and should not be treated the same. The intent of the anonymous blogger or commenter must be weighed.
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