Cause Marketing

Brands that aligned programs and campaigns around a cause important to them and their prospective customers.

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The Goals

Retail solution provider Aptos wanted to promote the work performed by a philanthropic organization called RetailROI, which is impactful and meaningful to its target market. The goal was to reach not only target personas but also, and perhaps more likely, deal influencers.

The Assets

The company developed a podcast series called The Commerce of Caring, which was designed to tell the incredible stories of courage and hope inspired by the people supported by RetailROI. The podcasts are narrative in style and are approximately 30 minutes in length. Each episode spotlights members of the retail community who were dedicated to helping children around the world.

The Results

Aptos reported that each episode has garnered hundreds of downloads, extensive press coverage, hundreds of visits to its microsite and expansive social media coverage — especially among key influencers. Several publishing partners support the podcast with free advertising and editorial support, and the combined impact has expanded brand awareness and reputation with influencers and targets alike.

Lessons Learned

Spotlighting a customer, or relevant advocate in the space, humanizes your brand and increases credibility.

The Goals

K9s For Warriors, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to warriors suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), collaborated with Dana Ross to create an emotionally impactful, short video that would communicate the profound mission and effectiveness of the K9s For Warriors program.

The Assets

The video portrays a program graduate as he writes a letter to his service dog named Captain. The content emotionally describes what the program has to offer, while also highlighting the program’s success in helping military veterans who struggle with PTSD.

The Results

To date, to video has received nearly 250,000 views on YouTube. The organization also notes that it has seen an increase in donations since the video was published.

Lessons Learned

Be true to your brand and value proposition, but try to connect on an emotional level.

Goals

Through in-depth buyer research, TD Ameritrade discovered that buyers favored the advice of peers over brand-voiced information. As a result, the company plunged into changing its entire content strategy and focused on engaging real customers so they could share their unique stories.

The Assets

About two years ago, TD Ameritrade Institutional (TDAI), a brokerage and custody services platform for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), shifted its case study approach from solution-focused, to buyer-focused. The brand partnered with Bulldog Solutions to conduct buyer persona research, which ultimately unveiled two target audiences the company needed to speak to: Breakaway Brokers and RIAs. The companies also found that they needed to segment audiences based on the business environment they’re transitioning from. After completing this research, TDAI created buyer personas and mapped out the overall buyer’s journey.

For the initial release, TDAI produced three customer stories and, in fall 2016, produced five more. Each story is broken into chapters, each speaking to different parts of the transition process. These aspirational stories were designed to tap into the fears of certain buyers, and show them the benefits of turning to TDAI.

The Results

Since launch, the customer story videos have contributed to:

→ 38% year-over-year conversion rate increase
→ 34% year-over-year improvement in active opportunity value

The sales team has also revealed that content marketing is also producing more engaged leads. Due to the success of the customer videos, TD Ameritrade Institutional has decided to release new stories every year.

Lessons Learned

Engage your sales team, clients and prospects to create buyer personas. These personas can fuel all content creation so you can better resonate with current and prospective customers.