Entrepreneurs Inspire Trading Cards, Help Kiva

It’s amazing to see social media and cause marketing mix**.

These additives combine to inspire and, most importantly, do the right thing in the process.

My employer, Empower MediaMarketing, brings us one example in Empower 25. On the company’s 25th anniversary, we decided to give back instead of looking back. As the site details, it couldn't have gone better for all involved. The benefits of social media will continue to help The Brighton Center.

And the event served as a catalyst for teams throughout Empower. These teams had social media training, are aware of the agency’s social media policy, but needed to see it in action for everything to really click. An even more recent example, and the subject of this post, comes from Evan Carmichael.

Entrepreneur Heroes Trading Cards
Carmichael worked with 33 bloggers to pick 30 entrepreneurs that inspire them. The end result is this set of trading cards. Who inspires Guy Kawasaki? Steve Rubel? Darren Rowse? Seth Godin? Chris Brogan? These trading cards are a cool way to find out. Nerd worship? Maybe. But we’ve seen stranger examples. The cards got my attention as they provide insight into who inspires some of the folks we read, retweet and interact with online and in real life -- all while helping raise money for Kiva.

Win a Set of Trading Cards
You can win a set of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak trading cards -- as seen here. I have three sets to give away. They’re heavy duty swag with authenticity holograms and cases for each card. Just comment on this post. Or follow me on Twitter, than @ me on or DM me about the trading cards. The contest ends in one week, on Wednesday, April 7th at Noon.

Help Kiva
Your other option is to buy a set of trading cards. Profits from sales go to support entrepreneurs in Africa that set up their businesses through the micro-lending organization Kiva. More than 825 Entrepreneurs have been helped so far.

**To see even more examples, and do a deeper dive on cause marketing, check out “The Next Evolution of Marketing: Marketing with Meaning” by Bob Gilbreath.

Comments

[Megan Strand]

I love seeing "real world" examples of how cause is being used to leverage, inspire and motivate. To your point that "It's amazing to see social media and cause marketing mix", I agree AND I think this is a natural fit since social media thrives in authentic communications and cause marketing (assuming it's done correctly) resonates deeply with consumers and feels good to spread virally.

I'm so encouraged by recent studies by the HBR, Cone, Edelman and Burson-Marsteller that "prove" the importance of cause marketing and corporate social responsibility to the doubters of the world that still see no need to focus on sustainable practices in their organization.

The Entrepreneur Hero trading cards is also a great example of a crowd-sourced project for good. @OKL just did a fabulous post on Crowd-sourcing entitled, "Can Crowd-sourced Solution Campaigns Save The World?" at http://bit.ly/bHN4Bp

Thanks for the fantastic examples and bringing the trading cards to my attention - very fun!

@meganstrand

[David Hessekiel]

Thanks for highlighting this cool promotion. It's amazing how new variations on cause marketing continue to emerge in the b-to-b and b-to-c arenas.

[Michelle Child]

Empower MediaMarketing’s plan to give back instead of looking back, like Pepsi’s social media movement, seems to have succeeded beyond expectations.
I found the next idea of trading cards highly innovative and useful. Then again, what else should we expect from PR entrepreneurs? Using bloggers to research and choose 30 entrepreneurs that inspire them has been beneficial for more than just Kiva, the micro-lending organization for entrepreneurs in Africa.
Firstly, the bloggers that chose these individuals most likely educated their audiences in the research process, bringing success stories and ideas to a new crowd.
Secondly, promoting the entrepreneurs noted in these cards is a huge honor. The programs, ideas and businesses of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and many more are sure to benefit from this campaign.
And thirdly, those who purchase the cards will learn how to better their careers by heeding the advice of those who’ve succeeded. Also, by helping Kiva, the campaign is indirectly helping young entrepreneurs in Africa, giving them a chance to succeed.
I love the idea of marketing for a cause and it’s so exciting to see big and small businesses alike strive to give back to their communities.