Archive for the ‘Case Study: Care’ Category
We just had to share this fantastic donor appeal letter by Andrew Marx, the communications director for Partners in Health, which has been working on the ground in Haiti for the more than 20 years (and is also a Fenton client).
The letter is textbook when it comes to connecting with women. Two reasons:
1. It highlights the positive. When you’re dealing with devastation of this scale, it can be difficult to talk about anything other than NEED. But the emotional core of Andrew’s letter – and why it compels you to cut that check – is when he describes how PIH’s partner, Zanmi Lasante, swiftly takes command of the situation – a powerful value for women:
Within 45 minutes, they had erected a large tent, filled most of it with tables and chairs for 20 consulting stations, created and stocked a small pharmacy and lab, and established…
Recently I came across the AFL-CIO: America’s Union Movement’s Web site. I noticed that they featured a “real” woman, Joan Borts, on their Web site in a campaign they call: “Heart of the Movement.” Check it out below. It’s good modeling of what women look for – real people that they can connect with.
A friend of mine who is an independent filmmaker routinely rants against the millions that Hollywood studios spend to create hollow celluloid experiences. You don’t need any of that, he insists, to make a great movie.
I call his preferred his brand of no-budget, video filmmaking “twig and mirror.”
On his recommendation a while ago, I went to see a screening at the Brook Theater in Brooklyn of “Flooding with Love for the Kid,” billed as a “one-man cinematic war” by Zachary Oberzan (http://zacharyoberzan.com) “Flooding” is his faithful adaption of David Morrell’s “First Blood.” Oberzan plays all the characters, using only his 220-square-foot apartment for props and location and a total budget of $96.
One of the great pleasures of watching the film is watching the bars on Oberzan’s bedroom window transform into prison bars, or a deconstructed house plant turn into the backwoods of Kentucky where Rambo eludes the…
If you read The She Spot you know of our admiration for Stonyfield Farms and their smarts around marketing to women. Gary Hirshberg, their CE-Yo, gets the need to be real with their customers.
This morning I reached into the refrigerator for my morning dose of organic Stonyfield yogurt. Lately, I’ve been addicted to their new “greek” yogurt product “Oikos” so I hadn’t noticed that Stonyfield had switched packaging on their other yogurts. As I picked up the new container (full-fat vanilla with cream on the top) I noticed a beautiful picture of green pastures, happy cows and a beautiful Vermont landscape with a note stating it was a photo a family farm from Waybury, VT.
Inside, on the top protective seal, I read “GET REAL: Why the new look? With all the artificial ingredients around, we thought we’d show you just how real our food is….
Many of us in the NGO space are working on serious issues: death; global warming; war; race relations; etc. Just because the issues are heavy it doesn’t mean that the messaging/presentation can’t be heavy on humor.
This new “viral” video is such a reminder of the power of humor – even during serious times like weddings. My husband and I feel like professional wedding goers. In fact, I have two in the next 10 days. We’ve never seen the entry like this (JK Wedding Dance Entrance):
We hope you danced along and remember to bring a little humor to your issue or cause. Women in particular like their humor mixed with joy (vs. schadenfreude).
About this blog
Lisa Chen and Lisa Witter
are the authors of The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to
Reach Them. They are also both
senior strategists at Fenton Communications, the nation’s largest public
interest communications firm. [