The month of October is just around the corner and, as we all know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Right now is the perfect time for you, or your organization, to create a charitable promotional marketing plan. Implementing a promotional marketing plan will make your company look really good, while helping out a great cause.
The overall goal is to donate to a charitable organization, but the hidden goal, of course, is to raise awareness about you or your organization. People love to support and be part of charitable organizations…it makes us feel good. By following these suggestions you can feel good too…let me explain:
1. PICK: Pick your charity and your donation goal. This time of year you can focus on a breast cancer charity, or find another cause that you feel passionate about. Then determine how much money you want to raise. You should always start with a goal to help determine if the promotion was successful.
2. CREATE: Choose your gear. Remember to always pick items that people will use…and be creative! A proven and simple option is a t-shirt with a fun design. T-shirts are always popular and will more than likely be your best seller. Have fun with the rest of the items you choose…like an ice cream scoop, a hat with a flashlight in the bill, outdoor BBQ 
games or gimmick toys, like hand clappers or foam darts. And sometimes people prefer simple items, like ribbons, decals, or stickers.
3. RAISE MONEY: The last step, and most important, is to sell your gear. Obviously you can do this through your physical store or you can sell online. If you go the online route and want to put up a quick site, there are some great services that allow you to create a nice looking website with ecommerce capability. We personally recommend Shopify or BigCartel, but there are other template ecommerce sites out there.
Now to you’ll need to advertise. Your first steps should be to put an ad up on your website and send an email offer. Another great opportunity is to advertise through social media. First focus on sharing the details of your fundraiser; the charity, how to purchase gear, how to donate, etc.. From there, you should post images of the products they can purchase. You can also invite customers to take photos of themselves wearing or using your branded gear…and be sure to have them tag you in their posts. This helps generate interest and can have a viral advertising effect.
Another way to drive transactions is to have a grand prize; television, bicycle, Vespa, etc.… People enter your drawing by purchasing your charitable swag, which will drives sales and awareness…and oftentimes will go viral on social media outlets. It’s a win for everybody. With charitable promotional marketing, there are many ways to engage your audience in fun and creative ways!o invite customers to take photos of themselves wearing or using your branded gear…and be sure to have them tag you in their posts. This helps generate interest and can have a viral advertising effect.
With these basic steps, you can create a charitable promotional program. Whether you do it for breast cancer or another cause, you can successfully promote your brand while raising awareness. Showing you care is a win-win for everybody!