Grown Up Thinking

We have entered a new era of social-holidays. While it’s nice to celebrate our own local holidays, do any milennials  really connect with Memorial Day other than the fact that it’s a great 3-day weekend with (hopefully) a lot of sun? Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile to applaud mothers abroad who are doing a lot with a little for Mother’s Day?

My bud Scott Harrison has done a great job by linking Charity Water with birthdays by allowing friends to donate a b-day present towards clean water wells. But last week, TOMS shoes one upped the effort with an event I really dug: sponsoring an activity-packed holiday called a One Day Without Shoes.

Today’s consumer seeks the perfect combination of finding a community connection and participating in spontaneous activities both online and in-person. This month alone, we saw International Pillow Fighting Day and the infamous Snuggie Pub Crawls, that successfully combined social drinking with a charitable cause. In short , some brands are deeply rooted with a cause from Day  (like TOMS).  Other brands seek to align with the right cause, miss the mark when it comes to being authentic (like Greenwashing).

My recommendation is to rally behind a cause that your brand can own. Do something that has a direct effect, even if it’s small. We recently started working with a kick-ass crew at Do Something, creators of a program called Teens for Jeans w/ Aeropostale. What impressed me most was the straightforward mission and the number of teens who jumped on board. 

One brand can’t save the world, but smart brands like Method Soap can challenge consumers to help Save the San Fran Bay, just like Burts Bees can fight to Save the Dissapearing Bee Colonies. So ask yourself, What has your brand saved lately?

And maybe for ’10, instead of getting a cheesy calendar in the mail from your premium vendor, you can look forward to a Social Cause Calendar from Mr Youth, chock full of new holidays to celebrate!