Marketing and PR Efforts: Celebrities and Charitable Causes

Bonnie Harris writes for the Wax Marketing blog on marketing and PR. The following is one of her posts.

“Watching the Golden Globes last night and hearing all the references to Haiti made several questions come to  mind. Were they really “sad” to be there chugging champagne and getting awards? Did they really (like director Lee Daniels of Precious) think their work was suddenly ‘unimportant’? Or were most of them spewing talking points from their publicists so they didn’t look selfish in the light of a disaster?

When stars become committed to helping after a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti it’s hard to determine if it’s really selfless or a combination of  self-promotion and a herding mentality that says “wow if I don’t donate/volunteer like everyone else I’ll look like a jerk”

This is an example of why non-profit work has to be consistent and persistent on the part of a company or person in order to be viewed as honest, not shameless self-promotion. Nobody questions George Clooney’s motives – remember when he took his dad to Darfur and helped raise awareness. Brad and Angelina have been working on non-profit endeavors for years. It only seems natural they would turn their attention to such an acute, horrific situation. The same goes for any celebrities who have consistently tried to raise awareness for good causes.

But come on, when Lindsay Lohan starts tweeting that she’s calling the State Department hourly, I call b*%$sh*&.

Look, charitable work contributes to the goodwill of any company or personal brand as well as the actual charity. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on a ‘double bottom line’ but don’t just do it a) because you think you’ll be left out if you don’t or b) because you see an opportunity for the limelight. The consumer will know the difference. We’re not dumb.

For a list of ways you can help the people of Haiti, visit abcnews.com.”

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