Brand friend of the week - Green Dimes

Each week here on the C-word, we'll be highlighting a brand that is setting the standard for befriending consumers as well as a brand that has shown us all what NOT to do.  This is our first week and its sparked some good discussion.  Unfortunately, there were too many bad friends to choose from and not enough good friends.  We'll have to work on that.

For the good friend, it was a toss up between Green Dimes and Virgin Mobile.  Virgin Mobile will surely win new friends by its latest altruistic effort to encourage what they call "armchair activists."  This term came from their Director of pro-social initiatives.  Does Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T even have a position like that?  They also have a program called the RE Generation where 5% of their profits from ringtones, applications and graphics goes to helping young people in need.  Virgin Mobile gets big points for doing what they believe is right and using their company for the greater good of people.  And I'm sure that it makes their customers feel better about themselves.  Good friends do that for each other.

But the biggest props go to Green Dimes.  Green Dimes is the organization behind the national "do-not-mail" petition.  Now, I hate the gads of credit card offers I get in the mail as much as the next guy, but that's not why they get the nod.  They get the nod for sticking with a vision, and choosing to be of greater value to their current customers instead of gouging them for more money.  They have a thin staff that took on more work yet offered lower prices for their customers while giving them even more value.  That kind of treatment will win them more new customers than spending millions on advertising.  Find their story on dotherightthing.com.  They're not just supporting a great cause, they're being a good friend to their customers.  A model for creating brand advocates.

by Brandon Murphy

Comments

[Ryan Mickle]

Great post, thanks for sharing.