Plonking a charity’s logo on a tote bag and thinking “job done” is not even “job started”
I’ve written numerous blogs about corporate retailers working in partnership with charities. This includes the tremendous support retailers gave to charities and local communities during the pandemic, the integration of causes into companies’ television advertising campaigns, supermarkets providing space for charities to promote direct debit sign-ups, shops collecting pre-loved items for charities to sell across their retail networks, how stores facilitate the rounding-up of donations at the till, and using point of sale to raise awareness of cause-marketing promotions and broader strategic initiatives.
However, and this is despite the fact that many such partnerships are still ultimately decided upon via the dreaded staff vote, there seems to be a weak spot. The fracture in the force is that many retailers’ employees often don’t seem to have a clue about the work of the charities they’re helping to raise money for.
Often, when I’ve asked a member of staff at a retail outlet for information about the causes their company supports, few have been able give me more than a very cursory overview of what their charity partners do.? Sadly, most have winced or shrugged their shoulders, whereas others have suggested I look online. ?This is not a good look.
I’ve found this is especially the case at retail outlets at petrol stations, where you’re often given the chance to add a donation of 25p for a charity by pressing YES or NO on their card readers. It’s almost a generic ask i.e. customers are prompted to donate 25p to 'charity' per se. Rarely have I seen any POS relating to the actual charity that will benefit. And employees here often don’t have an inkling. I’ve even seen some press NO on behalf of customers before they complete their transactions.
But it happens in the big supermarkets too. ?A few times I’ve asked till assistants at Sainsbury’s about its charity partners.? Cue tumbleweed tumbling down the aisles. Twice a year Sainsbury’s fills its stores with cause-related merchandise and decorates its ceilings with charity-branded posters for Comic Relief, and then again in support of Royal British Legion around Remembrance Sunday. So what’s the reason? Are staff too busy, unbriefed, or simply disinterested?
The exception, to my albeit anecdotal evidence, has been Aldi, where staff clad in Teenage Cancer Trust t-shirts have proven to be as knowledgeable as they are enthusiastic about their long-term partner. ?A partnership that’s already raised ￡11m, and has just set a new target of raising ￡15m by 2027.
Such partnerships aren’t billed as purely transactional, and aim to raise awareness of a charity partner’s services amongst customers and the wider public. But if a company's employees are unable to act as advocates for their employer's charitable work it all looks a bit too transactional and cynical. Frankly, as it stands, you get more information about the ingredients of an own-label tin of beans than you do about a retailer’s corporate-community investment.
I’m not suggesting shop workers wear “Ask me about our charities” badges, but they do need proper briefing, and could be supported by digital displays at tills and on shelf edges that could play short videos about the causes their employers have partnerships with.
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It’s an issue that internal communications and marketing teams need to address, because if employees aren’t informed and engaged the opportunity to educate customers is lost.
Plonking a charity’s logo on a tote bag and thinking “job done” is not even “job started”. Expecting customers to round-up their bills without even providing just a few words about a charity’s mission, demonstrates an investment in fundraising technology, not relationship building or awareness-raising.
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