Do you think supporting honey bees helps companies sell stuff?

Last week President Obama announced a task force to address the issue of rapidly diminishing honey bees and other pollinators. 

It's an important issue, and several companies have already adopted it as a pet cause.  Most notably Whole Foods, which this week  is sponsoring "Human Bee-In" events and "Give Bees A Chance" promotions. Participants include General Mills which will donate $1 for each box of Cascadian Farms Buzz Crunch Honey Almond sold, up to $100,000 to the Xerces Society, a leader in pollinator conservation.  Annie's, Barney Butter, Celestial Seasonings and Luna are also making donations. (Mahoney, 2014)

What effect do you think this promotion will have on sales?  Are your purchase decisions influenced by the charitable efforts of the brands you buy?  How?

Mahoney, S. (2014, June 23)  General Mills, Whole Foods Generate Buzz For Bees.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved June 23, 2014, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/228559/general-mills-whole-foods-generate-buzz-for-bees.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=73911

Will pet-friendly dating events be a winning idea for match.com?

According to match.com, a survey showed that 80% of singles are pet lovers.  And, 59% agree that finding out your date had adopted rather than bought their pets would make them seem more attractive. (Irwin, 2014)

Therefore it makes sense that match.com would partner with PetSmart charities on pet-friendly dating events.  The members only events include advice about when to introduce a pet to a potential date, and whether or not cat people and dog people can truly get along.  (Apparently the answer is yes, since 66% of dog owners would date cat people.)  

So what do you think?  Is this an good way for match.com to increase membership?

Irwin, T. (2014, June 20)  PetSmart Charities, Match.com Pair For Dating Events.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved June 20, 2014, from  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/228365/petsmart-charities-matchcom-pair-for-dating-even.html

Taco Bell proves that rules are meant to be broken.

One of the points that I make frequently in both my class and book is that the more narrowly you define your target audience the easier it is to create communications that motivate them.  The principle is quite simple if you think about it.  If you define your target as 25-54 year-olds, you are talking about you and your parents (or you and your kids).  When was the last time you thought the same way about anything as they do?

But, much to my surprise in their new breakfast ads Taco Bell has found common ground between generations.  And in doing so has demonstrated that a one-handed breakfast has benefits for both seniors and millennials.  Kudos to them. 

Here's the commercial if you haven't seen it yet. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzh2Ncs38JI