A wonderful thing is happening – the election of Barack Obama has instilled a sense of service of which has not been seen in decades.  Furthermore, it didn’t take long for companies to realize, this was one bandwagon worthy of jumping on.  The notion of service is really rooted in one’s willingness and interest to participate in a cause greater than one’s own self-interest.  It goes without saying, this philosophy applies to marketers as well and it is, in essence, why we’ve started the Participatory Marketing Network.  By embracing participation and adopting customer advocacy, marketers are actually taking marketing to a new level and the examples are becoming more plentiful by the day.  Since we started this blog, I’ve cataloged numerous examples (Audi, CNN, Amazon, Revision3, The Limited, Microsoft and Google) and there are dozens if not hundreds more.  One that struck me recently was Starbuck’s “I’m In” program.  While the “I’m In” program received a recent plug by perhaps the world’s most influential influencer, Oprah Winfrey (along with Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher), it is worth taking a closer look because of it’s integrated approach.  In addition to the endorsements mentioned above the campaign is being aggressively promoted online, in-store and via TV and email.   

The “I’m In” program encourages visitors to www.starbucks.com and any of  Starbuck’s 11,000 plus locations to pledge 5 hours of community service.  Visitors to Starbucks online can select from a list of worthy causes in their zip code.  One thing that Starbucks might want to consider is making the listings live links to complete the hand-off.  In exchange for taking the pledge, Starbucks is giving away a free cup of coffee and creating a lot of buzz and store traffic.  Participators also receive a pledge card and an “I’m In” badge that can be embedded on their website to help spread the word.  Hello social internet. Visitors to www.starbucks.com are also encouraged to sign up for email updates (there is that email again) to watch what “we” do.  The goal of the program is to donate over 1,000,000 hours and Starbuck employees are matching that goal with 1,000,000 hours of their own.  To date over 1,000,000 visitors to www.starbucks.com have viewed the video and, as of this writing, more than 1,250,000 hours have been pledged – mission accomplished, but not over.

“I’m In” is an example of how marketers who think out of the box and add a little participation sweetener to their marketing efforts can not only build their brand, but change the world.  Are you in?  Let us know.

'Til Next Time