One of the quickest ways to win the attention of your distracted donors is to take a popular icon and make it a villain. By linking your cause with a trend or fad, and by taking a contrarian view, you demonstrate to donors that you are relevant, innovative and worthy of continued support.
That’s what Greenpeace is doing with its campaign to show that Apple’s new iPhone contains hazardous chemicals. Scientific tests commissioned by Greenpeace uncovered two types of hazardous substances, some of which have already been eliminated by other mobile phone makers, according to the Greenpeace website.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace.
Greenpeace launched its Green My Apple campaign to remove the worst toxic substances from electronic products, improve recycling policies, and catalyze a fundamental change in the way electronic gadgets are designed, produced, and recycled. They set their sights on one of the hippest consumer electronics manufacturers, Apple.
Millions of consumers love their iPhone. Thousands of stories about the iPhone have appeared in the press, on television and online. But few of these stories have discussed the phone’s environmental credentials. And that’s where Greenpeace is making a coup, and winning the loyalty of its donors and activists.
Greenpeace uses this campaign to acquire activists, raise donations and spread the word.
On the Greenpeace website, visitors are invited to sign up for a free email newsletter that’s written for activists. They are invited to make a donation online. They are invited to email the campaign webpage to a friend. And they are invited to complete an online form that challenges the industry to change.
Next time you sit down to craft a direct mail fundraising appeal, look to the popular culture to see if there is a trend or current event that you can turn on its head. Controversy sells newspapers. And controversy will sell your cause to potential donors, activists and supporters when you can prove that your cause is relevant in your donors’ lives.
See www.greenpeace.org
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