Twestival & Generation G

Last week was Twesitival, a initiative to raise money for charity: water. The initiative leveraged the power of Twitter, and encouraged Twitter users to hold local fund raisers on February 12 2009.


charity: water for Twestival

Twesitival was a huge success, and Vancouver had its very own event called yvrtwestival. Vancouver raised $4,000 by holding an event at the Opus hotel, with a raffle and silent auction. No money was spent on traditional marketing. Instead they focused on Twitter, blogs, social media and PR, which of course was all free.

Generation G

An interesting report from friends over at trendwatching.com talks about a growing trend towards giving. This is a big reason why Twestival was so successful and more importantly a great marketing tool for small-medium sized businesses.

The current economic situation has caused huge changes in consumer preferences. Reports show that consumers blame the huge losses in the stock market, jobs and pension funds on big business. Companies such as General Motors, and Citi Bank have lost huge amounts of consumer trust.

Some (U.S.) stats from Reputation Garage:
-As few as 13% of American consumers place their trust in big business.
-Only 39% of employees said they trust senior leadership
-Three quarters of consumers feel that companies don't tell the truth in advertising
-Three quarters of employees in big companies observed violations of the law or company standards in a 12 month period.

Consumers want to support local, small-medium sized businesses that are dedicated to giving back.

Tips:
-Support a local charity that is related to the industry you are in.
-Let customers and potential customers know how much give back.
-Giving doesn't have to be about money. Volunteer your time and services.
-Don't give the impression that you are a big business. Keep it local.