Social marketers are hoping that good deeds can be turned into free publicity, as companies have started handing out licences for customers to perform random acts of kindness.
Recognizing that people are wary of thoughtful strangers, these cards explain do-gooders’ kindness as part of a corporate-sponsored “pay-it-forward” movement, and encourage recipients to continue the chain.
Take, for instance, a person who forgets their wallet and has their groceries paid for by the next customer in line. They’re then given a card that explains why they’ve been helped, asks them to share the story on a company website, and suggests performing a similarly thoughtful act to keep the kindness — and the branded card — circulating.
For their efforts, they’re rewarded with the chance to win something altruistic, such as a community garden built on their behalf.
It could all add up to us being less dubious of someone who’s being nice for compensation, or as part of an “official” program, than out of the goodness of their hearts.
“It’s not that people are hardened. They just don’t know what to make of the randomness,” says Gretchen Rubin, author of the forthcoming book The Happiness Project, in which she chronicles her pursuit to find what makes us, well, happy.
“People will often ignite your sense of reciprocity on purpose, giving you something for free so you’ll donate to their organization; that’s why we’re all on guard.”
Natalie Gourvitch, social-marketing manager for the health food company Kind Snacks, says a card that explains random generosity can function as a “licence” that cuts through any awkwardness.
“It makes it more socially acceptable,” says Gourvitch. “People have come to view acts of kindness as either saintly — falling into a Mother Teresa camp — or as suspicious, having ulterior motives.”
In January, one of the registered story-sharers on kinded.com will be granted a “great kinding”– an exotic second honeymoon for their parents, for example — by the snack company.
Although Rubin suggests such movements are too affected — “If you have to hand somebody a card to explain what you’re doing, maybe you should be doing something else” — the concept is being embraced by organizations of every stripe.
Montreal-based Akoha is an online game in which players advance by carrying out good-deed missions in the real world. Each task comes with a coded card that’s given to the beneficiary so he or she can pay it forward and join the game.
And starting Oct. 15, anyone can walk into a Servus Credit Union in Alberta and get $10 — complete with branded handout card — that’s intended to be used to do good to others. Sharing the story on feelgoodripple.ca qualifies the person for one of 10 $500 donations to their preferred charity.
“The $10 is a catalyst for something greater,” says Gail Stepanik-Keber, Servus’s senior vice-president. “It’s to change mindsets.”
Fully $200,000 has been earmarked for the initiative, though the returns could be more than five times that: A similar program helmed by Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union resulted in an estimated $1.3 million US in free publicity.
“In a world of commodities, being good is a differentiating factor that attracts customers and builds loyalty,” says Humber College’s Ken Wyman, one of the world’s foremost fundraisers.
Wyman suggests a number of explanations for the new trend — among them, pure altruism, capitalism, corporate egotism and an outgrowth of a generation that got school credit for volunteering.
National News updated 24/7 at vancouversun.com
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