As I first wrote in this space about three months ago, on April 17, I’ll be pounding the pavement once again from Hopkinton to Boston, determinedly putting one foot in front of another for more than 26 long, arduous miles.

It’ll be the 8th time I’ve taken the same exhausting journey. And I’ll be tired and sore most of the way. But it doesn’t get any better than crossing the finish line of what is arguably the most prestigious road race in the world, the Boston Marathon, especially when you’re running as a member of Children’s Hospital’s Miles for Miracles Team Boston, raising funds for one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country, located right here in my home state of Massachusetts.

This time around, I have committed to raise a minimum of $3,500 for Children’s, and I’m more than halfway there.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I mailed about 120 homemade direct mail packages to my friends, relatives and colleagues, asking them to sponsor my Boston Marathon run with a gift of $30, $15, $50 or more to Children’s Hospital Boston.

In each package, I included three photos of me and my patient partner, Hailey (in whose honor I am running), a cute, little girl living with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic disorder – characterized by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause – for which there is not yet a cure.

(To see a couple of pictures of Hailey, click here and here.)

I also included a note letting donors know that if they sponsored my run with a gift of $30 or more (by March 1), they would be entered into a drawing to win one of a handful of fabulous gift certificates donated by restaurants and stores. (Of course, that meant I had to go door-to-door soliciting such in-kind donations from local business establishments, no small challenge in and of itself.)

The results of this small grassroots fundraising campaign have been extremely positive so far. I have received 44 contributions to the cause for a total of $1,995. What’s particularly telling – and personally gratifying – is just how many have given $30, apparently as a result of the promised drawing. Sixteen of the 44 gifts (36%) have been for $30, an amount I would have to assume would have been a more typical $25 if it were not for the added incentive.

(For comparison’s sake, in my fundraising campaign last year, out of a total of 76 donors, only three made a gift in the amount of $30 and 27 gave a gift of $25; this year, so far only two donors have given $25 gifts.)

The bottom line is that, yes, I am grateful more than you can imagine to those who are supporting my campaign, whether through financial gifts to Children’s Hospital Boston or by contributing gift certificates.

Speaking of the latter, I have approached more than a dozen businesses about my philanthropic efforts and six – Boston Market (Framingham, MA), The Longfellow Club (Wayland, MA), Ben & Jerry’s (Natick, MA), Target (Framingham, MA), Panera Bread (Framingham, MA) and The Clean Machine (Framingham, MA) – have already provided me with something with which to reward my $30+ donors. (And if I can’t get either Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks to donate at least one or two gift cards, I promise to buy at least a few myself to put into the drawing.) When all is said and done, I hope to have about 20 gift certificates and cards to give away to my donors.

If you would like to contribute to the cause, I certainly would appreciate it. To make a secure, online donation, simply click here or follow these directions…

1. Go to http://www.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon.
2. Click on “Sponsor a Runner/Give Online” on the right-hand side
of the screen.
3. Enter my name, “Bob Cargill” and/or my Profile ID (CB0022) in
the “Search for a Runner to Sponsor” fields.
4. Click on my name, “Bob Cargill,” under Search Results, in the middle of the page.
5. Donate to Children’s Hospital Boston.

Of course, if you prefer, you may write a check – payable to Children’s Hospital Boston – and return it to my attention at 33 Oakwood Avenue, Sudbury, MA 01776. Thank you.

Note: Thanks again, by the way, for indulging me while I share all this with you. It’s my own personal fundraising campaign — which I do hope you can support — on behalf of Children’s Hospital Boston. To read about the other four times I’ve run the Boston Marathon for charity, click here, here, here, here and here.

If you live and breathe marketing so much that you make time to read about it here and elsewhere throughout the blogosphere, chances are you already know a thing or two about referral marketing. It’s the idea of asking your customers and constituents to turn on their friends, relatives and colleagues to whatever it is you may have to offer.

Book and CD clubs, auto dealerships, banks, professional services providers and many small businesses rely on such referrals, often bestowing deep discounts, cash incentives and free this-and-that upon those helping to extend their brands.

In fact, asking your constituents to spread the word for you can be so effective, it really is quite surprising that more organizations haven’t put referral marketing to work for them.

But, according to a story appearing on the front page of The Boston Globe earlier this month (”Guard Pays Members for Enlisting Others, $2,000 Bonuses in Recruiting Drive” by Michael Levenson - January 5, 2006), the Army National Guard is wise to the benefits of this tried-and-true marketing technique. From this Globe story:

It is one way that phone companies and health clubs attract new customers. Now for the first time in its history, the Army National Guard is taking a similar approach to recruit soldiers: If Guard members get a buddy to join, they can earn cash rewards of $2,000.

“Word of mouth is the holy grail of marketing,” Major Winfield S. Danielson III, a spokesman for the Massachusetts National Guard, said yesterday. “It’s like when your friend says, ‘Hey, that was a really cool movie.’ There’s a lot of believability in that. You look at it as an unbiased source, or at least biased to what your friend likes or your friend’s interests are.”

To read this story in its entirety, click here.

I’m pleased to announce that the New England Direct Marketing Association has just launched a blog to help promote its upcoming conference, NEDMA ’06, It’s a Brave New World. And, in addition to my position as co-chair of the conference, I couldn’t be more excited – or, some might say, fanatical – to be taking on the responsibilities of moderating this blog.

Yes, like any blog, it’ll be a labor of love for all involved, but the truth is that using a blog as an online propagation tool should almost be a requirement for anyone staging a major conference amidst today’s new marketing landscape.

Not only will a blog enable NEDMA to post key news and information on the fly, but it’ll also allow us to engage our different audiences – sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees – early and often. The blog will work both ways, benefiting not just the senders but those on the receiving end, too.

As I wrote in my first post on the NEDMA conference blog:

“Yes, this is your conference. And this is your blog. As much as we’d like you to be a frequent visitor here (you can subscribe by entering your email address in the FeedBlitz box below), we also hope you’ll contribute to the conversation by giving us your honest feedback every now and then on everything conference-related. To do so, simply click on the comment link underneath the post of your choice and write to your heart’s content. It’s easy to do and will take just a few minutes of your time. By talking back to us in such a manner, you’ll be playing a significant role in helping us develop this blog into a community of like-minded direct marketers, people who not only enjoy what they do for a living, but who enjoy doing it with each other.”

And that’s really what a blog is all about, isn’t it? Bringing constituents — who, in this day and age, are increasingly stretched thin — together for a common cause.

It’s not the first branded desktop application to be used for marketing purposes, but it has certainly struck a chord with consumers and marketers alike.

DING, a simple, little desktop application used by Southwest Airlines to stimulate more ticket sales, has worked so well for the Dallas-based company that it’s only a matter of time before others follow suit – if they haven’t already – and launch similar initiatives of their own.

In an article in DM News on December 5, 2005, Christine Blank wrote, “Online research firm Compete Inc., Boston, found that DING users are 45 percent more likely to book tickets through Southwest than the average visitor to Southwest.com. Sales driven through the services are estimated at $60 million a year.”

“More than 900,000 consumers have downloaded the free application, which sits in the computer user’s system tray and delivers daily offers exclusive to DING users, since it launched in February [of 2005],” according to Blank.

And then, less than a month after the DM News article appeared, the Boston Herald reported that office supplies retail behemoth Staples “is spreading its marketing efforts from the television screen to the computer screen after launching another installment yesterday [January 1, 2006] of the Easy Button series complete with a downloadable icon for computer desktops.”

“Staples’ logo joins a myriad of marketers jockeying for position on computer screens,” wrote Jesse Noyes in a January 2 Herald article (“Getting in Your Face, Desktop Marketing Taking Off”). “Desktop applications, ranging from games and online links to wallpapers and screen savers, are gaining popularity with brands looking to build awareness among consumers that extends beyond the traditional 30-second TV spot.”

Reinventing the Wheel

Sounds like somebody’s been reading Joe Jaffe’s excellent, new book, “Life After the 30-Second Spot,” in which the “new marketing” consultant warns the old-schoolers among us that they had better adapt to the rapidly changing times and reinvent the wheel — or else.

In this case, Staples (like Southwest) is clearly ahead of the curve, bringing its phenomenally popular Easy Button campaign to a computer screen near you. Once downloaded, the button will link customers directly to the Staples Web site, where they can shop online for all the office products they need.

Desktop marketing such as this is the concept of permission marketing – the process of promoting the sales of products and services to prospects who have explicitly agreed in advance to receive marketing messages – squared.

After all, what could be better than having your constituents not just willingly, but actively – proactively, even – participating in the sales process?

Engendering Brand Loyalty

A branded desktop application can go a long way towards engendering loyalty among your target audience and increasing their lifetime value – not just incrementally, but many times over – to you.

Think how much time most of us spend every single day in front of our computer screens, and how we’re practically beholden to the applications that have been granted a permanent residence there.

AOL. Internet Explorer. Norton AntiVirus. QuickTime. Adobe Reader. Imagine what it would be like for your brand to keep company with these desktop icons. (Never mind desktop or permission marketing — this is “right in front of your face” marketing!) Imagine how you could use your own DING or Easy Button.

If you were a magazine publisher, you could let your readers know when it was time to renew their subscriptions.

If you were a nonprofit organization, you could get in touch with your donors instantly when disaster — or any kind of emergency — struck.

If you were a retailer, you could notify shoppers when you were having a sale.

If you were a bank, you could warn customers when their balances were running low.

And if you were a blogger like me, you could rest assured knowing that your subscribers would know when you’ve written another new post.

Your own DING or Easy Button would serve as a virtual alarm clock for your audience, a Pavlovian-like call-and-response tool.

Okay, so getting people to download and click on your own desktop application would probably not be that easy. But, like it or not, in this day and age, all of us marketing, advertising and PR pros should be at least thinking like those who thought of DING and the Easy Button — or else.

Robert Rosenthal, an award-winning advertising executive, and founder of the direct marketing agency Mothers of Invention (formerly known as Passaic Parc), is undertaking a reverse hunger strike to call attention to serious problems that exist in the advertising industry - problems with significant economic impact.

“Every day, people in this business encounter a lack of respect, a lack of understanding of the value of what we do, and a stunning lack of loyalty. Hopefully, my reverse hunger strike will get people talking about these problems and improve working conditions. When that happens, we all win,” says Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, a Sudbury neighbor of mine and fellow member of the New England Direct Marketing Association, is going on this rather unusual strike in conjunction with the launch of his agency’s new moniker, Web site and –yes, you guessed it — blog.

Instead of wishing my friend bon chance, perhaps bon appetit would be more appropriate.

But seriously. Congratulations, Robert. You’ve always done things in a, well, supersized way!

In the November/December 2005 issue of NEDMA News, John Pannell, Founder and President of Newport Creative Communications (which, in the spirit of full disclosure, is the agency for which I work), questions the traditional client-agency RFP process.

John Pannell
Founder and President of Newport Creative Communications

“Personally, I don’t think nonprofit organizations should be making any big decisions about the future of their fundraising programs based on proposals received from a short list of direct response fundraising agencies,” writes John.

“Don’t send out that RFP and trust that the best proposal necessarily represents the best agency for you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your suitors’ references aren’t carefully selected to provide only the most flattering recommendations. Don’t mistake charisma for capability or promises for results.”

His suggestion?

“Clearly, there are many good agencies out there. But instead of asking for a proposal, why not ask for a test package? It’s quick, easy and objective. And the best part is you can use the results as a basis for your decision.”

Adds John: “The bottom line is that proposals have their shortcomings, while testing provides objective, conclusive evidence of an agency’s capabilities. After testing has been completed, you may discover that your current agency is doing a fantastic job for you. You may find a way to improve your direct mail fundraising program. Or you may find that it really is time for a change.”

To read John Pannell’s article, “I Would Like to Propose a Test,” in its entirety, click here.

“I Would Like to Propose a Test,” by John Pannell, Founder and President of Newport Creative Communications, originally appeared in the September 2005 issue of FundRaising Success magazine.