How L’Oreal Recruits Brand Ambassadors While Doing Social Good

Every year, L’Oreal recognizes a new set of ‘Women of Worth’ and awards their charities $5,000 each, with an additional $5,000 donation made in each of their names to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. One of these women is selected as the National Woman of Worth Honoree and her charity receives a whopping $25,000! As you can imagine, L’Oreal also showers these women and their charities with lots of media attention and hosts a large gala event in their honor at the end of each year.

In L’Oreal’s own words:

More than 30 years ago, L'Oréal coined the phrase "Because I'm Worth It" to celebrate a woman's worth and build her self-esteem. In 1997, as an extension of this sentiment, L'Oréal Paris proudly partnered with The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) to raise money and awareness in the fight against ovarian cancer.

In 2006 our signature phrase and OCRF partnership came to life in a new way. L'Oréal established Women Of Worth - a grassroots program and award that honors women who serve others in their communities.

Who is a Woman Of Worth? She's an inspiring volunteer, an outstanding achiever, and a beautiful person who's making a difference in her community. She sees a need around her and doesn’t hesitate to get involved. Whether she's empowering women, mentoring children, helping survivors to heal or motivating troops overseas, her efforts are tireless. Her spirit is unbreakable.

From a socially responsible perspective, L’Oreal is doing a great job by supporting amazing female change-makers and their charities. There’s no doubt that a program like this makes L’Oreal look and feel good, as it should. But, the ‘good’ stuff doesn’t just stop there. By putting the spotlight on these remarkable women of worth, L’Oreal is building an army of brand ambassadors.

Imagine this:

At the age of 15, you were the victim of acquaintance rape. It took you four years to build the courage to speak up about what happened to you. Right before your eyes, the website you built to tell your story has evolved into an organization that boasts of being the largest international online sexual abuse survivor community, serving more than 20,000 survivors worldwide. (Learn more about 2009 National Woman of Worth Honoree, Shannon Lambert here)

Naturally, you feel blessed to have the opportunity to help thousands of women around the world heal, but now you’ve also been recognized for your work by a very prominent beauty brand whose core consumers are women like you. Once you complete your interviews, attend the big awards gala, and accept the $25,000 check on behalf of your charity, will your relationship with that company end there?

Not a chance.

You’ve just been transformed into a brand ambassador of that company for life. All of the women in your network will be reading that press release announcing your name as the recipient of this prestigious award. And, because of the impact you and your organization have had on all of these women, they will have newfound appreciation for the company that honored you.

What does this mean for L’Oreal? Chances are that the next time a member of a Woman of Worth’s organization is watching a L’Oreal ad on TV or sees one in her favorite women's magazine, she’ll probably smile without noticing and pay closer attention than before, store the name of that new product in her memory, and possibly pick it up the next time she's at the drugstore. Maybe she'll even recommend it to friends. Moreover, L'Oreal will have boosted its chances of becoming her beauty brand of choice, if it wasn't already. Why? Because she believes that L'Oreal is a socially responsible company that truly values women. After all, it honored one of her favorite women and made a donation to a charity she holds very close to her heart. All in all, the brand just evokes a feeling of goodness in her, so when given a choice between L'Oreal beauty products and those of its competitors, why in the world would she buy anything else?

Take a look at the list of 2009 ‘Women of Worth.’ These are impressive women who have each made a very profound impact in their communities. If there’s anyone a beauty brand like L’Oreal would want as an ‘everyday’ brand ambassador...it’s definitely one of these power house women. Smart thinking, right?

P.S. You don’t need to be a multimillion dollar enterprise to build an effective base of brand ambassadors. Look to companies like L’Oreal for inspiration and, you too, can build socially responsible programs that also serve as breeding grounds for brand ambassadors. Other companies doing this successfully are Pepsi with the Pepsi Refresh project and Bank of America with the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. If you know other terrific examples, please share them with us!

How to Start a Not-for-Profit Organization

In 2007, I was hired by TV sitcom star and cancer survivor, Fran Drescher, to help her launch the Cancer Schmancer Movement (more on that another time) and learned some amazing lessons on the "Do's & Don'ts" of starting a not-for-profit. I used those lessons to launch Glamour Gone Good in January 2010. We're mobilizing glamour industry professionals (glamour-makers, as I call them) to raise funds and distribute grants to leading women's and girls' charities.

For those of you ambitious or crazy enough to start your own not-for-profit (or simply curious as to how it's done), here are some tips and tricks that I shared with DoSomething.org in 2007 that you may find useful.

1. MISSION. State your purpose. You should be able to sum up the purpose of your organization in one sentence. Think about the problem you’re wanting to solve and what you consider to be your solution. Do a competitive analysis to find out which other organizations are out there that fall into your niche. Draw out a chart that maps out their various mission statements, target demographics, membership size, and whatever else you find key to their success. Make sure that you’re not just repeating what someone else is already doing. Figure out what sets your organization apart and why funders will choose it over your competitors. Important: Starting a not-for-profit is NOT always a good idea. Only pursue it if you’re absolutely confident that you bring something innovative and effective to the table. If you find that you don’t, then consider getting involved with one of these organizations that’s clearly doing what you’re so passionate about.
   

2. LEADERSHIP. Develop your Board of Directors. Think about who would be an appropriate fit for your Executive Committee, which should include the following positions at a bare minimum: President, Treasurer, Secretary. When considering whom to approach to be on the Board, think about what needs you want met for each position assigned. Also, give careful consideration to which industries and professional backgrounds are represented on the Board. I always advocate for an accountant in the role of Treasurer and attorney in the role of Secretary. The President must be someone trustworthy, dependable and passionate about the cause or issue because that person will set the standard for what each Board member should aspire to in his/her role. It’s always helpful to have marketing experts and mission-specific experts to help round out your Board. For example, if you run a children’s after-school program, you may want a school principal and child psychologist on your Board. Be sure to consult the lawyers in the state where you’re founding your organization to find out the minimum board size requirements because the laws vary in each state.
   

3. BRAND IDENTITY. Develop your brand identity, which is the look and feel of your organization. You’ll probably need the help of a graphic designer to help you (either for free or for a discounted fee) develop your organization’s logo. This logo should embody the spirit of your organization. Brainstorm with your Board of Directors on the key characteristics of your brand. If it were a person, what would s/he be like? Now turn this person into an image and what do you see? What colors? What image(s)? All of your promotional materials should flow from this logo as extensions of your brand. That includes your business cards, company letterhead and envelopes, brochures, website and everything in between.

4. LEGALITIES. Learn the laws and stick to them. Spend some time on www.IRS.gov learning about the different kinds of not-for-profits that can exist and determine which one makes most sense for you. Most organizations tend to file under the 501(c)(3) code, but not everyone is eligible to file in that category. Once you’ve determined what kind of charity you wish to file as with the IRS, you’ll need to decide under which state’s laws you wish to incorporate. Surprisingly, you don’t need to live or work in the state which you incorporate. All you’ll need is a mailing address there and that could be a mailbox you rent from a place like Mailboxes, etc. Visit the state government’s website to read up on its non-profit corporate laws and make sure to adhere to them. Find a good attorney to help you develop your Board bylaws and organizational resolutions, which will all be sent to your government for incorporation purposes, and eventually to the IRS when you file for tax-exemption status.

5. ACCOUNTING. Develop a smooth-operating financial infrastructure. Think about all of the expenses you expect to encounter over the next 12 months. Include staff salaries and benefits, if any, plus administrative and legal expenses like incorporation costs, legal fees, bank and credit card fees, liability insurance premiums, etc. Put all of this into a budget to review with your Board of Directors at your first Board meeting. Definitely take advantage of your Treasurer’s expertise when working on this because s/he may have insights on things you’d never think of on your own. Together, you’ll want to create a system for tracking all of the money that comes in and goes out of your organization. Always allocate every dollar spent to a specific line item in your budget, whether it to be salary, office supplies, travel, etc. Save your receipts and get in the habit of filling out credit card expense reports. The more diligent you are, the happier the IRS and auditors will be with you! Remember, the IRS can shut down your organization if you don’t track your revenue and expenses. So, keep ‘em happy.

6. PROGRAMS. Structure your programs. Now that you have created the beginnings of a road map for your organization that states your ultimate purpose and your brand, it's time to map out the programs that will help you achieve your ultimate goal while remaining true to your brand. So, if you are starting a local organization committed to provided clean and safe outdoor play spaces for school-aged children, your programs may include both hands-on renovation projects like giving makeovers to playgrounds and cleaning up local parks, as well as advocacy programs through which you lobby for increased funding for cleaner and more green spaces in your neighborhood. Or if you happen to be launching an international organization dedicated to helping low-income girls complete a high school education, you may need to establish a grant-making program that awards scholarships and grants to young girls while developing partnerships with local NGOs and schools to inspire more young girls in your key markets to stay in school.

7. DEVELOPMENT (or FUNDRAISING). Raise some start-up funds. Start with what you’ve got – your Board of Directors. Ask them to contribute what they can to help you get started and be clear on where those funds will go. Look for support in your community. Host events locally and activate your personal and professional network to garner interest and support in your organization. Consider applying for seed grants from community-based foundations, as well as approaching small to mid-sized companies with a presence in your community to jointly develop cause marketing campaigns that are win-win for you all. For info on grant writing and foundations, visit www.foundationcenter.org. For tips on cause marketing, check out this awesome blog: www.selfishgiving.com.
   
   
8. MARKETING. Get your name out there. Think about both online and offline marketing mechanisms. For starters, create a Facebook page and Twitter account that you can update regularly (multiple times a week, if not daily). Consider starting your own blog if you know your audience well and have lots to share with them. All of this will help you develop a presence that will eventually drive traffic to your website. Consider getting started with a free or low-cost website. I recommend www.GoDaddy.com for registering your domain name and www.wix.com for setting up a temporary site, but if you’ve got a web programmer and/or designer willing to help you get started, even better! Once you’ve started creating some buzz online, start getting active in your community by recruiting volunteers and community-based partners to help you host free or low-cost events. After all, events are a great excuse for people to write about you! Ultimately, you and your Board should draft a communications plan that includes all of your intended strategies for marketing your organization to your intended audience. Be creative and have fun with it!

The original recap of my interview with DoSomething.org can be found here: http://www.dosomething.org/training/how-to-start-nonprofit