There’s certainly no shortage of topics that can fuel controversy these days, and sometimes it can come up in unexpected ways. Especially when you ask for opinions about subjects that people are passionate about. You never know what kind of nerve you might hit!

I came across a recent article at BusinessWeek‘s website titled “Meet the Antipreneurs“. The article highlighted businesses that target a growing consumer niche that is jaded about corporate business and big-brand advertising. They primarily promote their products by relying on word of mouth advertising from their customers.

As a former radio guy, I was drawn in by the story of Bill Goldsmith, who runs a successful listener supported internet radio station with a passionate following. What I found intriguing about him and the others in the article, is that they have made a strong emotional connection with a constituency that resonates with their message. According to the BizWeek article, “their marketing strategy is targeted toward consumers who have grown cynical about buying products and services from larger companies, whose methods they deem irresponsible.” I have found that this cynicism is a growing trend, especially among young people, and is influencing buying decisions.

A recent study by the American Marketing Association found that:

• One out of every three consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product or service if they knew that a certain amount of the purchase price was being donated directly to a cause or campaign.

• Young people age 18-24 and women are most likely to buy a product or service connected to cause-related marketing.

• 40% of women versus 30% of men were more likely to buy a product or service if they knew that a certain amount of the purchase price was being donated directly to a cause or campaign.

• 46% of respondents age 18-24 versus 31% of respondents 45-64 were more likely to buy a product or service if they knew that a certain amount of the purchase price was being donated directly to a cause or campaign.

The Pot Gets Stirred

Having that as a background, I floated a link to the article on Twitter and asked people to share their thoughts about the topic. What I found was that he term “antipreneur” seems to be a goad that pricked the sensibilities of most folks. A couple of Twitterbuds were especially bothered by what they felt was BizWeek’s cluelessness and hypocrisy about small business and entrepreneurism. And judging from the comments on the BizWeek article, others were not too thrilled either.

Walt Goshert, of The Marketing Caddy, wrote a scathing blog post lambasting BizWeek, the reporter, the article, and the business owners who were the subject of the article. On Twitter, he deemed the article shallow and too politically correct and wondered if the business owners cared more about the customers or the cause.

I got a similar response on Twitter from J.P. Micek of Tribal Seduction. J.P., along with his wife Deborah Micek, also writes about New Media Marketing at Entrepreneur Magazine’s blog network. He labeled BizWeek a rag, the business owners “anti-capitalist” and zeroed in on the “antipreneur” tag saying the article’s main trope was based on a faulty definition. Micek believes that BizWeek thinks entrepreneurs equal big corporations, but in reality, an entrepreneur is an individual who recognizes an opportunity and acts to profit from it.

I was a little surprised by such a strong reaction, though I do agree that the “antipreneur” label inflames the issues unnecessarily. However, it is precisely this strong reaction that indicates these businesses are doing something right with their marketing strategy. Why? Because the passion that surrounds a cause that you believe in makes for a strong emotional connection with your constituency.

Though I highly respect both Walt and J.P.’s opinions and achievements as marketers and business owners, I think the passion of their politics, fueled by BizWeek’s use of “antipreneur” blinded them in this instance to see the opportunity and viability of a marketing strategy that is cause related. That also applies to the commenters at BizWeek’s article. Personally, I just ignored the “antipreneur” nonsense and the politics of it all to focus on what works as a marketing strategy, period. Let’s just say that it is certain that none of the critics are the target market of the businesses featured in that article!

Transparency, Authenticity and Making an Emotional Connection

The need to be transparent and authentic in your business practices in the new media age is more vital than ever before. People do business with those they know, like and trust. They want to associate with those who have common interests and values. This is true regardless if you are an environmentally conscience vegan who likes granola and hiking in non-leather boots in the wilderness, or a card-carrying N.R.A. member who likes venison and hunting in a 4-wheel drive. One wants to protect Bambi’s right to peaceful coexistence with man and nature, and the other wants to protect the right to bear arms and hunt Bambi down to stock his freezer and fill his belly.

The point is, a message that resonates and forms a strong emotional connection with your constituency is a powerful marketing strategy. If you have a mission driven message that resonates with your customers, you will make a connection that has long term value. As Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

So what do you think? Is this type of marketing hypocritical and disingenuous or transparent and genuine. Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: business, cause marketing, social entrepreneurship

However, I am now thawing out to get re-engaged. Some things I’m working on are moving my blog to my own hosted site, writing an article about the perils and pitfalls of social media, and a putting together a white paper on social media strategies. More on that later, but I’m mostly emerging from hibernation to tell you about my friend Jason Marshall and his pal Petey.

An Internet Marketer on a Mission.

Jason was a contestant on the internet’s first reality show, The Next Internet Millionaire and turned everyone’s head by voting himself off the show! His desire to stay true to his sense of mission out-weighed his desire to make a lot of money. As a key part of Jason’s mission, he is a full time aide to a 12 year old boy named Petey who is suffering from a fatal disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Here’s a short video of Jason and Petey:

Jason is trying to raise money to buy a van to help transport Petey and his motorized wheelchair to appointments and outings. To do that, he has rallied some very successful internet marketers to put together a package of business building products as an incentive for people to help out. The package is worth over $2,000 real value for less than a hundred bucks. If you’re not interested in the package, you can just donate any amount. He launched last week and is still a bit short of the goal and is trying to make it by Petey’s birthday, which is this Friday, April 18th. If you’d like to help and get a great deal, check out: Petey’s Power Pack.

Dr. Mani is heart surgeon who is using his internet marketing business to fund heart surgery for under-privileged children in India. A DAY FOR HEARTS: Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day is an effort spearheaded by Dr. Mani to highlight to the public the problems posed by Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). He is seeking to bring about increased awareness and demand for CHD issues such as:

• research funding
• formation and assistance to support groups
• education of the general public
• enhanced standards of care to CHD patients worldwide

According to Dr. Mani’s CHD Info website,

“Congenital Heart Defects are a lethal constellation of birth defects of the heart that affect millions of newborn infants and children worldwide; a killer that claims thousands of lives every year. Eight of every 1000 children born alive (0.8%) will have some form of congenital heart defect.”

Info at his DrMani.name site goes on to say:

“Heart surgery is expensive. Many of his patients, from poor families, cannot afford the cost of treatment. So Dr.Mani decided to try and help sponsor the operations.This was the simple concept behind an online adventure that started in 1996.

Ten years later, Dr.Mani’s team has raised over $100,000 and funded heart surgery in 23 children, with many more to follow. He’s well on his way to achieve an ambitious mission – make high quality heart health care accessible and affordable to every Indian child.

The Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation is a non-profit entity created to raise awareness about Congenital Heart Defects and to raise funds to sponsor life-saving heart surgery for children from poor families suffering from congenital heart disease.”

If you’d like to give more than just flowers and candy today, you can donate here.