I had to get some information from our office administrator, Karen. As I was standing by her office area, I noticed a box in the corner, one I had not seen before. The box was small, only about 10 x 10 inches. It was white but had a colorful label. I read the copy and learned that this was the collection bin we use for old inkjet cartridges, expired cell phones and other disposables. On the label, I learned the box was from United Cerebral Palsy. It invited us to use this collection site for these materials, and the organization would collect them and repurpose the items. I asked Karen how long we had had the box, and she told me about a year. From my perspective as a marketer, this simple but brilliant idea had many lessons.

• UCP is building its brand with me as a potential donator to the organization. I am impressed that it is doing this and using it as a way to build its brand with companies throughout our region.
• The organization is making it easy for me as a “customer” to participate in its program.
• It is allowing my company to “do well by doing good” for the community.
• We reduce our garbage output by focusing our recycled materials here.
• Karen has been able to bring her values of giving back to the company by providing this resource. This is alignment with our internal brand adoption as a company to encourage every employee to play a role in building our brand.

Great lessons in external and internal brand adoption are all around us. It’s great to see a non-profit organization like UCP among them.

Posted in: Brand Development, Integrated Marketing
Tags: brand adoption, building brand, recycling, sustainability, UPS
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