Component parts of the Good Web

We use the term “Good Web” to describe an emerging marketing technique between Brands, Consumers and Causes that use the web to create a groundswell of activation.

Traditionally, when brands and causes benefit each other, the campaign is considered “Cause Marketing”. While cause marketing has existed for years, the Good Web is the next generation that combines viral marketing in addition to traditional cause marketing. This powerful mixture of substance and distribution is having a massive positive impact on our culture.

The use of the word “web”  in Good Web is actually a crossover word. It has a dual meaning: on one hand it refers to the internet, where the viral message spreads, but it also refers to the human connections that are being developed. Indeed, the wide access and proliferation of interactive marketing is making it easier for non-profits, and activists to reach a world-wide audience.

We have identified 4 criteria for “The Good Web” movement:

1. Social or Environmental Benefit

The very first criteria of a Good Web initiative is that it has to promote a social or environmental cause. We have seen a spectrum of projects online that go from purely altruistic (like 350.org ) to commercially focused (like harmonytweets.com ). Both ends of the spectrum are perfectly fine, but there must be a clear benefit for People and Planet (two P’s of the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet and Profit). Where we run afoul is when a seemingly social campaign has exclusively commercial benefits (For example, the Clean Coal campaign put forth by  a lobbying group for the coal industry).

2. Viral

A Good Web initiative has to capture the imagination of the world and spread itself. Big ad budgets aren’t enough. In a sense, a Good Web project embodies “pull marketing“, where the message of the campaign is so compelling that people seek it out and share it with friends. Pull marketing messages don’t need to rely on traditional reach and frequency techniques. For brands this is a panacea since it’s much less expensive to distribute a message, but for NGOs it’s an absolute necessity since resource constraints make normal media buys impossible.

3. Progressive Call to Action

A Good Web project has to have an easy on ramp for people. We call this “onboarding” or “low barrier to entry” in the ad industry. Basically, it’s important for people to opt-in by simply clicking a button: posting to twitter, announcing on Facebook, etc. However, we have a term for this: “slacktivism“. A Good Web initiative, therefore, has to encourage participants to go beyond point and click, and take meaningful action. LiveStrong is a great example… you can become part of the movement by retweeting, then wearing a wristband, then participating in regional meetings, then hosting your own. A perfect progressive call to action is one that gets people involved with limited commitment initially and follows through with participation in more substantive ways.

4. Authentic, Honest and Transparent

The best course of action for brands and non-profits is to be authentic, honest and transparent about the issues at hand.

As branding consultancy BBMG say in their Branding for Sustainability whitepaper:

More than ever, consumers are looking to align their purchases with their values… Consumers are rewarding companies that do good things for people and the planet, like manufacturing energy efficient products, promoting consumer health and safety benefits, delivering fair labor and trade practices and supporting local businesses and suppliers.

In short, consumers are craving more holistic brand benefits and they’re punishing companies when they don’t see them.

Even more important, services like twitter, facebook, and justmeans allow non-profits and brands to continuously mete a stream of news that becomes part of the collective unconscious and weaves the tapestry for the initiative. By tapping intp the social fabric, a social initiative can gain critical mass through the rebroadcasting of social channels and have an enormous amplification.