02 October 2007

Business Throws Its Weight Behind Special Olympics Summer Games

Companies that help the cause gain brand recognition, boost worker morale

 

A DHL agent participates in the Special Olympics Global Law Enforcement Torch Run Ceremony in the Rose Garden July 26. (White House)

By Elizabeth Kelleher
Staff Writer

Washington -- The Special Olympics world summer games open in Shanghai, China, October 2. But the games have been heralded since June by a torch -- lit by the rays of the sun in Athens, Greece, and kept burning on airplanes in a miner’s lamp as it traveled to 12 countries under the care of courier company DHL International Ltd.

DHL, which boasts global logistical expertise, donated transportation for the torch. The Special Olympics organization benefits from DHL's generosity, and, like other businesses that have supported the Special Olympics for years, DHL expects to gain something from the partnership as well.  Corporate giving increasingly is guided with an eye on the bottom-line.  Corporate donors want to support a cause in a particular market or of a particular interest to customers so that, in doing so, they boost profits.

Through world-class sports competitions, the nonprofit Special Olympics organization seeks to bring a sense of pride, social recognition and value to athletes who have intellectual disabilities.

DHL, a company founded in the United States in 1969 and since purchased by a German parent-company, seeks to strengthen its market position in China.  When DHL brought the burning Special Olympics torch to China in late September, it was divided into 14 separate flames and taken -- by DHL couriers -- to Beijing, Harbin, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Xi’an, Suzhou, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Macau.

In making alliances with nonprofit groups, “the corporation gets a big halo,” said Stephen M. Adler, author of Cause for Concern, a book about the rise in “cause-related marketing,” a term to describe the intersection of philanthropy and business goals. DHL and other sponsors employ cause-related marketing when they plan charitable giving to spur brand awareness and employee morale.

Such an approach to philanthropy requires long-term partnerships, Adler said.  Recently, he said, cause-related marketing has grown beyond the borders of the United Kingdom and the United States, where companies long have espoused it.

CHARITY AND THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Partnerships are sought enthusiastically by Special Olympics.  Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics’ chairman, said in a 2006 speech to executives in Shanghai that as businesses seek competitive advantage, they should use philanthropy to improve relationships with customers, employees and communities.  Just as Special Olympics expects “corporate partners to contribute significantly to our bottom line,” Shriver said, “we expect to be held accountable for contributing significantly to theirs.”

Procter and Gamble Company (P&G), which has supported Special Olympics for almost 30 years, puts product-coupon packages in 650 newspapers across the United States each year.  When consumers buy from among the advertised products, a percent of the purchase price is donated to Special Olympics.  Coupons feature photos and stories of Special Olympics athletes; customers respond emotionally and buy more P&G products.

 

Timothy Shriver (left), chairman of Special Olympics, welcomes Coca-Cola President Muhtar Kent to the Special Olympics board of directors in June 2007. (photo courtesy of Coca-Cola Company)

Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver welcomes Coca-Cola President Muhtar Kent to the board of directors in June 2007. (Coca-Cola)

James J. O’Connell of P&G said the idea is to “allow the nonprofit to share the equity of your company, and your company to share the equity of the nonprofit.”

Bank of America also is a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics.  It paid the costs for U.S. athletes and coaches to travel to China for the games in addition to donating to the organization.

To enhance its business in China, the bank recently acquired a minority position in China Construction Bank (CCB).  In sharing best practices with the Chinese bank, Bank of America “showed them that the games are an opportunity to promote both brands,” said Eloise Hale, of Bank of America.  On October 3, CCB executives will donate money they raised from customers of its retail branches to support Special Olympics.

GIVING WORKERS A SENSE OF UNITY AND PRIDE

Special Olympics is growing in China but is not well known, according to Coca-Cola’s director of worldwide sports, Peter Franklin.  Coke will donate 850,000 drinks to athletes and entertainers at the games.  The company will provide 150 volunteers from among Chinese bottling partners.  And its president delivered a $1 million check to the Special Olympics organizing committee October 1. 

Another way Coke can create value, Franklin said, “is by building awareness of what Special Olympics is.”  Coca-Cola put Special Olympics marks on millions of packages distributed in China.  It has produced advertisements about Special Olympics that feature Chinese athletes Liu Xiang, the Olympic gold medalist hurdler, and Yao Ming, who plays in the National Basketball Association.

“We do continuous consumer research,” Franklin said.  In the greater Shanghai area, where Coke has concentrated its activities, there is significantly more recognition of what Special Olympics is all about than there was six months ago, he said.

Employees are proud to help people with mental disabilities compete and work on teams.  According to Special Olympics corporate liaison Kirsten Seckler, the California-based toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. not only financially supports Special Olympics but uses the cause to “unite and excite” workers.  “There is a corps of volunteers coming from different parts of the world where Mattel has offices to volunteer at the games,” she said.

Even Franklin, of Coca-Cola, who frequently works with professional athletes, said he gets a kick out of Special Olympics athletes.  He took a break from a board meeting recently to play bocce with two of them.  Franklin threw the ball too far, and a 16-year-old with mental disabilities took his hand and showed him how to spin the ball.

“These are people doing [sports] strictly for the joy of effort, to prove something to themselves.  With them, I make a more human connection,” Franklin said.

More information on Special Olympics is available on its Web site.