DATELINE, November 1, 2007, Chicago
We were intrigued by an October 30, 2007 posting on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Give and Take page. As part of a World Series promotion, Taco Bell had agreed to give a free taco to anyone who stopped by one of its restaurants this past Tuesday. Some "clever" group set up a Web site (DonateYourTaco.com), and asked visitors to sign a petition. According to the Give and Take column, the organizers planned to ask Taco Bell to donate an amount equal to the cash equivalent value of a taco for each online signature. According to the Chronicle article, a taco sells for 77 cents.
Although we certainly aren't experts in the fast food marketing business, the business plan behind this give-away is pretty obvious. Sure, Taco Bell would lose...
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money if every American took them up on their offer by stopping in, eating the taco, and leaving. But that is probably not how the promotion played out. Most people who took part likely stopped by their local Taco Bell at mealtime. Undoubtedly, they took the free taco, but we suspect most also bought a beverage and something else to eat. We would wager that Taco Bell netted a profit from the promotion.
What annoyed us about the DonateYourTaco campaign is the apparent belief that everything revolves around charity and that it is always OK for charity to take its bite out of the taco. The marketing professionals who work for charities are beginning to push their luck as far as we are concerned.
A couple of weeks ago we were at the checkout counter at Whole Foods. The attendant asked us if we would like to donate a small sum of money to a breast cancer fund. If we recall, and we didn't pay that much attention so we may get the specific facts wrong, we were asked to add $2 or $3 to our bill, with $1 or $2 going to the charity. We would have received a pin or some small item that was pink.
We have nothing against breast cancer charities, but we write our checks out to charities while sitting in our home office. As a matter of policy, we simply do not give to charities that call or otherwise try to engage us in some sort of person-to-person solicitation. And as we read all the commentary on choosing charities wisely, we think we are taking the approach recommended by most experts—a thoughtful review of the charity before donating.
What particularly irked us was the response we received when we said "No" to the Whole Foods request. The cash register attendant asked us why we would not give to a good cause. She began to badger us about our decision. It is unclear to us why we should have to justify our decision not to give to a charity when we were engaged in a commercial transaction that had nothing to do with charity. We go to the grocery store to buy food, not to give to charities. As the attendant bagged our food, she was, at least in our estimation, rougher with our food than usual.
Returning to Taco Bell: Yesterday the Chronicle reported that Taco Bell told the DonateYourTaco organizers that it would not make the requested donation to the American Red Cross. Good for Taco Bell. Their World Series promotion was all about marketing. It had nothing to do with charity. We have no doubt that Taco Bell makes generous contributions to charity, but like us, we suspect it does so in a rational and considered manner.
We have spoken to others who are also sick and tired of these too-clever-by-half nickel and dime promotions. Charities have every right to ask for money, but those requests should not take the form of-out-of-context ambushes. And we can only wonder whether these dollar or two requests are even cost justified. We suspect not given the cost of internal controls, recordkeeping, auditing, and other administrative costs associated with these campaigns? Or, have the charities using clever marketing and tie ins decided that internal controls, audits, and recordkeeping aren't necessary? We are also curious whether the organizers and corporate sponsors are subject to various state registration requirements.
By the way Whole Foods, we don't have any problem with "Goodwill" drop-off boxes or Salvation Army bell ringers.
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