Garnering “micro” donations is a common part of the fundraising strategy for non-profits these days who are trying to raise money in $25, $100 and for some $500-$1,000 increments. “Micro” is all relative of course.   And while a $50 donation is micro to many organizations – it is not always insignificant to the person writing the check.  And therein lies the age-old problem for non-profits:  How do we thank our patrons for even the smallest amount of support without spending the donation to do so?  How do we show them that their donation is appreciated and put to good use?  How do we show them that $25 has an impact?

Part of the solution to this problem is technology and companies like FirstGiving are a terrifically inexpensive and easy way to collect donations for individual fundraisers and non-profits alike.  But the real opportunity is in helping donors see the impact that even a small amount of money can have on an organization.

Kiva is an organization that has figured out how to make micro feel macro.  Kiva is a micro loan organization that links entrepreneurs from developing nations with “micro” donors from around the world.  Entrepreneurs ask for loans ranging from hundreds to a few thousand dollars. On the site, you can read the mini-business pitch of how the funds will be used and even view a picture of the entrepreneur, their shop, fishing boat or workshop.  There is definitely an emotional bond that is made as you do your social due diligence.

Your donations are micro investments.  Managers from Kiva and partners work with the entrepreneurs to collect repayments for the loan over time.  There is a surprisingly low rate of default and loan tardiness.  In fact, you can even make a positive return on the donation/investment. (Donvestment?)

On the web site, you can see how your portfolio is performing.  For example, me and 64 other don-vestors from around the world loaned Tatyana Viksyuk $1900 to help her buy more inventory for her clothing store in Ukraine.

Tatyana repaid the loan diligently after a few months and my $25 delivered a return that I reloaned the funds to Genie – a chef from the Philippines.

What I love about Kiva.org is that they have figured out a way to help make small donations feel big.  I see and connect with the people I’m helping … and that feels great.

Online, non-profits who want to dial up their micro donation efforts need to make it personal and relevant to their potential donors.  Help people see the results of even the smallest donation and the money will follow.

Gilbane is one of the world's largest construction companies and came to Genuine for a digital strategy and site redesign that was reflective of their unique culture and successful projects.

A lot of large companies say "they care" but it usually is not a differentiator because unless you meet them in person, it's empty words.

After meeting with Gilbane, it was very apparent to us that it wasn't about the millions of tons of concrete they pour each year.

It's not about steel or the massive projects they build. Gilbane is truly different because of its people. The challenge became bringing that personality to the forefront so web surfers can get a glimpse of what "Gilbane cares" is really all about.

After all, a company mission is only empty propaganda unless you see it in action. Why? Because too many companies in the world don't really live their mission. And if they do, they don't show it well.

But here I go, telling you that Gilbane really does care when you should be taking a look at the site to see how we bring their personality to life using video embedded into an engaging home page experience.

No shameless plugs here...

Genuine Interactive was selected as the winner in the Best Use of Video and Real Estate categories for the 2009 MITX Interactive Awards.

The Best Use of Video award was received for the creation of an innovative lead generation video site for 3DVIA. So, our developer friends actually build the site right before your eyes, because it's all about Speed Baby! The objective of the campaign was to generate awareness for the product launches and capture as many email addresses as possible. The goal was 200; we ended up with 1,200 along with unprecedented user engagement stats.

Working with Rattle Advertising, Genuine received the interactive award in the Real Estate category for Fenway Triangle. Making a convincing case for Fenway Triangle as well as raising awareness and generating interest and excitement, required knitting together myriad lifestyle amenities from cultural institutions and green space, to nightlife, restaurants and conveniences. Through extensive original photography and video the resulting site created a compelling real-world sense of place and a distinct personality for the area.

Congratulations to all the winners and more importantly to everyone that participated in the 14th Annual MITX Awards!

A lot of people think that the business card says a lot about who they are, their background and expertise. "Gold inlayed font?! You must be the king of small country. I mean - real gold?!" We wanted our business cards to say more about us than a title and email address - so we created our very own Augmented Reality Business Cards. They are our “Butterfly Effect Business Cards.” They tell who we’ve met more about how we got to the meeting we just had. We think its more interesting than the typical corporate bio. Take a look! Aside from “that guy looks pretty chubby, he should eat more salad.” – let us know what you think.

If you drove an 80’s Chevy Nova in the late 90’s you’ve experienced your share of condescending stares, embarrasing backfires and rejected smog inspections.  But worse than all other digs at your bitchin’ ride were the dozens of smart-ass ad people who told you, “You know, the NOVA didn’t sell well in Latin countries because in Spanish “no va” means “Doesn’t go!  How did Chevy miss that one?!” 

You probably didn’t really care because if you did drive the 80’s Nova in the late 90’s you were a master at not giving a shit.  We could tell by your symetrically ripped stonewashed jeans.

We all love stories of embarrasing mistranslations in the ad world.  I personally love the Coke billboard campaign in China with Co-Ca-Co-La phonetically spelled out which told millions of Chinese to “Bite the Wax Tadpole.”  (Subsequently China has told America to bite THEIR wax tadpole and those of their billion-strong labor force…but that’s another rant.)  And I love the American Airlines [i think] campaign in Brazil touting their new “Rendezvous Lounges” aboard every flight which translated to a mile high brothel on every jet.

I am proud to say that Genuine Interactive’s own L.L. Cool Alex uncovered another potential international naming faux pas for the ages.  A fortune cookie at Cambridge’s own Hong Kong reveals the real meaning of Bing.  Bing in Chinese means Disease.  Awesome.

Maybe the Hong Kong in Cambridge is wrong or maybe Microsoft is telling China to bite their wax tadpoles.  Share your thoughts.  And, if anyone has any other cool international naming stories – please tweet them to #brandtranslations @wearegenuine

 

 

Scan of the actual whistleblower - a fortune from Cambridge's Hong Kong found last week.  The Lucky Numbers claim to be luckier than Google's lucky numbers and more relevant to the searcher.  We'll see who wins that battle.