Cause Marketing: Cause Marketing is the art of combining your commercial brand with a non-profit issue. Cause marketing campaigns have years of history and range from relatively superficial tactical partnerships, to long-term, strategic alliances that penetrate deeply into business and nonprofit organizations.

In 2008, businesses and schools in British Columbia, CA took a stand against bullying with the city’s first “Pink Shirt Day.” It began as a grassroots effort to show solidarity for a fellow student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt, and was picked up by a Canadian politician who saw its potential to raise awareness. Now in its second year, Pink Shirt Day is getting a lot of attention.

One shopping center is getting involved. Metropolis at Metrotown is holding its own Pink Day this month. The shopping center is selling pink T-shirts for $10, with proceeds going to LOVE BC, a local anti-violence charity. Shoppers who wear the pink shirts on February 28th will have a chance to win a $1000 mall gift card, and the event is taking advantage of new media with a Facebook group and a YouTube “Pink Day Shout Out” contest.

Pink Day, however, doesn’t seem to be affiliated with Pink Shirt Day, and takes place several days after the larger event. This might be a small misstep in a great marketing idea. What do you think? Is it better to hold a solo event for an important issue, or to get involved with an existing non-profit?

Cause Marketing: Cause Marketing is the art of combining your commercial brand with a non-profit issue. Cause marketing campaigns have years of history and range from relatively superficial tactical partnerships, to long-term, strategic alliances that penetrate deeply into business and nonprofit organizations.

The Pajama Program is an easy charity to feel good about. Its goal is to ensure that every child can go to bed in a warm pair of PJs with a good bedtime story. For a family just barely getting by, or a child in instutional care,  this is a little bit of comfort that can help calm fears and create a little normalcy.

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has latched on to this good cause with Operation PJ Pile Up. Each of its 39 malls is collecting new pajamas and books for abandoned or abused children and teens. Their combined goal is to collect 25,000 pairs of pajamas and 2500 new books by the end of December.

PREIT made a great marketing choice in supporting the Pajama program, as it’s been featured regularly on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah’s influence has brought a lot of attention to the charity, and it’s still unique enough to be novel, so PREIT should have a pretty easy time of drawing attention to their initiative.

As part of Amstetten Cultural Week, City Center Amstetten, AT, is helping to educate shoppers about domestic violence. The “Hinter der Fassade” (Behind the Facade) exhibition takes shoppers through a typical family home to show them the ways domestic violence can appear in daily life.

It’s an issue that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but with over 2 million people assaulted by their partners every year in the United States alone, it’s clearly still an important one. So kudos to City Center Amstetten for helping to teach prevention and protection.

With the economy in doubt, charities are going to have a tough holiday season. As a result, many shopping centers are doing what they can to help attract donations by offering shoppers handy incentives. And of course, if the incentives get the shoppers into the mall, it’s a win-win situation.

General Growth Properties has launched an initiative that covers all the bases. The Giving Spree encourages shoppers to spend $5 or more donating to Habitat for Humanity and other charities. If they do, they get access to a host of savings at GGP retailers.

The initiative also includes a nice, glitzy website with a topical holiday theme. It offers a holiday shopping widget (so shoppers remember those big shopping days), holiday shopping advice, and prizes to be won.

Nearly a dozen Australian shopping centers are asking shoppers to jump for a good cause next month with Jump for Wishes. The charity event supports Starlight Children’s Foundation Australia, which works to lift the spirits of seriously ill and hospitalized children.

Shoppers at AMP Capital Shopping Centres will participate in what will hopefully be the world’s largest simultaneous “star jump” (something like a jumping jack). Participants will pay 5 dollars to take part in the world record attempt, with proceeds going to the charity. Good luck to them!