I was shopping for my niece the other day and I came across some very cute teddy bears in a dept. store here in Geneva. As I got closer to the bear counter, I noticed that the polar bear had a WWF tag (think it was leather) in its ear. This was just what put me over the edge. Of course! How could I resist a great cause marketing action? Buy the cute teddy and a portion of the funds go to WWF…so I bought one.
Just to learn a bit more about the WWF licensing agreement, I went over to the website and learnfound their agreement with International Bon Ton Toys B.V. Not sure what % of the proceeds on each sale go to WWF, but it does seem that WWF is doing very well. The latest finance report shows WWF receiving donations of around $160 Million during their last FY. Additionally, they have around $317 Million in assets. WWF seems to be very well supported! I wonder how much land they could protect for that amount???
WWF seems to sign a new cause related agreement with a different Fortune 500 each month. Clearly they are getting to be pros in this area. I will be watching WWF closely over the next months.
Ryan Jones is interested in marketing and good causes. He currently works in Global Brand Management at Procter & Gamble and resides in Geneva, Switzerland.