Corporate Sponsorship...It Can Get Worse

When I think naming rights (or group's putting corporate names on structures) cannot get any worse, I open AdAge this morning only to read the following article.

*Note 1 - AdAge does not leave its articles online for long, so the short article is below as well.
*Note 2 - I am not going to subject you to senseless links that would lead you to corporate websites.
*Note 3 - My one musing is in red. The article should provide enough fodder.

Children's Hospital in Hot Water Over Corporate Sponshorships (from AdAge)

*The New York Times ran an article on this hospital as well.

Published: March 12, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- What's in a name? If you're a Columbus, Ohio-area children's hospital, plenty of donations.

The Nationwide Children's Hospital, so called in recognition of the insurance company's $50 million donation, is drawing fire from advocacy groups for its embrace of corporate sponsors. The facility is preparing to break ground on the Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department and Trauma Center. Another retailer, Limited Too, will be recognized for its $5 million donation with the Limited Too & Justice Main Lobby. [Next up - a new OshKosh retail spot that you walk through as you leave the B'Gosh Delivery Room and the Gerber Dining Hall in the Gerber Life Insurance Wing.] [In its current naming situation, this is the future of the building and its make-up.]

But it is the affiliation with Abercrombie, known for its not-exactly-child-friendly advertising, that is drawing the most criticism. Abercrombie donated $10 million to the hospital in 2006 for the construction of the center.

Not kidding around
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sounded alarms this week with a widely distributed press release detailing its position, as well as a letter sent to hospital officials. The group also began a letter-writing campaign today in opposition of the use of the retailer's name.

The advocacy group earlier created a public-relations nightmare for McDonald's over its sponsorship of student report cards. The fast-food chain discontinued that program in January.

Susan Linn, the group's director and a psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center, said the group took action after it was contacted by a concerned hospital employee. "[Our] stance is that selling naming rights is a terribly troubling trend," said Ms. Linn. "It gives corporations a veneer of respectability that, in fact, they may not deserve, and this is a good example of that."

Incensed by A&F
"Abercrombie & Fitch is really among the worst of corporate predators," she continued. "A company with such cynical disregard for children's well-being shouldn't be able to claim the mantle of healing. ... And, personally, I find it very concerning that they named their hospital after an insurance company."

Jon Fitzgerald, president of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation, explained that the hospital is not selling naming rights but recognizing donors for "transformational" gifts. "It's a very common practice that when an institution is fortunate enough to receive a significant gift, or any gift for that matter, it requires some sort of recognition," he said. "If you took a look across universities and other hospitals you would see many retailers involved in naming opportunities at those institutions."

Mr. Fitzgerald also said the hospital, not the corporations, made the decision to rename or name certain areas in their honor. He noted that because design plans for the new building have not been finalized, he could not comment on how the Abercrombie & Fitch name would be used.

In response to the letter, Mr. Fitzgerald expressed concern. "Clearly we're open to talking to anyone who has issue with the directions we take to support our mission," he said. "And clearly we'll take into account what their concerns are. But this is a 2-year-old decision."

Tom Lennox, a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch who has also served on the hospital foundation's board of trustees since 2005, said, "We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the hospital and pleased to help secure its bright future." He declined to comment further.

Get Out And Romp

Perk Up Afternoon Business

Pass the Cheer...that is the current Starbucks tagline and part of the company's current, and first national ad campaign. If you have seen the ads, you were probably not motivated to run out and get the entire family a beverage, but you heard the name Starbucks again and had your mind rattle with what ever you think of Starbucks.

Being a marketing fan, I no longer watch ads for the sake of buying products but to analyze the value and quality of what is being thrown at me. I am not fond of the ads, and as an AdAge article's title suggests, we can "Forget the Cute TV Critters; Starbucks Needs a Happy Hour."

The article begins by stating that "What Starbucks needs isn't an ad campaign set in fantasyland (however tastefully executed). Maybe what it needs is a real-world idea that could actually get people to buy and share more coffee: a Starbucks happy hour. ..."

I could not agree more about this. I will not go on and on about this topic as I did on my buddy Otis' blog - you can read it at www.otiskimzey.com/2007/12/12/starbucks-happy-hour - but I will give you the gist of what I said below...

I do not know what Starbucks used to be like. From what I gather though, Starbucks shops and the idea from which they started - small, Italian cafe - used to be much more simple & organic & anything but corporate. Starbucks is now the corporate giant & lacks the local coffee joint vibe, feel, & scene. Maybe a happy hour is the kick in the arse that the company needs to increase its profits, (re)gain new customers, and resurect its falling stock price. I do not think the critter friendly ad campaign and Pass the Cheer will do the job.

Get Out And Romp