Here’s the deal, I have some experience in the realm of trying to gather a bunch of folks around a cause to make an actual difference in the world for others. Over the past few years, I’ve seen quite a few “campaigns” shake up things on Twitter and Facebook that blew my mind, when it comes to raising money or awareness around important causes.
Today, a new service called Thoughtful.org has launched and I find it to be quite brilliant. Its founder, Derek Rey, has some experience matching brands up with celebrities from his previous startup, Ad.ly. I wasn’t really a fan of anyone, let alone celebrities, tweeting out links to things that they knew nothing about, or really cared about at all, and calling them “Ads.” It seems like Rey has found the right mix of Ad.ly’s original model and something that is infinitely more impactful and heartwarming.
Its first “campaign” with Carl’s Jr and Snoop Dogg Lion will go live in the next hour or so, and will benefit Snoop’s youth football league. Thoughtful rounds up the brands and celebrities and builds campaigns that make complete sense.
During my own treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I had brands turn me away because I wasn’t “marketable” enough. Can you imagine a company not wanting to support raising money and awareness for cancer treatment simply because someone has a bunch of tattoos? Well, it happened. Thoughtful can change all of that and help a small non-profit get an important voice and launchpad into the world.
Here’s a quick video that explains Thoughtful’s mission:
Making a dent in the universe
When you visit the site, there’s not much to see. All of the action will take place on social channels like Twitter, much like today’s promoted tweet campaign with Snoop. Here’s the tweet that you might see in your stream, and I highly recommend taking action, because it’s for a great cause:
A homemade biscuit only for the west! @CarlsJr and they supportin Snoop Youth Football! RT this
Cause boosted, celeb engaged with brand, everyone’s happy.
Before you ask, Thoughtful does take a fee, much like any “agency” would, because after all, this is helping brands to be seen in a good light, too. Rey says that 10% minimum gross revenue benefits social and environmental causes, chosen by the brand or celebrity, so that’s good to hear. For causes, getting the word out often trumps raising money when it’s just starting out.
Maybe the next time you see a promoted tweet from a celebrity, you might pause for a moment to see which cause it’s supporting. It could be one that you care about or involves something that has touched your life. In fact, I asked Rey if I could run a campaign, and I’m pretty sure that it will happen.
I think that this might be the most thoughtful service on the web to date.
[Photo credit: My tattoo artist]