Government Solutions Group (GSG) helps cash-strapped state parks hook up corporate brands to sponsor public park improvement projects, providing brands with the opportunity to demonstrate the brand’s values to its target consumers.  Below are my takeaway’s from the AdAge article that reported on the GSG and its recent partnerships with Coca-Cola, Odwall, and Juicy Juice.

Odwalla’s and Juicy Juice’s campaigns were smart and good, but Coca Cola’s achieved something even greater in terms of brand engagement.  Coca Cola’s campaign actively involved the consumer as a partner in the brand’s effort.  Such “playing on the same team” I think results in the consumer developing a deeper connection to the brand.

These campaigns make the most sense I think because they are obviously reinforcing the brand’s values, which are shared by their target audience, but the also make sense from a numbers perspective.    In sponsoring these environmental projects, the brands affect a physical space that will be visited by their target consumer for years.  Eventually the same number of eyeballs will see the work of the brand in these environmental projects as are seen in a superbowl ad, but the dollar cost will be far less as well.  For $350,000, these brands are spending far less than they would on a 30-second superbowl commercial.

Bottomline for me though is that the brand is communicating more effectively with their target market that the brand’s values are the same as those of their target consumer.