When commemorating and reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001, most of us recall the individual and family losses. For some organizations, the attack killed
staff members and forever changed their cultures. Perhaps none were more affected by the disaster than financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees during the attack on the World Trade Center.
To commemorate those lost, each year the company, along with its affiliate BGC Partners (which separated from Cantor in 2004), invites charities to join the trading floor and execute real-time trades with clients on September 11 for Cantor’s Charity-Day event.
The company earmarks 100% of revenue generated from Charity Day to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which provides direct aid and support to more than 130 humanitarian charities throughout the world.
For 2012, Charity Day’s eighth year, a combined team of seven communications professionals between the two company’s made objectives to:
1. Raise as much as possible for a broad range of charities across the globe.
2. Commemorate the friends, family and colleagues who were were killed on 9/11 in a positive and inspiring way.
3. Boost employee morale by turning a tragic anniversary for employees into an uplifting day that is commemorative and positive.
4. Promote the company’s corporate image and culture of generosity and philanthropy, as well as highlight the resiliency of the employees despite the devastating losses of 9/11, by using media and advertising opportunities.
5. Secure widespread support from all target stakeholder groups, including employees, clients, charities, celebrities, media and the public.
The team began the process in January 2012 by reviewing applications from charities eager to participate. Each charity was evaluated based on its mission, percentage of annual income spent on charity work, goals for 2012 and 2013 and its potential for providing a celebrity ambassador.
To differentiate from the 2011 effort, which focused on the 10th-anniversary of 9/11, the 2012 campaign was designed to refocus on the event and the charity.
“It was less of an anniversary and more of a positive, uplifting day to boost morale while still honoring and commemorating,” says Sheryl Lee, VP of marketing and communications at Cantor. “We also wanted to get participating celebrities to use social media throughout the day, which they didn’t really do in 2011.”
CELEBRITY POWER
One of the most important strategies was to garner support from A-list celebrities. Their attendance at the event would directly impact client interest and amounts raised, as well as media interest. The company researched celebrity ambassadors who support philanthropy and publicly support worthy charitable causes. Celebrities living in or with a close connection to New York City were recruited more than out-of-towners. The team reached out to local baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams to see if they were in the area for the day. Thanks to the timing of the U.S. Open, tennis stars John McEnroe and Venus Williams were in New York, and were asked to pitch in.
UPLIFTING MESSAGE
The organization’s messaging was focused commemorating the 658 friends lost and the importance of coming together as a company.
Lee says there’s still a bit of confusion in the industry and among people on the difference between Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC partners, which is also something that was addressed.
The team reached out to media outlets and reporters that cover corporate philanthropy and invited them to join the festivities. For those who couldn’t make it, the team would by the end of the day provide a press release, photos and B-roll stemming from the event. The event included the following elements:
▶ Social Media: One goal was to build both companies’ social media presence on Facebook and Twitter by regularly updating fans and followers via those platforms throughout Charity Day. “For us, it was less of a case of building a robust Facebook page or Twitter account, but rather trying to encourage other people to connect and mention the event,” says Hannah Sloane, VP of marketing and communications at BGC Partners. “We had a meeting with all of the charities involved on the day at BGC, and discussed with them the Twitter handle and hashtag, and provided them a sheet full of optimized tweets to use.”
▶ Ad Campaign: An advertising campaign, including spots on Bloomberg terminals, in magazines and on-street banners across New York City, would ensure solid Charity Day branding leading up to the event.
The team worked with designers and printers to create branding materials, including “step-and-repeats,” marketing collateral, promotional items and the banners.
UNIQUE CHARITY MODEL
Lee says that the process is very different than most other kinds of charity events. “The charities want to know how much of a donation they’ll be receiving up front, for their own buzz and messaging purposes” Lee says.
“However, when we invite them, we don’t know how much were going to raise because the amount is dependent on the amount we raise on the day.”
KEEPING SECRETS
The team wanted to get Cantor’s workforce excited about the event, but didn’t want them to know which celebs would be there—lest they use their personal social channels to let the cat out of the bag.
“We drafted media alerts that went to trusted contacts, and didn’t put out anything over the wires,” says Sarah Laufer, communications and marketing associate at Cantor Fitzgerald. “You don’t want the coverage too early on because fans might overwhelm the office, and you also run the risk that the celebrity can’t make it—not to mention the late reservations like 50 Cent, Ryan Lochte and Edward Norton, all of whom confirmed the day before the event.”
TRADING TIME
More than 100 celebrities and athletes—including actor Michael J. Fox, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, and supermodel Kate Upton—spent several hours “working” by trading bonds. While Upton was making trades on the phone at Cantor (telling one trader, ‘Maybe I should go talk to some people about hiring me’), 50 Cent worked the phones for three hours at BGC.
“Each celebrity had the option to interview with outlets, but some are more media- hungry than others,” Sloane says.
She added: “Some only had 45 minutes for us, so we needed to get them on the trading floor to raise money.”
BIGGEST CHALLENGES
The sheer magnitude of people, vendors’ clients and celebrities (and their managers) was the most difficult aspect of the campaign. “When you’re managing so many different people and so many different stakeholders, you have to remember everyone has a different goal or need,” Sloane says. “It’s also a challenge working with charities that aren’t used to such a big corporate event, holding their hands through the process on how the day works.”
If given a redo for the 2012 effort, the team said it would change the criteria for charities to limit the number involved. Still, the results met each of the company’s five objectives:
• Raised approximately $12 million for more than 150 charities worldwide (having raised $89 million in the last eight years).
• Celebrity support included actors Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco and Susan Sarandon; sports stars Carmelo Anthony, Victor Cruz, Eli Manning and Mariano Rivera, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani.
• Media coverage included 352 placements in national, regional, broadcast and online outlets, including Associated Press, CNBC, Entertainment Television, N ew York Daily News, New York Post and The Wall Street Journal.
• On Facebook, the number of people who “liked” the charity pages increased 56% while more than 106,000 people joined the fold during the week of the event.
Less than two months after the event, Hurricane Sandy struck New York, creating a new set of charitable needs. In January 2013, the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund announced its Hurricane Sandy Family Support Program, which would provide a total of $10 million to thousands of people impacted by the storm. For the 2013 effort, expect a blending of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy relief messaging. PRN
3 Tips for Strategic, Successful Corporate/Nonprofit Partnerships
A corporate/nonprofit partnership is much more complex than just sending a check and a logo. Mike McDougall, president of McDougall Communications, says that if the charitable intent and business purposes are in sync, strategic partnerships can provide a big-time payoff for both society and the private sector. McDougall provides three tips for successful charity partnerships.
1. Define your giving priorities: In the absence of clear direction as to what types of causes you’ll support, your dollars will be dispersed through too wide a range of groups.
2. Consider your desired outcome: What do you want to accomplish with your grant or volunteer commitment? Both the funder and recipient should gain from the partnership. Don’t forget to specify a time frame—short-term funding means little if your outlook spans multiple years.
3. Openly share your expectations with nonprofits: Once you’ve got your house in order, resist the urge to make potential partners guess your intentions. Lay our your grant criteria online, and make sure that you review the grant proposal in detail during the initial meetings with nonprofits.
Source: Cantor Fitzgerald
Not Bad for One Day of Trading
When it comes to Charity Day, financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald hasn’t had a bad day of trading, collecting $52 million for charities in five years.
