A Conversation Worth Sponsoring (Thank You To The Art of Shaving)

When Aaron Strout approached me about participating in Movember (through the Movember foundation which facilitates donations for Mens health issues such as testicular cancer), I was a bit apprehensive. I mean, I do a lot of talks/work with clients and it's hard to be taken seriously with a 'stash that came out of nowhere. I also thought about how much work it would take to hit up my network and raise funds for a great cause. It's never easy to ask people for money.

Then the "marketer" in me started thinking. Wouldn't there be a brand out there who would want to get involved with this? What does a traditional sponsorship get you? A few banner ads? Those don't work—everyone in the industry wants to figure out how to get in the social streams in a meaningful way.

I typically don't do what's known as "sponsored conversations"—but this is a conversation worth sponsoring. So I dialed up my friends at P&G. And they dialed up their friends at relevant brands. And The Art of Shaving, stepped up and said:

Yeah, we will donate $5000.00 to Team Austin (who by the way is going to decimate team Boston). Well, in the spirit of full disclosure—they said this exactly:

1) The Art of Shaving will donate $5,000 to Team SocMed Austin’s fundraising efforts for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Livestrong, & Movember Foundations. 

2)  The Art of Shaving will provide you and 9 of your teammates a gift pack of our products for you to use as you shave throughout the month.  The pack will also include a DVD & a brochure with information on our brand and products. 

3)  In any subsequent communications, you & Team SocMed Austin will be sure to acknowledge the Art of Shaving donation of money & products transparently to your readers & followers.

And just like that—the folks at The Art of Shaving are now part of this conversation as they should be. I mean, it's all about growing and trimming facial hair for a good cause. So thank you to the folks at The Art of Shaving for your support of Team Austin. Will I reference the products they send me? Of course I will. They helped me and I want to help them back. It's a "sponsored conversation" but I'll also be honest about the products, though at first glance they do look fairly high quality. And instead of a few dollars going toward a media purchase, it goes somewhere better. If you feel moved to help as well, you can donate to Team Austin here. Thanks for even considering.

-David