Livingsocial, a popular group-buying platform, has raised more than $2 million for earthquake and tsunami ravaged Japan. Last week LivingSocial gave its 24 million members the opportunity to donate $5 and have it matched by the company to total a $10 donation. More than 230,000 members have responded to the offer since Thursday of last week. Initially LivingSocial said it would match up to one million dollars, but a company spokesperson said this week they would match the donations dollar for dollar. The buzz around this campaign has been HUGE. I can't count the number of tweets and Facebook notices I received about the campaign from friends and colleagues. It's not the first time a company has used charity giving for PR. Another local favorite, Providence Portland, went viral about a year ago when they put the Pink Glove dance on YouTube to generate awareness for breast cancer. In addition to the dance, the hospital donated an amount for every view generated, up to one million views. To date the clip has had more than 12 million viewers.
I'm interested in what everyone thinks about using these opportunities for PR? I love the fact that the company is generating public relations based on a good deed and would encourage other companies to think about how they can generate "buzz" through positive campaigns like the ones noted above.
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