People for Good

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Want to feel better while making Canada a better place? Open the door for a stranger! People for Good, a social movement encouraging Canadians to be nicer to each other, is taking Canada by storm – one good deed at a time.

Led by a team of creative and media experts and introduced through a multifaceted advertising campaign, People for Good is a coalition formed to promote the generosity of spirit among Canadians. People for Good believe everyday good deeds like giving up your seat on the subway or buying a coffee for a co-worker will not only make you happier, but will also make for a better Canada.

This social movement, launched on June 29 across Canada, was co-founded by Mark Sherman, Executive Chair of Media Experts, a media strategy and negotiation company with offices in Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver, and Zak Mroueh, President & Creative Director of Zulu Alpha Kilo, a Toronto-based advertising agency specializing in rebranding. Mr. Mroueh and Mr. Sherman saw the campaign as an opportunity to use their collective talents to harness the power of creativity and the media for the collective good.

“Caught up in our hectic lives and routines, coupled with the stresses and distractions of modern living, many of us have stopped noticing those around us. We’ve stopped caring,” says Mark Sherman of Media Experts. “When something is not right, we tend to rely on someone else – our neighbour, our boss or our government – to fix it. But the truth is, anyone can help change the world. Companies can harness the power of their collective to heal and improve our society. We took stock of what we could do as two business owners. If every Canadian business did the same, the potential for change is limitless.”

“Each of us can do something to make Canada a better place with a simple donation of kindness, one good deed at a time,” says Zak Mroueh of Zulu Alpha Kilo. “Harnessing our creativity through the People for Good campaign, we harness the power of the collective by touching every Canadian with a simple message – care about people around you, be nice to each other, do good. Small good deeds – even as basic as genuinely saying ‘‘thank you’’ to someone who helped you, smiling at a stranger or helping out a co-worker – make a big difference in creating social capital, the glue that holds us together as a community.”

Mr. Mroueh and his team at Zulu Alpha Kilo brought the People for Good campaign to life by spearheading all aspects of its creative development. Mr. Sherman and Media Experts designed and executed a high-impact media strategy spanning traditional and new media.

This collaborative campaign was made possible with the support of an array of partners who donated their time and capabilities, including Martin Belanger working through Zulu Alpha Kilo on all the materials for the Quebec Market. Other partners included Terry O’Reilly at Pirate Radio & TV, Radke Films, MAVERICK PR and TANK. Thinking Box helped produce the Mobile App. Countless media suppliers and vendors donated space for the initiative.

About the People for Good campaign
The People for Good campaign was launched through a multifaceted, bold and creative advertising program. Kicking off on June 29 across major Canadian cities, including Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montréal and Halifax, the program will run through to August 21. The creative, using a mix of humorous, engaging and highly interactive messages and images, challenges Canadians to be nice to each other and do good through simple acts of generosity, such as cutting the grass or shovelling snow for one’s neighbour.

“Advertising is often seen as an intrusion, asking us to buy something or buy into something,” says Mr. Mroueh. “The People for Good campaign is certainly intrusive, too, but we intrude with a different kind of message. Simply put, that message is – be aware of those around you, be nice to them. We place it where people can see it: on the subway, on a highway billboard, in the newspaper or online.”

The creative execution of the campaign includes outdoor, interactive, print, guerrilla and online advertising.

“Our partners – from production houses to printing companies to media advertisers – have joined hands with People for Good by donating their capabilities to a project that, we believe, will make a difference not only in the marketplace, but also in the hearts and minds of Canadians,” says Mr. Sherman of Media Experts.

People for Good ten tips for good deeds

Smile at a stranger – or wave at your fellow subway passenger
Open and hold the door for someone
Give up your seat on the subway, bus or streetcar
Buy a coffee for your co-worker
Surprise your colleagues with freshly baked brownies
Cut grass or shovel snow for your neighbour
Help a stranger change a tire on the road – or put in a coin in expiring parking metre for someone you don’t know
Return a grocery cart after someone has used it or let a stranger ahead of you in a store line
While on Facebook, just pick up the phone and give your friend a call
Simply say ‘‘Thank you’’ to someone who helped you – and really mean it

Go to peopleforgood.ca to join the movement.

[Deleted]

After a year of the FREE campaign done by volunteers I have to say I have noticed a difference.

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[Deleted]

I love it! I wish more people would take part in it. This is how I try to live my life. For some reason it seems easier here in Europe than in the US....I hope it catches on every where.

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2012 10:26:52 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

I love it! I wish more people would take part in it. This is how I try to live my life. For some reason it seems easier here in Europe than in the US....I hope it catches on every where.

Hi angel!

A college professor did a study group and found that people who did random nice things daily for 60 days felt better about themselves and happier overall so its a WIN WIN!

[Deleted]

I believe it!

[Virgil Showlion]

It's a good message, albeit an outlandishly expensive way of promoting it.

Many here will probably remember the "Pay it Forward" campaign from a decade ago, and the "Random Acts of Kindness, Senseless Acts of Beauty" campaign that accompanied the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book franchise.

The ideas have been around for many thousands of years. I have no idea how effective these periodic reminders are, but they can't hurt.

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2012 11:39:58 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It's a good message, albeit an outlandishly expensive way of promoting it.

Many here will probably remember the "Pay it Forward" campaign from a decade ago, and the "Random Acts of Kindness, Senseless Acts of Beauty" campaign that accompanied the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book franchise.

The ideas have been around for many thousands of years. I have no idea how effective these periodic reminders are, but they can't hurt.

All time and costs were donated.

This collaborative campaign was made possible with the support of an array of partners who donated their time and capabilities, including Martin Belanger working through Zulu Alpha Kilo on all the materials for the Quebec Market. Other partners included Terry O’Reilly at Pirate Radio & TV, Radke Films, MAVERICK PR and TANK. Thinking Box helped produce the Mobile App. Countless media suppliers and vendors donated space for the initiative.

Every single network in Canada picked it up and ran it for free.

[Virgil Showlion]

Every single network in Canada picked it up and ran it for free.

Fair enough.

I was thinking more about the intrinsic costs. A good way to think of it is the organizers going to every media partner and asking for a cash donation whose value would cover the cost of a service (ad design, airtime, a billboard, etc.). From all the partners, they raise $x. They then go back to their partners and use the funds to purchase services, giving back each partner the amount of money they donated.

Of course in reality they don't bother with the two unnecessary exchanges. Even so, $x would be the real cost of the campaign. From the sound of it, x is well into the tens of millions.

For a good cause. But still a lot of money.

[Deleted]

Every service, every facet of this operation was donated. FREE No cash was involved. Consider it barter for good karma.

M

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[Virgil Showlion]

Every service, every facet of this operation was donated. FREE No cash was involved. Consider it barter for good karma.

I realize no money changed hands.

The 'intrinsic cost' is the total value of revenue lost and services donated. For example, the TV networks, billboards, radio stations, etc. would ordinarily have asked companies to bid on the space used for the P4G ads. This lost revenue is the cost to them individually.

For services like production, filming, audio, etc., the partners either devote x employee hours in a typical workweek to the P4G project pro bono (resulting in lost revenue), or pay/coerce employees to work an additional x hours beyond a normal work week. In both cases, there is a real, measurable cost associated with these workhours, be it in terms of lost revenue, overtime pay, or unpaid services.

Add up all of these intrinsic costs individually, you get the intrinsic cost of the project. For something of this scale (all Canadian TV networks, 3/4 of radio stations, magazines, billboards, etc.), we're looking at services with a collective value of tens of millions CAD.

All freely donated, yes. But an ambitious and impressive bit of fundraising for a message as fundamental as "do good".

[mmhmm]

No doubt it's a lot of moolah outlay for such a basic lesson; however, it's probably a lot easier than trying to kick each kiester individually.

[Deleted]

wow, way to take the fun out of it.


I realize what intrinsic is and there really is no way to say how much it cost in lost revenue, if anything.

[Virgil Showlion]

I realize what intrinsic is and there really is no way to say how much it cost in lost revenue, if anything.

I disagree, but such is life.

My comments aren't meant to belittle the effort. I think it's a wonderful idea. It's encouraging that so many news organizations contributed. Go Canada!

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Aug 19, 2012 18:06:16 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

No doubt it's a lot of moolah outlay for such a basic lesson; however, it's probably a lot easier than trying to kick each kiester individually.

On the guys side, how about the value of having some more gentlemen in the world? Some major intrinsic value in that! Didn't know this was happening, thanks for sharing Apple.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2012 0:46:40 GMT -5 Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger said:

Aug 19, 2012 18:06:16 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

No doubt it's a lot of moolah outlay for such a basic lesson; however, it's probably a lot easier than trying to kick each kiester individually.

On the guys side, how about the value of having some more gentlemen in the world? Some major intrinsic value in that! Didn't know this was happening, thanks for sharing Apple.

A basic lesson is what is needed here because it is surely lacking. Whatever happend to manners and consideration? I think a lot of it has to do with the "melting pot" and differing ways of life.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Agreed. Manners do still matter. Are you talking about how some of the newer arrivals tend to think that women should walk behind them?