Let the Consumer Be the Hero - Chase Community Giving on Facebook

I was checking my Facebook homepage this morning and stumbled upon Chase Community Giving page. After exploring for a little bit I understood Chase is partnering with Facebook to let the huge community of Facebook users vote for local charities they want to help - Chase is listening to their customers and giving them "a say". I was excited at this highly original grassroots campaign. Obviously Chase understands the power of groundswell - the intersection of social media and cause marketing has promoted a new way of corporate philanthropy - the way that'll work in the Web 2.0 era. In this new age people are tired of being told what to do - they want to tell the giant corporations who they care; they want to "decide what matters" to them and the world.

The slides I shared yesterday talked about 5 quick mantras of crafting cause-marketing messages. And in my view Chase fulfilled almost every one of them to perfection:

• Place the consumer at the center of the story. When Chase stops telling me it is choosing the grandest cause and giving me the opportunity to be a hero, I am beginning to give it more credit because I regard Chase as humble, collaborative, and sincere. In this era when social media connects people together and grants free and transparent information - everyone begins to feel important. The long-held authoritative corporate voice is becoming increasingly irrelevant - corporations needs to loosen up a little bit and gives other voices due respect.
• Fulfill consumers' need to make a difference - even me (somebody who is not endowed with a cynical gene) sometimes would think - yes I get it - you corporations want to make people feel you are honorable so we will buy your products and services. It's almost impossible to erase the thoughts because we're living in this materialistic society - but corporations could tamper the "black side" of cause marketing by sending this message: it's not only OUR cause, but YOURS. You can make a decision, and your active participation can make a BIG difference. Chase is smart by letting people feel good - by asking them to decide and by focusing on local charities. People naturally resonate more with things happening around them rather than good deeds thousands of miles away.
• Be specific. Chase is doing a great job by providing the specific timeline of the campaign. Participants can count on the "milestones" knowing their votes would have some impact and I believe great buzz will be generated around each significant date.
• Make it personal. I like the tagline "you decide what matters". And when I looked into the campaign it felt like Chasing was talking directly to me: "it can be incredibly powerful when your vote has a local impact...". The language is conversational. It is one-to-one. It makes me feel compelling to give out my choice.
• What happens next? Don't distract. One at a time - this is where the "milestone" feature comes into play again. I know exactly when the result will come out. I know what I could expect of. Even if the cause I voted for do not come to the list, I would know it is fair - and there are other causes that have received stronger support.

So what do you think Chase Community Giving campaign? If you are a Facebook user committed to helping those in need, are you compelled to make your vote? If you are a corporate philanthropist, do you admire the act and aspire to follow suit? Please air your opinion here because your say matters.