What is United Madison?

Yeah, it's a unique concept.  Here is what we do in simple terms:  Are you familiar with a commercial on TV?   We make those happen, but we call them "Positive Service Announcements" because they are different than advertising a sale - we use them to promote "good stuff" - like the idea of unity, or life skill related topics, like respect or work ethic - and they are used to bring awareness to a charity or cause.  We work with the business sponsor of these Positive Service Announcements as well as local media to make them happen.  HOW that all works gets into the weeds, but if you are interested, please ask.  

Next part is about the "give back" - - - we talk to charities and schools and say, "Hey, what do you need?"  They may say, "Well, we could really use a new logo or we need some help with our accounting each month, or we are short volunteers, or we really need mentors, or we need to figure out how we can store these items, or we need help figuring out how to do this or that."   Then we say, "Ok, we will reach out to our business partners to see if they can help provide this."  There are volunteer coordinators out there for our local charities but we are like an extension of them - advocating for them; acting as a liaison on their behalf.  

Lastly, we look very big picture at our community and our "umbrella" approach helps us to take a wide view on solutions to help people in our community.  Maybe there is a "challenge" in the community that needs solving.  We try to stay up on these challenges as well as what non-profits or schools or churches may offer to solve them and help connect the dots. This is where it can get confusing, but that's not necessarily something people have to worry about because it can be a little overwhelming. 

United Way has a primary goal of raising money for many non-profits in our area. They are also a connecting point for participating business and the volunteer needs of the non-profits. United Madison’s primary focus is to “get the word out” and PROMOTE positive messages through business sponsorships. United Madison wants to collaborate and support United Way as much as possible.

A company can invest money to a cause; United Madison gives a sponsor or donor a chance to see their investment multiply by using the investment to highlight the work of non-profits to thousands of people who can also become potential donors and for those who can benefit.

It’s paying for a marketing campaign that is specifically designed to help support a “cause”. Rather than traditional advertising/marketing where a business is promoting their company, a company can get behind something “bigger” than themselves. It is smart marketing because it differentiates a company as a company who cares about something other than just selling a product or making money. Cause marketing has many benefits – you can engage your employees and customers while you help gain attention for an important cause. https://www.hipb2b.com/blog/7-reasons-why-b2b-needs-cause-marketing/  

United Madison has teamed up with our multi-media partners and they are so excited to get involved with “Unifying and lifting up our community” that they have agreed to produce the Public Service Announcements at no cost as part of their offering of “matched value” for an investment in the campaign. United Madison will discuss your goals and will write the scripts for your approval, and will direct and fulfill the creation of the messages. If your company wants to produce their own ads, that is fine although we need to just agree on the scripts and the requirements. We are very flexible to work with you.  

You sure can.  We want every business to do something that will support our community.  Sometimes companies have an exclusive media organization they work with for a campaign and the station provides additional promotional support.  That is great - keep doing what you are doing!  With United Madison, we have been fortunate to develop this arrangement with several media organizations, even competing ones - because they support this mission. 

Based on this, ALL of these stations are part of the "matching" offer and are all in agreement to help support additional news support for good stories coming out of United Madison.  This, as well as the community collaboration/social marketing network and our ties to the schools, churches and non-profits, United Madison can provide extra value that is not able to be provided elsewhere.  In addition, the media placement is all negotiated as any regular business to ensure the most efficient placement of the ads/commercials at the best prices available based on the station's current inventory status.  

Our wonderful relationships with our media partners ensure they are working closely with United Madison to ensure we are making the best investment possible.   

Even if you do not do a Positive Service Announcement - Cause Marketing Campaign with United Madison, we sure hope you will agree to be part of United Madison in a different way - through volunteering your time or providing expertise, career coaching etc.  To learn more about this, go to our Get Involved page. 

We are very careful to present a unified message that speaks of the importance or support of every human being. Our scripts have been carefully vetted by our committee and advisors to ensure the messages are something everyone can agree on. New scripts that are developed will go through our committee and/or advisory team to ensure there are no concerns.