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My #1 Online Marketing Prediction for 2007 was that cause-related marketing, if done correctly, would have the most buzz and effectiveness. Dove continues to get accolades for its “Campaign for Real Beauty” and even investment banks like Goldman Sachs are doing the right thing by strong-arming energy utility bad boys to go green.

However, the one campaign that I was sure would out-perform all others in the cause-related marketing arena was the Red Campaign where dozens of major brands charge a premium for their red-colored products and give a significant portion of the proceeds to the AIDS effort in Africa. I may be wrong on this one. AdAge reports that “Bono & Co. Spend up to $100 Million on Marketing, Incur Watchdogs’ Wrath” while only bringing in $18 million in revenue (the quick math shows a $82 million loss).

Everywhere I turn, there is another article on major agencies changing the way the advertising industry has worked for the past 100 years.

AdvertisingAge ran another article on the subject about a Creative Director Roundtable. In that article, William Gelner, group creative director, BBH, New York sums it up perfectly with his thought, “I’m finding that many of our clients are actually encouraged to hear that we want to invest in something, whether it’s an entertainment property or a product or something else. If we’re willing to invest to get a piece of the back end, we become a partner, not an expendable vendor.”

At eROI, we have done this with one or two clients, but I’m encouraged to try it more often as the industry is validating this as something other than just a hair-brained idea.