markeing blog#1: is the One for One campaign of TOMS sustainable and value-based?

For those who have been living under a rock, TOMS originated as a  for-proft shoe company, which for every pair of shoes it sells, donates a pair to a child in need.

I purchased my first pair of TOMS last summer and recently I came across the company again as I was reading my marketing textbook and I got distracted (again) so I went on the TOMS website and discovered that TOMS is also selling sunglasses now, and for every pair that it sells, a person in need will receive the proper eye-care that he/she needs. This reminded me of the concepts of  value-based marketing and sustainable marketing strategy that we discussed about in class. When I first read about TOMS, I did not think that its One for One campaign was entirely value based and sustainable because although the campaign focuses on beyond just customers, it didn’t seem to me that it could evolve overtime and the idea of giving shoes to people in need seemed like a pretty short-term and narrow focus. Afterall, these canvas shoes will not stay trendy forever, and people will soon forget about them and turn to other brands. However, I was wrong. TOMS has evolved overtime by tapping into other products (ie. eyewear) and  the company has shifted its focus from giving shoes in the short term to changing how people think of business in the long term. According to the founder Blake Mycoskie, he is hoping that, through the One for One  campaign, “the company will inspire people to think differently about business and  show entreprenuers that business and charity don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”