Carrotmob

Carrotmob is a nonprofit organization and consumer-activism movement associated with San Francisco, California. Its central tactic is the buycott: rather than primarily pressuring a business through a boycott, protest, or negative publicity, organizers encourage a large group of consumers to spend money with a selected business during a limited period. In return for the additional sales, the business commits part of the proceeds, or makes another measurable commitment, to an environmental or social improvement. The model is structured around competition and incentives. Organizers approach several businesses and invite them to make bids describing how much revenue, or what other resources, they would devote to a specified improvement. The business offering the strongest socially responsible commitment becomes the target of the campaign. Activists then mobilize consumers to shop there during the agreed event. The name combines the idea of a “carrot,” meaning a reward for desirable conduct, with the “mob” format of a coordinated, temporary influx of people. It contrasts with traditional consumer activism that relies mainly on the “stick” of withholding purchases. The first Carrotmob campaign took place on March 29, 2008, at K & D Market in San Francisco. Founder Brent Schulkin approached 23 convenience stores and proposed directing a large group of shoppers to the store willing to invest the greatest share of the resulting revenue in energy-efficiency improvements. K & D Market won with a commitment of 22 percent. Hundreds of consumers participated and spent more than $9,200, after which the store used the committed share to undertake a comprehensive lighting retrofit. From May 2008 through February 2010, the Carrotmob project was funded by Virgance, an incubator co-founded by Schulkin. The initiative subsequently became associated with a broader international network of community organizers who adapted the buycott method to local businesses and campaigns. In this wider usage, “Carrotmob” can refer both to the organization and to the organizing technique itself. The movement’s activities have focused on environmental responsibility, energy efficiency, ethical consumption, and community participation. Campaigns are designed to make socially responsible action commercially attractive by demonstrating that a concrete commitment can generate customer support. The approach depends on credible pledges, effective mobilization, and follow-through by the participating business; it is therefore less a conventional product brand than a recognizable name for a method of organized consumer action. A notable later initiative was a 2012 campaign involving Thanksgiving Coffee, an artisan coffee company in Fort Bragg, California. The campaign sought to generate $150,000 in revenue. If successful, the proceeds were intended to support research into transporting coffee by wind power rather than oil, with the results shared publicly. If the target was not reached, the funds were designated for the Resilience Fund, which supported clean cookstove programs in coffee-growing communities. The available reference material does not establish the final outcome of that campaign or the organization’s current operating status.

Carrotmob emerged in San Francisco in 2008 as an alternative form of consumer activism. Its founding premise was that businesses could be encouraged to adopt socially responsible practices if activists could demonstrate that those practices would attract concentrated customer support. Founder Brent Schulkin developed the model by approaching 23 convenience stores with an offer: one participating store would receive a large influx of shoppers on a designated day, while the stores competed by stating what portion of the resulting revenue they would reinvest in energy-efficiency improvements. K & D Market won the competition by pledging 22 percent of the campaign revenue. On March 29, 2008, hundreds of consumers visited the store and spent more than $9,200. The resulting funds were used for a complete lighting retrofit. This event established the characteristic Carrotmob structure: an organizer identifies a desired business improvement, companies compete through commitments, and consumers reward the strongest commitment with their purchases. The term Carrotmob refers to the combination of a reward-based “carrot” and a coordinated “mob” of consumers. It was conceived as a counterpart to boycott-oriented activism. Rather than treating a company’s undesirable behavior as the sole basis for action, the model attempts to create a positive commercial incentive for better conduct. Academic discussion has described the tactic as a temporary buycott or purchase flashmob organized by activists, with the target selected through an auction or bidding process. Between May 2008 and February 2010, the project received support from Virgance, an incubator co-founded by Schulkin. During and after this period, the idea spread beyond the original San Francisco organization. Community organizers in other locations adopted the Carrotmob name and method for campaigns involving environmental improvements, ethical sourcing, energy use, and other social objectives. Consequently, the term came to designate both a nonprofit initiative and a broader movement practice. In 2012, Carrotmob was associated with a campaign involving Thanksgiving Coffee, an artisan roaster in Fort Bragg, California. The campaign aimed to mobilize enough spending to reach $150,000 in revenue. Its proposed primary use was to fund research into moving coffee by sea with wind power instead of oil, with the findings made available to others. If the fundraising target was missed, the campaign plan called for the money to support the Resilience Fund and clean cookstoves in communities where the company’s coffee was grown. Carrotmob’s significance lies in its attempt to link ethical consumption with direct, measurable business incentives. Its campaigns are temporary and event-based, and their impact depends on both consumer turnout and the participating business honoring its commitment. The available reference material documents the movement’s origins, early funding, and notable campaigns but does not provide enough information to determine its present organizational structure, leadership, website, or operational status.

• 2012

  Thanksgiving Coffee campaign

  [1]Carrotmoben.wikipedia.org

  A large-scale campaign sought to mobilize $150,000 in revenue for wind-powered coffee transport research, with a fallback allocation to clean-cookstove projects.

• 2010

  Virgance funding period ends

  [1]Carrotmoben.wikipedia.org

  The documented period of Virgance funding for the Carrotmob project ended in February 2010.

• 2008

  Carrotmob founded

  [1]Carrotmoben.wikipedia.org

  Brent Schulkin established Carrotmob as a buycott-based consumer-activism project in San Francisco.

• 2008

  First campaign at K & D Market

  [1]Carrotmoben.wikipedia.org

  K & D Market won a competition among 23 convenience stores by pledging 22 percent of campaign revenue to energy-efficiency improvements. Consumers spent more than $9,200 during the event.

Carrotmob positions coordinated consumer spending as a positive incentive for responsible business behavior. Its distinctive proposition is to reward a business that makes the strongest verifiable commitment, rather than relying solely on punishment, exclusion, or reputational pressure.

• 2012Thanksgiving Coffee wind-powered transport campaign

  United States · Global coffee-growing communities

  The campaign aimed to generate $150,000 in revenue for Thanksgiving Coffee. The primary proposal was to fund research into transporting coffee by wind power instead of oil and to share the findings publicly.

  Outcome. The documented material does not establish whether the revenue target was reached. If unsuccessful, the funds were intended for the Resilience Fund’s clean-cookstove work in coffee-growing communities.

  Source
• 2008K & D Market energy-efficiency buycott

  San Francisco, California, United States

  Organizers invited 23 convenience stores to bid on the share of campaign revenue they would invest in energy-efficiency improvements. K & D Market won with a 22 percent commitment, and hundreds of consumers spent more than $9,200 at the store on March 29, 2008.

  Outcome. The store used the committed revenue to complete a lighting-system retrofit.

  Source

• 2008

  Adoption of the buycott modelStrategy

  Background

  Schulkin sought a form of consumer activism that could make responsible business behavior commercially attractive rather than relying only on boycotts or protests.

  Action taken

  Carrotmob organized a competitive bidding process in which businesses offered social or environmental commitments in exchange for concentrated consumer spending.

  Aftermath

  The K & D Market campaign demonstrated the model through a successful energy-efficiency retrofit and helped establish Carrotmob as a broader organizing tactic.

  Consumer spending during first campaign. $9,200-plus (March 29, 2008)

  Source

1. 1Carrotmoben.wikipedia.org
2. 2Carrotmob as a New Form of Ethical Consumptiondoi.org