An iMedia Keynote Panel explores ways a brand can think about ROI when it chooses to engage interactively in the name of charity.

Liba Rubenstein, public affairs coordinator, MySpace, had some strange news for attendees at the iMedia Agency Summit who turned up to find out how interactive marketing and serious social issues interplay.

"The little guys won," Rubenstein said, referring to a recent MySpace Impact contest for socially responsible organizations. "We had all levels of entries, from high-profile charities, to the kinds of grass-roots initiatives that have really grown up on MySpace."

But the most successful campaign belonged to the Burrito Project, an undertaking by a few Los Angeles residents who made burritos for Skid Row residents in their spare time and used MySpace as a tool to invite the world to share their passion for feeding the homeless.

According to Rubenstein, the digital marketing of the Burrito Project has sparked a grass-roots movement, with more than 15 chapters springing up around the globe.

While the rise of similar initiatives around the world are one metric for success, moderator Brian Reich, director of new media at Cone, pressed the panel for ways a brand -- whether it be a non-profit or a major company -- might think about ROI when it chooses to engage its audience interactively in the name of a social cause.

"I spend a lot of time trying to convince clients to come up with a metric," said Jason McQueen, senior strategic consultant, Mindshare. "They see this as a brand buy. We're still learning the best ways to measure success of these campaigns. The web harnesses the conversations that people were having elsewhere into one place so we can now monitor them. We can tell clients where something is being talked about, how many people are talking and how robust the conversation is. It's kind of like a buzz study, but not a real metric."

Stephen Cassidy, who heads up UNICEF's internet, TV, radio and image section, said the question facing his organization is why did 48 million people watch a comedic viral on the history of dance, but a two-minute clip on the proliferation of AIDS in the Third World got only 3,000 views?

According to Cassidy, the traditional metric for an organization such as UNICEF has been to ask for money and define success based on donations, not engagement.

"I think it takes more than money, we're looking for long-term engagement," Cassidy said. "What we're finding is that the internet means the world is no longer a top-down place. Those guys with the burritos don't have the same problems UNICEF has. They're two guys drinking beer who said, 'Let's do this.' And they did. Web 2.0 means the power is in the hands of the users."

One solution offered by Rubenstein was to stick around for the long haul.

"Our users will be friends with a brand or a social organization in a minute," she said. "But the key to keeping them engaged is staying in the conversation even after the campaign has ended. There's certainly a demand for serious issues among our users, but those issues have to be treated with integrity for the campaign to succeed."

While McQueen pointed out that young people on MySpace were more likely than their predecessors to seek out and buy from socially conscious brands, he stressed that they were also adept at spotting campaigns that didn't ring true.

"Young people know the difference between a brand that's just donating money and one that's actually taken on a cause," McQueen said.

When Mark Silva of Real Branding asked whether cause-oriented campaigns promoted the brand or the issue during the Q&A, Cassidy smiled and said, "That's always the big fight in the house. But you shouldn't think of us as a nonprofit. Yes, we're a cause, but every child that is saved means new life for a developing market. Every child saved is a customer. That's how I think about what we do; we are for profit."

McQueen interjected that brands must seek out serious social causes because today's consumers will hold them responsible.

"I can't stress this enough," he said. "The idea that there isn't any profit in these causes is just wrong. There is a lot of money here, and agencies need to be a part of that."

Michael Estrin is an associate editor at iMedia Connection. Read full bio.