Compassion, Inc - by Mara Einstein (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Mara Einstein once again brings a clear head and discerning eye to one of our culture's most energetically promoted yet ambiguously motivated sectors. Whether you want to do real good for the world - or simply ridicule those who have been fooled into thinking they are - this book will show you the light." -Douglas Rushkoff, author of "Life Inc: How Corporatism Conquered the World and How We Can Take it Back"
"Mara Einstein pulls back the curtain on some of the most important marketing developments of our day with a nuanced analysis that is both penetrating and fair minded." -Joseph Turow, author of "The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry is Defining Your Identity and Your World"
""Compassion, Inc" challenges us as human beings to look at the true effects of our attempts to "purchase for positive social change." Einstein clearly articulates how we are too often creating the very same problems we are trying to solve. In this smart and well-researched look at the oxymoron of sustainable consumption, Einstein shows us that there is indeed another way, and how we can be more effective as consumers, but most importantly as citizens." -Courtney Hull, Hull Family Foundation

Book Synopsis

Pink ribbons, red dresses, and greenwashing-American corporations are scrambling to tug at consumer heartstrings through cause-related marketing, corporate social responsibility, and ethical branding, tactics that can increase sales by as much as 74%. Harmless? Marketing insider Mara Einstein demonstrates in this penetrating analysis why the answer is a resounding "No!" In Compassion, Inc. she outlines how cause-related marketing desensitizes the public by putting a pleasant face on complex problems. She takes us through the unseen ways in which large sums of consumer dollars go into corporate coffers rather than helping the less fortunate. She also discusses companies that truly do make the world a better place, and those that just pretend to.

From the Back Cover

"Mara Einstein once again brings a clear head and discerning eye to one of our culture's most energetically promoted yet ambiguously motivated sectors. Whether you want to do real good for the world - or simply ridicule those who have been fooled into thinking they are - this book will show you the light." -Douglas Rushkoff, author of Life Inc: How Corporatism Conquered the World and How We Can Take it Back

"Mara Einstein pulls back the curtain on some of the most important marketing developments of our day with a nuanced analysis that is both penetrating and fair minded." -Joseph Turow, author of The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry is Defining Your Identity and Your World

"Compassion, Inc challenges us as human beings to look at the true effects of our attempts to "purchase for positive social change." Einstein clearly articulates how we are too often creating the very same problems we are trying to solve. In this smart and well-researched look at the oxymoron of sustainable consumption, Einstein shows us that there is indeed another way, and how we can be more effective as consumers, but most importantly as citizens." -Courtney Hull, Hull Family Foundation

Review Quotes

"Eminently readable. . . . Few have questioned whether [corporate charitable giving] strategies are good for anyone but corporations. Mara Einstein is one of the brave few."--Billie Sandberg "International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR)" (8/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Provocative."--Rance Crain "Advertising Age" (6/4/2013 12:00:00 AM)

"On our must-read list."-- "Humane Connection" (6/6/2012 12:00:00 AM)

""Einstein has the unenviable task of reminding us that shopping is not philanthropy. The consumer marketplace is increasingly becoming the mechanism for funding organizations that do charitable work, thus tying the fates of charities to the whims of the market, Einstein warns. It is also enabling governments to further abdicate problem-solving, with the result that the causes we care so much about are not genuinely helped."--Laura Orlando "Ms Magazine" (4/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"A highly worthwhile read with prescriptive examples for authentic sustainability and social justice initiatives at companies--not all about the brand, the celebrity or corporate self-interest."--Rebecca Aguilar "Book Kvetch Blog" (4/27/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Einstein's book is a powerful call to be more attentive to whether we're letting ourselves try to be philanthropic on the cheap by "giving" to others when we're really just getting something for ourselves."--Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill "Philanthropy Daily" (5/15/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Marketing campaigns associated with philanthropy . . . may sound magnanimous, but when Einstein shines a lens on the practice, she finds considerable cracks in the veneer."--Laura Orlando "Ms Magazine" (1/15/2012 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Mara Einstein is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Queens College. She is the author of Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age. She has worked as a senior marketing executive in both broadcast and cable television as well as at major advertising agencies.