Give One Get One – with every pair of shoes purchased, the customer pays for second pair which is given to a child in a developing country. Launched in 2006, the shoe label uses a business model that was made famous by OLPC (One Laptop per Child) and provides a very good ‘Reason-to-Buy-Story’.

As remarkable as it may seem, TOMS Shoes, which styles itself as a ‘for-profit company with giving at its core’, is a profitable concern and demonstrates how business and charity can be successfully combined. According to BusinessWeek, sales in early 2009 were approximately 4.6 million USD since its launch. This success is certainly due to excellent marketing, which relies heavily on social elements and Community Building as well as on public relations and cooperation: TOMS Facebook site now has 281,000 fans, over 400,000 follow it on Twitter and more than 5,000 people have subscribed to TOMS Shoes YouTube Channel. Demi ‘Shoeless’ Moore talks about the current ‘One Day without Shoes’ campaign on the Jay Leno Show and articles can also be found in magazines like Vogue and InStyle.

Always in focus: consumer motivation and commitment – “With our One for One mission, TOMS Shoes transforms our customers into benefactors which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support. This model has enabled us to give more shoes at a rapid rate and created thousands of customer-philanthropists along the way.”

First published in an interesting ExcitingCommerce article