December 15, 2010 -- This study by corporate social initiative consultancy Do Well Do Good focuses on the extent to which consumers will act on their values.   For example, it found the average American consumer will drive nearly 11 minutes out of their way to buy a cause-marketing product.   It also tested cause marketing price elasticity by exploring the price premium survey participants said they were willing to pay at different product price points.   On average, consumers willing to pay a premium indicated they would pay $4.53 extra for a $50 cause-related item.  Click here to download the study.

Cause marketing will be the fastest growing category of sponsorship spending in 2010, predicts the IEG Sponsorship Report.

 BOSTON (March 10, 2010) – More than three-quarters (78%) of Americans believe a partnership between a nonprofit and a company they trust makes a cause stand out, according to the newly released 2010 Cone Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker.

The public can easily construe nonprofit involvement with corporate CSR programs as a seal of approval of the corporation by the nonprofit.

 “Our results suggest that some CSR initiatives may produce consumer inferences that are wrong but desirable for the company,” says Stacy Landreth Grau, associate professor of marketing in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. “And these inferences can have potentially negative consequences for the nonprofit.”

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In "Self and Social Signaling explanations for Consumption of CSR-associated Products," researches found that consumers like CSR-associated products because 1) these products send out highly visible, social signals to their friends, family and co-workers regarding their kindness and charitable nature; and 2) they like the more private, self-signaling potential associated with the purchases of these products, even when a strong public social signal is absent to others.

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For Momentum conducted snap polls at the 2008 and 2009 Cause Marketing Forum conferences to gain insights into the attitudes, beliefs, experiences and backgrounds of cause marketing professionals.

Companies that join with social causes to sell products not only enhance their image but also improve their bottom line, say University of Michigan researchers.

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Recent published research by Stacy Landreth Grau, of Texas Christian University, and Judith Anne Garreston Folse, of Louisiana State University, looks at how to target consumers who are not as “socially conscious” as those who have traditionally participated in CRM campaigns.

This fascinating article describes how well-researched behavioral marketing techniques shared by Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble helped health workers save lives in Ghana by changing hygiene habits.

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Though cause-related marketing potentially offers huge benefits to both causes and the for-profit companies that partner with them, not all cause marketing partnerships are equally effective for both parties.

This is the first in a series of articles by Professor Michal Ann Strahilevitz of Golden Gate University on the practical application of academic research on cause marketing:

(CSRwire) CHICAGO, IL – December 6, 2006 -- GolinHarris today announced the results of its fourth national survey, Corporate Citizenship Gets Down to Business: Doing Well by Doing Good 2006: The survey finds Americans are sending a clear message to Corporate America: Do more … be authentic … and the business rewards will follow.

A July 2006 study of US college students (ages 18 - 30) indicates that many are active volunteers and that 1 in 4 has purchased a product in the last year because it was viewed as socially conscious.

Cause-related press releases far outperform other types of company announcements, according to a study released by eNR Serivces at the fourth annual Cause Marketing Forum conference.

In February 2006, The Luxury Institute released its first study of the reputations of leading nonprofit organizations among wealthy consumers.

An October 2005 PricewatershouseCooper study of fast growing, privately-held companies indicates these companies give back to their communities, but only 15% work off a well-thought out plan.

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First presented at the San Diego American Marketing Association's Cause Marketing Conference in April 2005, the Catalyst Nonprofit Valuation Study uses a survey of marketing executives to assign values to a wide variety of nonprofit marketing offerings.

Parked along nearly every street in America is a line of vehicles adorned with ribbons of a variety of colors, each one signifying a driver's support of a specific cause, such as AIDS research, the prevention of drunk driving, or the homecoming of U.S. troops. Strolling the sidewalk, a multitude of pedestrians sport a bright yellow wristband, a symbol of their support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The recent ubiquity of such visible signs of cause support is the reason why this week MONITOR takes a closer look at consumers' desire to advertise their personal values.

A compilation of statistics on the impact cause marketing campaigns have had on fundraising and sales for nonprofits and businesses from the editors of OnPhilanthropy.com

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Nonprofits concerned about the impact third-party alliances have on their consumer image will take comfort in the findings of a research study conducted by the Arthritis Foundation.

Eighty-one percent of respondents in a national survey of manufacturers and retailers indicated that sales impact is a top factor when deciding to adopt a cause marketing program. Ninety-five percent of respondents also said that some of their cause marketing initiatives are multi-year, long-term efforts – an average of five years in length, indicating an evolution from what were formerly short-term promotions.

Companies perceived as “ethically neutral” stand to garner the most image improvement from cause-related marketing, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing.