QuickStudy: Get up to Speed on Cause Marketing in a Hurry!

Basic Definition

Cause marketing is a strategic marketing partnership that pairs a company or brand with a social cause or cause-related organization for mutual benefit.

Benefits of Cause Marketing for Your Company:

Greater awareness for company product or service
Increased sales
Access to new audiences
Competitive advantage
Increased brand image and awareness
Higher employee retention
Highlight to be used in employee recruiting
Opportunity for new strategic partnerships
Technical expertise from nonprofit partners
Training and development opportunities for upcoming company leaders and staff

Growth of Cause Marketing

Cause marketing has grown steadily since 2002 ($816 million) and is predicted to reach $1.61 billion in 2010. Out of all sponsorship categories, causes are forecasted to enjoy the highest rate of growth (a 6.1% increase) according to the IEG Sponsorship Report.

Consumer Interest

Consumers are increasingly interested in seeing businesses they patronize incorporate cause affiliations with their entire organization, from products they sell to employee involvement.

According to Cone’s 2010 Cause Evolution Study:

83% of Americans wish more of the products, services and retailers they use would support causes. In addition,

80% of consumers are willing to switch from one brand to another brand that is about the same in price and quality, if the other brand is associated with a good cause.
61% are willing to try a new brand or one they’ve never heard of if associated with a cause.

And from Edelman’s goodpurpose Study 2010:

64% percent of global consumers believe it is no longer enough for corporations to give money; they must integrate good causes into their everyday business.

Employee Engagement

Employees who are very involved in their company’s cause program are 28 percent more likely to be proud of their company’s values and 36 percent more likely to feel a strong sense of loyalty than those who are not involved, according to the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study.

Types of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Transactional campaigns unlock a business donation upon point of purchase whether via actual product sale or subsequent post-purchase consumer activity.

Digital campaigns utilize online microsites or social media platforms to unlock business donations and/or encourage consumer donations or other online task.

Licensing legally permits the use of an aspect of a nonprofit brand to be used by a company in exchange for a licensing fee.

Message Focused campaigns can take many formats but focus on utilizing business resources to share a specific cause-focused message.

Events partner a cause and a company to raise money via runs, walks, celebrations, etc. or raise awareness via clean-ups, health screenings, etc.

Examples of Corporate Cause Marketers

Companies of all sizes employ a variety of different cause marketing campaigns (also see previous Cause Marketing Halo award winners).

Pepsi Refresh – Pepsi turned marketing heads around the world in 2010 when it announced that it would forego its traditional SuperBowl ads in favor of a social-media-driven, digital cause marketing campaign driven by consumer voting that would award at least $20 million for donations to local organizations and causes proposed by the public in realms like health, arts and culture, the environment and education.

Target Take Charge of Education – Target’s school fundraising initiative donates up to 1% of purchases made using specially branded Target credit and debit cards. Established in 1997, Target has donated more than $298 million to more than 125,000 schools nationwide. This program is just one of Target’s initiatives to reach its commitment of donating 5% of its income to supporting communities.

Ben and Jerry’s Hubby Hubby - The controversial gay marriage issue gave Ben & Jerry’s an opportunity to celebrate the legality of same-sex unions in its home state of Vermont and to speak out about its long-standing commitment to social justice and equality for all people.

The company renamed its iconic flavor “Chubby Hubby” to “Hubby Hubby” for the month of September to raise consumer awareness. It teamed with Freedom to Marry, a gay-nongay partnership working to win marriage equality nationally. Although on the ground promotion was limited to Vermont, the multimedia program reached more than 429 million people in a single month and received extensive national media coverage.

Macy’s Believe - This campaign encourages kids of all ages to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation by dropping letters to Santa into Believe letter boxes in Macy’s stores. The department store donates $1 for each letter received, up to $1million, to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Lee National Denim Day - This single-day fundraiser supporting the women's cancer programs was created in 1996. In exchange for a $5 donation, employees could wear jeans to work on a designated Friday. The National Denim Day is still one of the largest single-day fundraisers for Breast Cancer annually, raising nearly $85 million since its inception.

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