Cause marketing (or cause-related marketing) is a form of marketing involving the coordinated efforts of a business and a non-profit organization on a mutually beneficial basis. The term is sometimes used more broadly to include other charitable or community-based programs and activities of the business.
As society and consumers increasingly demand that businesses be socially responsible, cause-based marketing is becoming more popular. Customers who visit a business’s website want to see that the business is doing something to make the world around them a better place.
If a company’s brand doesn’t represent a worthy cause, customers will likely turn to competitors. According to the Cone Cause Evolution Survey, the number of customers who switch from one brand to another for this reason has increased by 87% in recent years. And according to the results of another study, College Explorer, conducted by Alloy Media, nearly 95% of college students in the United States said it would be difficult to ignore an advertisement that shows a brand’s commitment to a worthy cause.
Kim T. Gordon, a writer for the “Marketing” column in Entrepreneur magazine, offers the following advice to help businesses successfully implement a marketing campaign based on noble purposes.
1. Really want to help others.
Cause marketing works best when businesses and employees genuinely want to, feel comfortable with, and are happy to help a nonprofit. So, businesses need to choose an organization they can trust.
2. Choose a relevant purpose.
A cause-based marketing campaign should be relevant to the brand, product or service the business is promoting and should start with choosing the right link. For example, when Procter & Gamble promoted its Olay skin care line, the company linked up with the American Dermatological Association and promoted the cause of helping women protect their skin from the sun. The PR efforts were supported by television, print and online ads, which helped the campaign attract more than 9,000 customers to sign up for free skin cancer screenings.
3. No monetary contribution is required.
For many businesses, cause-based marketing activities often involve providing free gifts or services to customers, rather than necessarily monetary donations. This can help build stronger customer communities for the business. For example, a business might support organizations that care for mothers and children or charities that help cancer patients cover some of their treatment costs.
4. Formalize relationships with non-profit organizations.
Businesses should aim for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with the nonprofit organizations they choose to conduct cause marketing campaigns. Businesses should identify ways in which these organizations can help them strengthen their image and brand, and increase customer awareness of their brand. Businesses should also discuss with nonprofit organizations the use of their names and logos in their marketing campaigns, as well as the use of their names and logos in press releases, on websites, and in other materials.
5. Build a good marketing campaign.
Cause-based marketing is only successful when it leads customers to take action, such as contributing to community activities or participating in an event for a cause. To do so, businesses must build and devote a lot of effort to professional marketing campaigns to reach and persuade target customer groups, while making customers more aware of the company's commitment to social responsibilities.
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