Why Bother With Cause-Related Marketing?

Why Bother With Cause-Related Marketing?

Why Bother With Cause-Related Marketing?

Too many products and companies selling everything from computers to toothpaste to cosmetics are on the market, similar in quality, price and service. In the global quest to differentiate themselves in the sea of faceless product choices, companies have turned to cause-related marketing to make them unique in the eyes of consumers.

If surveys are to be trusted, the potential of CM to alter consumer behavior is enormous. Cone Communications, a consulting firm that specializes in developing cause-related marketing campaigns, produces a report called the Cone Roper Benchmark Survey. Among its findings:

78 percent of adults said they would be more likely to buy a product associated with a cause they care about.

66 percent of adults said they would be likely to switch brands and 62 percent would likely switch retailers to support a cause they care about.

54 percent of adults said they would pay more for a product that supported a cause they care about. Thirty percent would pay five percent more and 24 percent would pay 10 percent more.

About one in five people, 58 million consumers, recalled buying products with a cause overlay in the past year; food sold in the supermarket was most often mentioned (50 percent).

The numbers from similar surveys in the United Kingdom are just as eye opening:

89 percent of consumers are more likely to buy a product that benefits a cause.

86 percent said they have a more positive image of a company that is making a difference in the world.

83 percent agree that companies should be involved in their community.

Walking a Fine Line

Of course, exporting a successful marketing campaign from one country to another or one culture to another without doing your homework is asking for disaster. Cause-related marketing has its own set of land mines to avoid. Make too much noise about your promotion of a cause-related marketing campaign and consumers will accuse you of using the charity for selfish, profit-driven reasons. But if you remain overly humble, the campaign is likely to be flop because no one will hear about it. Choose a cause that has its own ethical problems and the net result is negative.

Even though CM has only recently become a phenomenon, consumers in some countries are already suspicious of its overuse. This suspicion can negate any benefit for the sponsoring company, and may in fact lead to a negative association in the consumer's mind.

Warning

: Causes, like fads, come and go. Choose with care.

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