Cause Marketing can be a collaboration between a for-profit and a nonprofit. It can also be a connection between a company and a cause. Today’s consumer expects brands to be socially responsible. Some 70% of consumers want to know how brands address social and environmental issues. Nearly half of consumers pay close attention to the actions a brand takes. Surveys have shown marketing executives are nearly unanimous in the belief that cause marketing is a valid business strategy. About three-fourths of consumers say they’re willing to pay more if a particular brand helps support causes, they themselves believe in. So, if at all possible, your business should be supporting a cause and making your support known. But which cause? How do you choose? What are the pitfalls? We thought you might ask.
Goals
Start at the beginning. Put down goals you want the campaign to address. What do you want your cause campaign to do? Do you want to build awareness of your company’s brand? Do you want the campaign to generate social media engagement? Sales? Answers to those questions will fill in a lot of blanks. Let’s say you answered, “Yes,” to all of them. From an advertising/marketing standpoint, anything you do builds awareness of your brand. What many businesses miss is the post-campaign publicity. Don’t forget to publicize results. If you want to increase social media engagement, then you know you’ll want Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms to be part of your campaign. You want to increase sales, right? Find a way to connect a purchase to a donation. For every sale you make, you donate an amount.
Get permission
If you want to support a nonprofit, tell them. They can provide you with graphics you can incorporate into your own material, like their logo. Get them involved and they might put you on their own social media.
Don’t clash with your cause
Cause marketing campaigns can flop because of a bad connection. KFC once partnered with Susan G. Komen, a foundation for breast cancer research. The campaign was “Buckets for the Cure.” KFC would donate 50 cents per bucket. It may sound fine at first, but fried food increases the risk of cancer. Not a good match.
The Kansas City Chiefs football team unwittingly provided this example. In their stadium they had, “End Racism,” painted in an end zone. The dissonance occurs here because the team’s name, CHIEFS, painted much larger in the same end zone, is itself considered racist. That name is in the same category as Redskins was, the name the Washington franchise changed to Commanders.
One of our clients, Great Lakes Credit Union, has developed a strong relationship with an environmental group, Alliance for the Great Lakes. That’s an example of a comfortable connection with a great cause.
It Never Hurts to Ask
One way to determine who to donate to is by conducting an informal survey of customers to find out if there’s a specific charity or organization that is particularly well liked in the neighborhood. Keep in mind that if one of the goals is to increase awareness and sales, you might want to expand your footprint rather than stick close to home. The bigger the cause, the broader the appeal.
Final Thoughts
We’ve done cause marketing campaigns for several clients. They’ve involved food banks, Make-a-Wish, blood drives, hospitals, and so on. General marketing rules apply. Make any collateral material you design look good! Explain things. Make the connection between your brand and the cause. If you need a hand, we’re always open to a good cause.