Cause related marketing involves targeted marketing campaigns that strategically align organizations with a specific cause consumers care about. In an effort to integrate values and social issues into brand equity and identity, these ventures drive loyalty, differentiate companies from their competitors and enhance credibility, while simultaneously raising funds that directly benefit a worthy cause.
Corporate and community leaders throughout the country have partnered with City of Hope in just this way. And, as a result, have enjoyed the benefits that come from connecting themselves with an institution recognized nationwide for its aggressive and groundbreaking research and treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases.
Benefits of Cause Related Marketing
The popularity of cause related marketing as a way to promote products and services increased significantly during the last decade. In 2006, Cone, a leading agency in cause related branding and marketing, released a study that showed:
- 83% of consumers born between 1979 and 2001 will trust a company more if it is socially or environmentally responsible.
- 89% are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another, where price and quality are equal, if the second brand is associated with a good cause.
A follow-up study, the 2007 Cone Cause Evolution and Environmental Survey, revealed:
- 83% of Americans say that companies have a responsibility to help support causes.
- 87% are more likely to switch from one product to another if the other product is associated with a good cause, an increase from 66% in 1993.
- 89% of employees familiar with their company’s cause programs feel a strong sense of loyalty to their employers.
- 75% of men say they consider a company’s commitment to social issues when deciding what to buy or where to shop in 2007, compared to 58% in 2004; 84% of women agreed with this statement in 2007, compared to 68% in 2004.
- Health is the No. 1 cause related issue Americans feel companies need to address.