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Cause-Related

Marketing PR

While

the term cawe-related

markctinghas become synonymous with

any

marketing tie-in

with

a

good

cause

and is often used interchange-

ably with terms such

as

social

marketing,

it

origindly had

a

much

narrower

definition

based on

a

deceptively simple

principle

Brry

a

company's

product,

and

it will

makc

a donatiori

on

yoqr

behalf to some

r','crthy cause.

Sometimes the donation is

based

on label or

cor.lpon redemption. Sometimes

the

pur-

chase of

a

specific

item

or

a

service

transaction

results

in

a

contribution.

These sponsorships have

not

only raised

countless millions

for

good

causes over the

past

thirty

years,

but

they have

also

been

good

for business.

When

consumers become

aware

of

a companyt inrolvement,

they are often more

inclined to

patronize

its

prod-

ucts and

services. Hence,

when American

Express

decided

a few

years

ago to donate two

cents to homeless food kitchens

for

each

credit card transaction made by its

cardhold-

ers,

it

saw

an

8.4

percent increase

in

its transactions.l

The campaign was

supported

by

advertising, but it

was

a

public

relations

aaivity

to be

sure.

And

it

is

not

just

the

narrow

definition

of

cause-related

marketing

that can

have

this

level

of impact Firms

such as

Ben

&

]erry's

and The Body

Shop

have

created legions of

lopl

customers by

paying

at-

tention

to environmental issues

and

supporting

worthy

@uses,

regardless

of their con-

sumers'transactions.

Recent research

on

corporate reputation

might help qrplain

why

cause-related

activities

are

such an

important

part

of marketing

public

relations.

Edelman Public Relations'2004

Annual

Trust

Barometer2

reported

that 7l

percent

of

consumers

in the

US

and

65

percent

of

consumers

in

Europe

believe

that'being ac-

tive in

cause-related

initiatives

are

an important

hctor

in

d*errnining

a comparyt

reputation

and

in d.iriog

trust

in

the firm. A 1999 Hill &

KnowltonlYankelovich

Part-

ners suryey

of

CEOs3

on

the benefits

of

a

strong

corporate

reputation

found that

77

percent

believed

that

a

good

reputation helps sell

products

and services,

and

61

percent

believe

that

it makes

it

easier

to

attract top emplopes.

Echoing

this sentiment, Debra

Smith,

Vice

President

of

Communications

for

]P

Morgan Chase Company

receatly

said,

People

wili

gravitate

to

a

name and brand they can

trust

They want to knot'

they

are

getting

quality

service.

$not odd

Pitfalls for

Social

Marketing Campaigns

While there

is strong

evidence

that

tying marketing endearrois

to

good

causes

and

good

works

makes

good

business

sense, effectively

pulling

it

offis

much harder

than it

seems

at

first

glance.

Take

the following examples. They all have the

potential

to

bacldre

if

not

handled

well or

if

treated

as

pure

marketing activities:

.

A local

convenience

store

runs a

promotion

announcing

that ten cents

from

the

sale of

every

hot

dog

will

go

to

'Jerry's

Kids, and

sales

of hot

dogs

go

up by 20

percenl

.

A

strip

mining

company

sets aside

a

thousand acres

of land

as a nature

presene

and

gains

favor

with

the

local

legislature

that

was

about to

pass

a

bill

to restrict

mining

activities.

.

A

predominantlywhite-owned

hair care

products

company that has decided

to