Cause Marketing: Good for the cause and the marketer?

According to Do Well. Do Good., cause marketing (sometimes called cause-related marketing) is a potentially profit-making initiative by a for-profit company or brand to raise awareness, money, and or/consumer engagement in a social or environmental issue.

 

Cause marketing has been around since the mid 1970s when John T. Carr formed Carr & Associates as a company that encouraged businesses to foster causes as a way to do good and market a positive brand image. The first example of a cause marketing campaign was the 1976 March of Dimes, in which the Marriot Corporation helped the event with fundraising and venues.

 

Now, there are countless examples of cause marketing. I work for Panera Bread, a company that has their hands in a lot of different cause related campaigns. This month (October) is breast cancer awareness month and Panera is donating a percentage of their sales of the seasonal “pink ribbon bagel” to breast cancer research. On select days, 100% of pink ribbon bagel profits will go to the cause.

 

Panera Bread also tries to make an impact on the problem of hunger in the United States. At the end of the night, the leftover bread and bakery items are donated to local organizations—usually churches—that help feed those in need. Panera Bread also partners with the nonprofit organization Feeding America and collects donations of money and non-perishable items to help make an impact on hunger in the United States. A more local cause marketing relationship that Panera Bread has is the partnership metro area Panera Breads have with the Regional Food Bank. All local Panera breads have donation boxes where customers can put their extra change in order to donate to the food bank.

 

The question that stands with cause marketing is such: does cause marketing benefit the cause and the marketer?

 

In my opinion, the answer is yes, without a doubt. Knowing that a company is doing their part to help the community makes consumers in the community feel better about doing their part to support the company. Staying with the example of Panera Bread, I will add more personal experience. Often, when people find out that I work at Panera, they ask two questions: Can you give me free stuff?; Doesn’t Panera donate the extra stuff at the end of the night? This shows that people are aware of Panera Breads commitment to impacting hunger in the United States.

 

In short, cause marketing benefits the marketer with a positive brand image and benefits the cause by providing funding, services, and, most importantly, a better opportunity for advertising for the cause than the nonprofit organization could otherwise afford.