Cause Related Marketing

Ahmed Almogren, Heather Boyd, Maria Collins, Laura Hahn, Logan Meyer, and Rocky Worley

What we’ll Cover in this presentation…

• Definition of Cause Related Marketing

• When CRM was first used

• Elements of successful CRM campaigns

• The difference between CRM and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)

• Examples of CRM, both good and bad

• Who should utilize CRM and who shouldn’t

• Why CRM is important today, especially to Generation Z

WHAT IS CRM? • Cause Related Marketing is defined as a mutually

beneficial collaboration between a corporation and a non profit in which their respective assets are combined to:

• Create shareholder and social value• Connect with a range of constituents (be they

consumers, employees, or suppliers)• Communicate the shared values of both

organization

• The term is sometimes used more broadly and generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and other charitable causes, including in-house marketing efforts by non-profit organizations.

When it all began• The first recognized uses of CRM are Marriott’s partnership with March of

Dimes in 1976 and Famous Amos Cookies partnering with Literacy Volunteers of America in a cause-related promotion in 1979.

• American Express copyrighted the term “Cause-Related Marketing” in 1983 to describe its campaign to raise money for the Statue of Liberty’s restoration. American Express donated one cent to the restoration every time someone used its charge card. As a result, they raised $1.7 million for the cause number of new cardholders grew by 45%, and card usage increased by 28%.

Elements needed for successful CRMClearly Describe the Promotion

• Consumers should be able to easily understand before purchasing a product or using a service, how doing so will benefit a charity.

Allow Consumers to Easily Determine Donation Amount• Using and disclosing a fixed dollar amount ‐ such as 50 cents for every purchase ‐ in advertisements, marketing, and

product packaging will allow consumers to easily calculate their charitable donation.• If it is not practicable to use a fixed dollar amount per item, use a fixed percentage of the retail purchase price.

Be Transparent About What Is Not Apparent• To maintain public trust and confidence, err on the side of caution, and disclose what might not be apparent

Ensure Transparency in Social Media• Following the best practices described above, the terms of the social media campaign should be clearly and

prominently disclosed as part of the campaign's on‐line marketing, including the amount that will be donated to charity per action, the name of the charity that is the beneficiary of the campaign, the dates of the campaign, and if there is a minimum or maximum amount to be donated.

Tell the Public How Much Was Raised• At the conclusion of each campaign, the website should clearly disclose the amount of the charitable donation each

campaign generated.• Doing so will allow companies not only to showcase their generosity, but also to demonstrate their accountability to

the public.

What’s the difference? • Although cause marketing and corporate social responsibility often entail

similar corporate actions, they are not the same thing.

• It can be better demonstrated by imagining CSR as an “umbrella,” under which many practices, initiatives, and causes (including cause marketing) take place.

• Looking at a few cases may help draw a more distinguishing line between the two very similar concepts.

• CVS ceased selling tobacco products in 2014, a move lauded by many health and anti-tobacco advocacy groups.

• CVS claimed that they wanted to be more health oriented, and that tobacco use had no place in their agenda.

• They also mentioned that promoting a smoking cessation program whilst selling tobacco products was a conflict of interest.

• The action alone of not selling tobacco anymore is not cause marketing; it doesn’t necessarily contribute to a cause, but it is an operational and social change for the company.

• CVS is, however, still involved in several anti-smoking campaigns, and these campaigns could very easily qualify as cause marketing campaigns.

Brawny And The Wounded Warrior Project• Brawny partnered with Wounded Warrior Project in 2012 to create the “Inner Strength”

campaign.

• Cause and goals of the campaign were to raise awareness and donations for WWP by employing mass media, social media and thein-store experience.

• Campaign raised $549,000 for the WWP, and Brawny sales increased by almost 10%.

• Partnership was so successful that they combined again in 2013 to raise another $650,000.

• This is an example of cause marketing because the primary action of the campaign was to raise awareness and donations for the cause. Increased sales and brand awareness for Brawny were collateral effects of a very socially responsible cause marketing campaign.

Types of CRM: Digital Engagement

• Spread brand awareness through the Internet, social media, blogging, etc.

• Key focus of communication through the Web

Coca-Cola + WWF

"Arctic Home" Campaign

• Effort to support conservation of polar bears• Over $3M in donations

ALS

"Ice Bucket Challenge"

• Social media campaign• Raised over $220M

Types of CRM: Proud Supporter

• When a company gives a flat donation to a cause and donations are not tied to a sale

• Example: Jeep & United Service Organizations: "Operation Safe Return"• Provide secure transport of troops and supplies, aid, homecoming events

• Jeep has given over $1M in donations and vehicles to the USO

Types of CRM: License Agreement

• Licensors grant license agreements to grant licensees the right to use IP• Example: Subway + American Heart Association: "Healthy Heart Meals"

• Subway met the Association's strict standards• Right to bear Heart Healthy Meal seal

Types of CRM: Buy One Give One

• Allows consumers to buy a product and give a product to someone in need

• Example: Warby Parker & Various partners including Vision Spring: "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair"

• For every pair of glasses sold, WP donates a pair to nonprofit partners• Over 1M glasses distributed• Nonprofits train individuals to sell glasses to people in need for affordable prices

Types of CRM: Social Advocacy

• Social advocacy is bringing awareness and vocal support to various social issues in the world

• After a study by Dove showed that only only 2% of women around the world would describe themselves as beautiful, Dove decided to launch the Campaign for Real Beauty to address the fact that society’s depiction of beauty in advertising had become unattainable.

• Since 2004, Dove sales have increased over 60%.

Types of CRM: Point of Sale

• Point of Sale: Once the shopper has made the decision to buy a product, point of sale CRM offers the shopper the opportunity to donate extra money to a charity or cause

• Walmart and Sam’s Club have both supported the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for over 27 years

• they have raised over $750 million in donations.

• For six weeks of the year, Walmart employees solicit donations for the cause from customers at checkout. In 2012, this campaign was calculated to have raised $122 per minute.

• Ultimately what is the point of a business adopting a cause for their marketing?• Awareness of brand• Rise in profits

DOES IT PAY TO USE CRM?

SHOULD ALL COMPANIES HAVE A CAUSE?

• Long story short, not necessarily.

• While cause marketing is an excellent way for a company to partner with a non-profit or charity, it isn’t always in the best interest of either the company or their potential collaboration.

• There are many pros and cons that are associated with cause marketing, and should all be considered before making the decision of whether or not cause marketing should be something your company should pursue.

PROS AND CONS OF CAUSE MARKETING

• PROS:

- Consumers are more likely to support companies who have aligned themselves with some sort of charitable cause or issue.

- Cause Marketing tends to improve company loyalty, and has a proven track record of better customer attraction and retention.

• CONS:

- In the end, businesses are primarily focused on performance and goals, which can leave efforts looking unaligned with that of the charity.

- A company can severely suffer when it looks like they are just writing a check to buy good PR for their company.

NEGATIVE CAUSE MARKETING EXAMPLES

• HOLT RENFREW x MISSONI Collaboration- Partnered in 2012 to support OrphanAid

Africa through the selling of a limited edition plush bear and elephant.

- Sold for $50 each, with portions of the sale going towards the charity.

- Little transparency disclosing exactly how much of each sale went towards the charity

- With Holt Renfrew being a Canadian company, it would have made sense to pick a charity that was actually registered in Canada so that customers could align themselves with the cause. OrphanAid Africa was not registered in Canada.

• KFC Buckets for the Cure campaign

• Partnered with Susan G. Komen foundation

• KFC would donate 50 cents for every bucket of chicken purchased during the collaboration

• Was criticized for being inauthentic

• Poor choice of cause marketing, because KFC was raising money for medical research by selling unhealthy, fried food.

WHO IS GENERATION Z?• Generation Z entails the group of people who were born between the mid-1990s to those

born during the early 2010s.

• These individuals can be regarded as having being born when the technological advancements were being experienced globally.

• The significant trait that illustrates these individuals is their use of the internet from a young age. This, therefore, means that they have experienced technology all their lifetime.

• Generation Z is significantly correlated with the technological advancements.

• Notably, the cause marketing is important for the generation Z as these individuals find it trendy being associated with the famous brands as this makes them centers of emulation from their peers.

• Cause marketing thus ensures that people belonging to generation Z stand out among themselves by donning the latest brands as well as giving back to the community through the conservation of the environment through initiatives such as planting trees.

• Cause marketing forms an ideal part of the generation Z’s life based on its distinctive traits. Cause-related marketing is a powerful marketing tool that business and nonprofit organizations are increasingly leveraging.

• According to the Cone Millennial Cause Study in 2006, 89% of Americans (aged 13 to 25) would switch from one brand to another brand of a comparable product (and price) if the latter brand was associated with "good cause".

Why is cause marketing important

for generation Z?

Generation Z: The Future of Cause Marketing

• The generation Z can be viewed as the future of cause marketing, and this is based on their tech-savvy nature.

• This is because cause marketing significantly utilizes the technological innovations that have occurred globally. This entails marketing using various websites as well as the social media platforms whereby the greatest users are the generation Z.

• One of the purposes of cause marketing is ensuring that business and companies depict advertisements that share the desires of the customers so that their preferences.

• this form of marketing necessitates supporting a fundamental cause, and this is the perfect way that the generation Z feels it can give back to the society.