• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Marketing Matters » Cause Marketing: Making the Most of your Marketing Dollars

Marketing Matters
Marketing Matters RSS FeedRSS

Cause Marketing: Making the Most of your Marketing Dollars

July 19, 2010
Jeff Ashcroft, @TheSocialCMO, http://twitter.com/thesocialcmo

Billions of dollars are spent each year on all aspects of brand and product promotion, the vast majority of which generates little in positive social benefit.

Many would argue why should it, as the purpose of these expenditures is only to sell as many products to as many people as possible. However the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility in all major business organizations is leading to a rethink and refocus of all expenditures and actions of the organization to maximize the firm's positive social impact.

Cause Branding and/or Cause Marketing are at least two ways in which every company can harness some of the value of these huge dollar expenditures to create positive social change while at the same time still accomplishing, perhaps even exceeding their brand marketing, promotion and ultimately sales goals.

The article Cause Branding and Its Impact on Corporate Reputation by Barkley Evergreen & Partners provides a great introduction to the definitions, history and moving parts in this discussion to quickly bring everyone up to speed.

So the difference between cause marketing and cause branding is for the most part duration, where most cause marketing programs are a limited time effort to deal with specific causes The first example was in 1981 with American Express agreeing to make certain donations to the renovation and repair of the Statue of Liberty based on client purchases.

On the flipside, cause branding relates to aligning and activating your brand to be synonymous and continuously in support of a given cause such as Starbucks with their sustainable coffee supply chain and production efforts.

Regardless of whether you work on a cause branding, specific cause marketing program, or both customers are paying attention and voting with their dollars. In a 2004 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study, roughly 80 percent of Americans already had a more positive image of companies associated with a cause they care about.

And the growing group of Millenials is only reinforcing this trend; "There are significant generational shifts going on," says David Rocha, executive director of Jewelers for Children. "Millennials strongly believe they're the generation that's going to fix the world and are almost demanding social responsibility of some form from the companies they do business with."

These quotes are from an article entitled, Jewelers Embrace Cause Marketing which incorporates a number of interesting approaches to help you incorporate and expand the use of cause branding and cause marketing in your business.

In the article, it is generally recommended that a store spread their cause marketing programs across 3 charities/projects and dedicate 4 to 10 percent of a store's annual marketing budget toward cause marketing.

In our view, especially within larger firms, 4 to 10 percent is not enough and only represents the tip of the iceberg relative to the opportunity for marketers to take a direct role in creating positive social change aligned with the values of both their organizations and customers.

The elevation of the marketing role within the business world and wider society will no doubt reach even greater heights when marketers truly make a conscious effort to fully utilize the many opportunities cause marketing represents to make their marketing dollars matter!

 By Jeff Ashcroft, @TheSocialCMO, http://twitter.com/thesocialcmo

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • AN ARRAY OF MEDICAL DEVICES LAID OUT ON A GREEN BACKGROUND

    Why the Medical-Device Industry Is Embracing Contract Manufacturing

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A TOY TRUCK CARRIES A GIANT BOX WITH A RED RIBBON IN A BOW

    Three Trends to Watch During Peak Season 2023

    Apparel
  • A MANUFACTURING PLANT AT DUSK OR DAWN REFLECTED IN WATER

    Uncertainty is the New Normal

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • On Demand Webinar_SAP.png

    Optimize your Logistics Pinch Points to Build a Risk Resilient & Sustainable Supply Chain

    Webinars
  • A GIANT CONTAINER VESSEL SPORTING THE LETTERING OF YANG MING PLIES THE SEAS

    Yang Ming Accused of Profiteering During Pandemic by Bed Bath & Beyond

    Ocean Transportation

Digital Edition

Scb august 2023 lg

2023 100 Great Supply Chain Partners

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • JLL Finds Perfect Warehouse Location, Leading to $15M Grant for Startup

  • Robots Speed Fulfillment to Help Apparel Company Scale for Growth

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

Visit Our Sponsors

Antuit Zebra Anvyl AutoStore
BEUMER Group Blue Ridge Global Brother
CHEP Cleo Coenterprise
Data Capture E2open Enveyo
Eva Air ForwardX Robotics Frayt
GAINSystems Generix Geodis
GEP Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit GreyOrange
Here Holman Logistics Infor
Inmar Kinaxis Lexis Nexis
Locus Robotics Logility LogistiVIEW
Lucas Systems MCA Connect MPO
Old Dominion OneRail Overhaul
PartnerLinQ (Visionet) Port of Virginia Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash
Saddle Creek Logistics SAP Shyft
Sourcemap SPS Commerce Tecsys
TGW Systems Thomson Reuters Veho
Verusen Walmart Workshop
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing