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Reaping the Virtue Dividend: Social, or cause-related, marketing, the practice of associating for-profit enterprises with socially beneficial causes, is nothing new. What's new, however, is the extent to which social marketing now influences and motivates purchases by the average consumer. In Roper/Cone's 1997 Corporate Citizenship Study, 76 percent of consumers agreed that they were likely to switch brands, when price and quality were equal, to support a good cause. By March 2001, the number had jumped to 81 percent. And the 2002 survey pegged the percentage even higher at 84 percent. Other findings corroborate the increasing impact of cause-related marketing. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say a company's commitment to causes is important when they decide what to buy and where to shop — up from 55 percent in the early part of 2001, according to the same study. Doing well by doing good Clearly, receptivity to social marketing is trending positively and this presents huge opportunities for marketers to enhance their brands, increase sales and chip away at market share. A number of marketers have seen the benefits of social marketing first-hand. In 2001, Avon Cosmetics increased unit sales by six percent after the company's "Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye" campaign promised a portion of sales to fund breast cancer research. In the United Kingdom, retail chain Austin Reed saw same period sales jump 53 percent when the company introduced its Suit Xchange program, offering discounts on new suits when customers donated old ones to the homeless. (For details on how technology firm, NeuStar Inc., used social marketing to spur Internet domain registrations, see sidebar.) Getting started When developing a cause-related marketing program, there are three critical factors to consider: relatedness, sustainability and authenticity. Relatedness Social marketing enhances a brand by associating it with a cause — associations work best when they come naturally, due to an inherent relatedness between the cause and the brand. For example, Avon's commitment to breast cancer enhances the company's identity as a brand that cares about women. According to Hamish Pringle and Marjorie Thompson, the authors of Brand Spirit: How Cause-Related Marketing Builds Brands, "...a social marketing campaign should be a 'seamless extension and amplification' of the brand." Sustainability Since true brand enhancement takes time to achieve, social marketing programs must have an element of sustainability. Data shows a direct link between the extent of a brand's commitment to a cause and the amount of customer buy-in. One article in Marketing News (October 2002) reports cash donations alone do not increase brand loyalty, but that a long-term partnership with a nonprofit is viewed as less self-serving and, thus, more of a commitment. Authenticity The same article states, "a cause-related marketing program must demonstrate, as well as communicate, a genuine support of the cause if it wants to increase customer loyalty." Ways to demonstrate authenticity include: extended, visible support for a cause involving employees and integrating the cause into a company's social responsibility policy. How Technology Marketer, NeuStar, Inc., Boosted Visibility by Fighting Terrorism When technology marketer, NeuStar, introduced .US, America's official country code Internet domain, the firm faced some significant hurdles. Despite the dot-com meltdown, .com was still regarded by many consumers as the primary choice for Internet domains. NeuStar needed an opportunity to quickly raise the visibility of .US as an excellent alternative to .com. That opportunity came in the form of a cause-related marketing program developed by MDB. Building on the .US's brand identity as the only Internet domain to be specifically American in origin, NeuStar furthered the brand's inherent patriotic appeal by supporting the fight against terrorism. NeuStar partnered with Rewards for Justice to raise funds for the surveillance and capture of terrorists. NeuStar allowed its new partner the free use of an Internet domain, www.rewardsforjustice.us. Additionally, NeuStar pledged a donation to the organization for every .US domain name registered by consumers. Not only did the program contribute to the fight against terrorism, it raised the visibility of .US and enhanced the brand's identity in an authentic, sustainable way. Additionally, NeuStar experienced a 19 percent jump in traffic to its Web site — directly attributable to the cause-related initiative. J. Scott Punk to Lead
MDB Moves Up in the World — to the 5th Floor MDB recently moved upstairs in the same building to accommodate our agency's growth; our new suite number is 500. Please feel free to visit us and check out the new space. All of our other contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses will remain unchanged. Email this newsletter link
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