Defining and Navigating Cause Marketing

According to a Cone Cause Evolution Study, 87% of millennial consumers say they would “switch from one brand to another if the other brand were associated with a good cause.” Furthermore, this same study revealed that upon discovering a company is dedicated to social responsibility or supporting a valuable cause, millennials are 83% more likely to trust the company and 79% more likely to make a purchase from the company. These statistics reveal a trend that’s rising steadily enough to force a change in the way companies are marketing to consumers.

There are both benefits and disadvantages to this kind of marketing. I’m sure many of you remember the Kony 2012 campaign, which ended with an embarrassing public breakdown by the company’s founder, Jason Russell. The company’s 2013 financial report revealed that Invisible Children spent more on marketing efforts than they did on the cause they were actually supporting. And in case you haven’t noticed, Kony isn’t dead yet.

This campaign is a classic example of how cause marketing can backfire and produce more damage than good. Since the 2012 Kony campaign, Invisible Children has been forced to fight against a negative stigma towards their brand. Cause marketing can create a bandwagon effect, causing people to support something without much thought or research. Take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge for example – many people responded to this call on social media to participate in the challenge, encouraging others to donate to the ALS Association, raising over $115 million dollars. Although many may view this campaign as a success, it created a sense of skepticism.

Many people started asking questions like where did the money actually go? Has the ALSA seen any positive measurable results? ALSA released a financial report indicating they’ve spent only a portion of the money so far. The money may be going to valuable sources, but the movement quickly lost momentum when challenge participants started asking for measurable results. Bottom line – people want to see their money is actually making a difference, and if your company can’t show that clearly and quickly, it’s likely your customers are going to lose faith in your company and stop purchasing your products.

The key to cause marketing is the ability to link each purchase with a measurable result, showing each customer that his or her purchase is, in fact, making a difference. For example, a few years ago Proctor and Gamble announced a partnership between their Olay skin-care brand and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. P & G launched this campaign to promote awareness about skin cancer, causing an increase of sales for Olay and customer engagement with the ASDS by offering free skin cancer screenings. Both the company and the featured cause were benefited in this example.

When used effectively, cause marketing can create brand loyalty, increase revenue, and support valuable causes simultaneously. Try partnering with an existing organization to raise awareness about relevant global issues and promote your company as one who engages important causes. You may find you start attracting more millennial customers, who are much more likely to share about their purchases than any other generation before.