Cause Marketing: How Giving Back Can Be Profitable

Cause Marketing: How Giving Back Can Be Profitable

Cause Marketing is Good For Both Your Cause and Your Company

Cause related marketing, or "cause marketing" as coined by American Express with their campaign in the '83, continues to be a powerful marketing strategy. Cause marketing is a strategic marketing partnership that couples a brand or company with a social cause or cause-related organization for mutual benefit. It attracts consumers to a company or brand that patronizes a specific cause. This strategy has the potential to alter a consumer's choice environment and boost its public relations.

In cause marketing, marketers implement a charity into their advertising campaign. They raise a charity's awareness and gain a profit from their perceived elevated social responsibility. Benefits from this partnership include increases to revenue, visibility of the cause's message, and volunteers.

81% of consumers want to support a company's cause related product. A staggering 85% of consumers have a more positive opinion of a company that supports a cause, and 80% are more likely to switch to similarly priced brands.

This past fall, Blue Dog Marketing helped a client, trü salon, with cause marketing their participation in the American Cancer Society’s ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ walk. trü salon offered massages for a donation at the Park Avenue Festival in August. During October, the month of the walk, they held promotions in the salon to raise funds. They also had a large team participate in the walk. This is cause marketing. It’s part team building for the company, fun for the employees, raises awareness in the community, and, through marketing, raised name recognition for trü salon.

How are you giving back to causes through your company?