In my opinion cause marketing is the most satisfying type of marketing for any business, large or small. It’s a chance to help their favourite charity and enables businesses, ultimately, to make money.
What is cause marketing? At its simplest form it’s the request for a charity donation at a grocery checkout. You may have participated in a food drive at a local store. This is cause marketing.
When a store links their business to a charity, they raise awareness, involve the community and make money for the cause. The good news is that through their cause marketing support, their company that is associating itself to that cause, aldo benefits in the same ways as the said charity.
Cause Marketing: A win-win
Through cause marketing businesses inadvertently (or not), create awareness towards their brand or business by increasing social engagement all the while MAKE MONEY for the chosen charity. The increased awareness and social engagement bodes well for business and business persona. It shows commitment and develops ties within the community. The bonus: business can help with a cause in which they believe in. Talk about a winning situation.
Some of the largest and most successful companies devote a lot of time and money to supporting and highlighting their cause marketing efforts. TD Canada Trust has their “Friends of the Environment”, Tim Hortons has their “Send a Kid to Camp” and McDonalds has their “Ronald McDonald House”.
Ultimately the cynics out there will look at the obvious… afterall there has to be a financially sound reason for these companies to invest in cause marketing. If these companies didn’t make money, they wouldn’t be able to show this type of support. Well yes in no.
The truth of the matter is that it’s pretty hard to fake cause marketing.
Although some cynics may find it mercenary that companies make money on the coattails of the charities. But on the other hand, it’s pretty hard to fake this type of relationship. Charities believe in what they do. They have a message for the world and they want to get their message out as much as the businesses that support the cause.
When people are giving to charity they are also recognizing your business as trustworthy and committed to the community. As marketer we all know what happens when people recognize and have faith in your business, don’t we?
Cause Marketing is a unique opportunity for businesses to gain awareness and build top of mind recognition with the ultimate goal of promotion sales and hence make money . But those businesses are also good because they do good.
Now that just has to feel good doesn’t it?