of CRM in the marketing literature,
the following definition is proposed
as advanced by Varadarajan & Menon
(2012): Cause-Related Marketing
is the process of formulating and
implementing marketing activities
that are characterized by an offer
from the firm to contribute a
specified amount to a designated
cause when customers engage in
revenue-providing exchanges that
satisfy organizational and individual
objectives.
Perhaps the best example I can give
is when American Express first used
the phrase “cause-related marketing”
in 1983 to describe its campaign to
raise money for the Statue of Liberty’s
restoration.
American Express donated one cent
to the restoration every time someone
used its charge card. As a result, the
number of new cardholders grew by
45 percent, and card usage increased
by 28 percent.
Transparency is Mandatory
Programs run the right way and in
place for the long term can stand up
to this scrutiny. If a program is to
survive in these times, it must follow
one of the most important canons of
cause branding: transparency.
Because it is no longer a new method
of branding, cause marketing will be
held to the same standards as other
methods of branding. Are you staying
true to your CRM promise?
Appliance maker, Whirlpool,
transformed its previously littleknown commitment to provide
a range and refrigerator for each
Habitat home built in the U.S. into a
major driver of brand loyalty with a
multimedia campaign featuring Reba
McEntire. What’s more, they did all
cause marketers a favor by measuring
and sharing the impressive results.
Formalize Your Affiliation and
Communicate
For years, generally accepted beliefs
led brands to avoid being boastful
about their good works. Yet smart
brands have recognized that
consumers expect to hear about what
a company is doing to contribute to
the greater good. Educated consumers
demand to know every facet of your
business - and that includes your
cause.
(Product) Red founders Bono and
Bobby Shriver boldly threw out
the cause-marketing rule book to
create (Red). Their privately held
company created and licensed a hot
brand to The Gap, Apple, Armani
and other marketers and staged an
unprecedented launch.
Although often criticized for a lack of
transparency, (Red) has raised more
than $140 million for the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria and continues to attract
new corporate licensees such as Nike
and Starbucks.
Old School Account Management
Principles Work
As the saying goes, people give money
to people. Taking it one step further,
people do more for those they like
and trust and those who care. Causerelated partnerships - like all good
relationships - are about caring for
your partner’s needs.
Classic acco unt management
means that one person handles our
partner’s account, and acts as that
partner’s principal contact within
the organization. A management
team may be involved - during
brainstorming sessions, for example but when the partner wants answers,
they know exactly where to turn.
When the Nike and Lance Armstrong
Foundation came up with this idea
to raise funds and awareness for the
supercyclist’s cancer charity, no one
dreamed it would become a worldwide
fashion item worn by presidential
candidates, movie stars, kids and
grandmothers.
To date, more than 70 million of the
glorified yellow rubber bands have
been sold for $1 each. However, when
Lance Armstrong was hit by doping
allegations, Nike walked out on the
one time celebrated athlete that saw a
sharp drop in donations.
What Do You Stand For?
As cause marketing continues
to evolve, so too will the public’s
expectations about how companies
address social issues. In the next
century, “What do you stand for?” will
become one of the most commonly
asked questions by potential donors,
employees, investors and business
partners before entering into any
relationship. Customers are getting
much better at filtering out and
ignoring the messages that don’t
appeal to them.
There is no turning back now. Cause
Branding falls at the intersection of
corporate strategy and citizenship and
is fast becoming a “must do” practice.
It does pay to “Do Good”.
Spencer Okach is a Nairobi based
Marketing Professional. Connect to him
further through mail at: Spencer.Okach@
gmail.com, or https://branded.me/
spencer-okach.